Lead Entities

Lead Entities are local, watershed-based organizations that function to solicit, develop, prioritize, and submit habitat protection and restoration projects for funding to the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB). They consist of:  

• a coordinator (usually a county, conservation district, or tribal staff)
• a committee of local, technical experts
• a committee of local citizens

The technical experts help develop salmon recovery strategies, and identify and prioritize projects.  The citizen committee develops the final, prioritized project lists and through the Washington Coast Sustainable Salmon Partnership, submits it to the SRFB for funding consideration. 

The technical experts and citizens perform complementary roles.  The technical experts are often the most knowledgeable about watersheds, habitat, and fish conditions.  Their expertise helps ensure strategies and projects are based on science.  They also can be the best judges of whether the projects and strategies will technically work. 

Citizen committees help ensure that strategies and projects have community support.  They often are the best judges of community interest in salmon recovery and of how to increase support over time.  The complementary roles of the technical and citizen committees are essential to ensuring the best projects are proposed for salmon recovery.

Lead entities develop local salmon recovery strategies based on science. They then recruit sponsors to propose projects to implement the strategies.

Project sponsors include public or private groups or individuals. Typical sponsors are regional fisheries enhancement groups, cities, counties, tribes, state agencies and conservation districts.

The Washington Coast Sustainable Salmon Partnership

The Washington Coast Sustainable Salmon Partnership is one of seven regional salmon recovery organizations in the state, but unlike the rest of Washington, our salmon runs are relatively strong – and it is vital that we maintain their long-term integrity and productivity.

Our salmon, while healthier and more abundant than the rest of the state, are still at historic lows.  The least expensive and most efficient way to achieve wild salmon recovery is to focus efforts in geographic locations with the least degradation of habitat and the greatest chance for success.

The Washington Coast Sustainable Salmon Partnership was formed by the four coast Lead Entities in 2007 and is organized under an Interlocal agreement between Counties, Cities, Tribes and Ports within the region.

Among our first tasks is to develop a Regional Plan for salmon protection, which will identify common goals, objectives, and strategies for restoration throughout the region.  We are in the early stages of this process and welcome the involvement of all interested parties.  Sign up of for regular updates of the process or contact us directly to learn about how you can become involved.  Your interest is all that is required.