Padilla Bay Coastal Prairie Restoration

Recipient: Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Project Type: Habitat Restoration

Recommended Funding Amount: $623,315

Congressional District(s): WA-02

Summary: The Padilla Bay Research Reserve will transition 15 acres of old pastures from a species-poor grassland dominated by non-native species to a species-rich native coastal oak prairie habitat that will be protected long-term as part of the reserve. This will be achieved by co-managing with local tribes (the Samish Indian Nation and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community), integrating modern methods with the traditional knowledge that sustained this rare habitat for centuries and will ultimately be key to its resilience to climate change. The intended benefits include increased biodiversity and habitat resilience, increased public awareness and access, increased tribal access to rare and culturally important species, and promotion of traditional ecological knowledge as central to natural resource management in a changing climate.

For more information on the Office for Coastal Management grant program funding this project, please visit the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law webpage.