Grant money headed to WA climate solutions

SEATTLE - The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has announced $5 million in grant funding for six projects across the Pacific Northwest aimed at natural climate solutions.

The grants are targeted at projects that can improve forests, wetlands, grasslands, oceans and agricultural land.

Nations around the world signed onto the Paris Climate Accords with a goal of limiting global warming below 2° C above pre-industrial levels. According to researchers, natural climate solutions can provide up to 37-percent of the cost-effective global CO2 mitigation needed to meet those goals.

The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation received over 100 inquiries and 38 proposals for considerations, ultimately six projects were picked. All of the projects are located in the Pacific Northwest, with a majority of the funding being directed to Native American and First Nation partners.

"We know that when traditional knowledge and modern science come together, our greater community can meet the challenges ahead," said W. Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe.

"This funding helps our communities better prepare for the significant environmental challenges we face ahead."

Grants will total approximately $5 million over three years. Projects taking place in Washington will be directed through Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Nisqually Indian Tribe.

One of the most interesting projects involves restoration projects involving beaver habitat. Bonneville Environmental Foundation will direct local nonprofits to support watershed resilience which aids in climate change mitigation.

Restoration projects involving beaver habitat.

In this video from Western Beavers Cooperative a kit learns to groom itself from an older sibling. Restoration of beaver habitats can increase our ability to adapt to floods, droughts and wildfires – beaver ponds and meadows can store large amounts of greenhouse gases that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.

Big picture view:

The following groups will oversee the six projects selected by the foundation for funding:

Bonneville Environmental Foundation: Working with local nonprofits and tribes across Washington and Oregon, this project implements beaver-based restoration projects that support watershed resilience and aids in climate change mitigation, addresses barriers to scale up the work, and advances research and practice on carbon dynamics in beaver habitats.
Coeur d'Alene Tribe: This project restores critically endangered Palouse prairie ecosystem and implements climate-smart agriculture in Idaho and Washington’s Palouse to advance climate change mitigation and culturally meaningful outcomes like tribal food and economic development.
Native Conservancy: This project advances a critical knowledge gap in the climate change mitigation potential of kelp farming by assessing carbon cycling in seaweed and quantifying climate, biodiversity, and economic benefits of Indigenous seaweed farming in Alaska.
Nisqually Indian Tribe: This project implements ecological forestry in the Nisqually Community Forest (near Mt. Rainier in Washington) to accelerate climate change mitigation, local economic opportunities, and ecological co-benefits; and serves as a model for other tribal communities seeking to lead in forest management.
Trout Unlimited: These collaborative projects will implement and test the potential of process-based restoration techniques to increase soil carbon capture and enhance wildfire resistance and resilience by restoring 150 acres of floodplains and riparian ecosystems in Alaska and 26 miles of tributary streams and floodplains in Oregon.
University of British Columbia: Collaborating with four First Nations in British Columbia, this project supports proactive forest stewardship that safely brings Indigenous cultural burning back to the land to meet cultural objectives, reduce wildfire risk, and restore ecosystem health and biodiversity. It will inform ongoing policy updates to laws and regulations in British Columbia that affect forest and fire management.

The Source: Information in this story is from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.