Strength in Community

Working together to build a future for salmon.

“Salmon need all of us. They need each Washingtonian to feel the joy–and the responsibility–when the fish return in the fall. Together, we can ensure salmon’s future.”

-Rachel Vasak, Board President, Regional Fisheries Coalition

We're Stronger Together

The Regional Fisheries Coalition (RFC) is the unified voice of Washington’s 14 Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups (RFEGs). Working together for more than 30 years, we build community stream-by-stream, and have created a thriving network of salmon advocates across the state.

When the State Legislature acknowledged the importance of salmon education by increasing funding to the agency that oversees K-12 public education, our 14 RFEGs—working together and led by the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group—successfully completed Washington’s first statewide Salmon in Schools program.

Within weeks, we launched a comprehensive Salmon in Schools program that ultimately served 8,720 students at 109 of Washington’s designated high-poverty schools.

This is just one of the many successes our communities have advanced together for salmon over the past year. Please join me in celebrating this new program that brings important conservation education to our elementary school students across the state.

Thank you for your support!

Rachel Vasak, RFC Board President

Making an Impact for 30+ Years

Fish
Released

90556370

Fish Passage
Projects

1013

Miles of
Stream Opened

1424

Volunteer
Hours

1862548

Salmon
Projects

4611

Miles of
Restoration

2174

THE REGIONAL FISHERIES COALITION

Our programs are statewide; our priorities are local.

As independent nonprofits, the 14 Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups (RFEGs) are community-driven. We know the rivers in our regions intimately, and we know our communities.

Amplifying salmon abundance:
One community at a time

Featured Project

Camp

Coweeman

RFEG: Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group

LCFEG is restoring a river degraded by historic logging practices to improve habitat for salmon and steelhead.

Featured Project

Salmon

in Schools

RFEG: Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group

HCSEG partnered with 14 organizations to bring Salmon in the Schools to elementary schools designated as high-poverty across Washington.

Featured Project

Fry

Restoration

RFEG: Willapa Bay Fisheries Enhancement Group

Volunteers are working to restore chum salmon to many northern Willapa Bay streams through the use of Remote Site Incubators.

Featured Project

Ecosystem

Monitoring

RFEG: Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Group

Tracking the survival of trees and shrubs at planting sites, fish presence at in-stream sites, as well as temperature and complete habitat assessment.

funding our work

“Salmon are a critical part of our heritage, culture and environment, and we must do more to protect these endangered species throughout the Pacific Northwest. RFEGs are key to this effort because they empower local communities to engage in environmental stewardship and salmon recovery. I will continue to support their important work and increased resources that will strengthen salmon recovery efforts.”

–Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01)

Matching State & Federal Dollars 1:8

Habitat restoration projects are multi-layered and complex, often requiring several funding sources. State and federal RFEG funds–provided by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the US Fish and Wildlife Service–provide seed money. RFEGs then leverage that funding: for every dollar received we secure an additional $8, greatly amplifying the initial investment.

featured project: implementation funding

Skagit Forks Wetland Restoration

Project reconnects the outlet of Britt Slough through a large wetland complex to the South Fork of the Skagit River, restoring access to critical off-channel habitat for ESA listed Chinook salmon.

Fiscal Year 2022 Funding Sources Included:

$239,000 in feasibility, design and permitting through Salmon Recovery Funding Board

$392,500 in construction through Salmon Recovery Funding Board

$50,000 from Washington Conservation Commission- Conservation Districts

$50,000 from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation -Killer Whale Conservation Fund

$50,000 from the Department of Ecology-Spills Coastal Protection Fund

Total Project Cost: $781,000

Salmon Create Communities;
Communities Help Salmon

For generations, salmon have been at the heart of communities.

Now our communities must partner creatively to help build a future for salmon.

Featured Project

Rivers Edge

Revegetation Project

RFEG: North Olympic Salmon Coalition

NOSC is partnering with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Clallam Conservation District, and Washington Conservation Corps to restore approximately 56-acres of riparian habitat in the Dungeness River floodplain.

Featured Project

Mill Creek

Fish Passage

RFEG: Tri-State Steelheaders

The Mill Creek Fish Passage Project is creating fish passage for a flood control project built by the US Corps of Engineers.

Featured Project

Ellensburg

Adopt-A-Stream

RFEG: Mid Columbia Fisheries

With support from Mid-Columbia Fisheries, 11 community groups have adopted more than 5 miles of urban streams with an ongoing commitment to improve habitat, monitor stream health, and remove trash.

“Salmon are such an important part of our culture, our economy, and our way of life in Washington. That’s why the work the RFEGs are doing to restore habitat throughout our state is so important. By working with people from across our communities, from tribes to local landowners, RFEGs are building a sustainable commitment to salmon restoration, and I am grateful for their vital role in protecting our iconic salmon runs. The critical federal investments we secured in the bipartisan infrastructure bill are helping bolster salmon populations throughout the Pacific Northwest—funding culvert repairs, the pacific coastal salmon recovery fund, and other important efforts. I will keep pushing to make sure the federal government does its part.”

-Senator Patty Murray

2022 Featured Projects

Click on an RFEG to view this year’s featured project.