Salmon funding clears first hurdle

Times-Standard

October 10, 2007

The state Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water voted 5-2 Monday to approve a measure by North Coast Sen. Patricia Wiggins (D - Santa Rosa ) to appropriate nearly $5.3 million in state bond funds for salmon restoration.

The vote on Senate Bill SBX2 5 came during the Legislature's special session on water issues.

In November 2006, California voters approved Proposition 84, which included $45 million for coastal salmon and steelhead fishery restoration. The Legislature initially inserted an appropriation of $10.5 million from Prop. 84 in the proposed 2007-2008 state budget for the California Department of Fish & Game's Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP), but the funding was eliminated by the time the final budget package was approved.

Wiggins' bill seeks to appropriate a smaller amount -- $5.3 million -- in Prop. 84 funding for the FRGP, a collaborative effort that focuses on restoring fish habitat with the goal of ensuring the survival and protection of salmon and steelhead trout in coastal areas of California . The program includes coastal salmonid monitoring.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to consider SBX2 5 today.