Project Grant 02J98701

The Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 awarded Puget Sound Partnership $73.55 million on October 1, 2025, under the National Estuary Program (CFDA 66.456) to implement ecosystem recovery and restoration activities for the Puget Sound estuary through September 30, 2030.

Puget Sound Partnership serves as the lead organization coordinating development and implementation of the Puget Sound Action Agenda—the comprehensive conservation and management plan for the estuary. The award funds activities to co-develop, maintain, and implement the Action Agenda with communities, agencies, tribes, and other stakeholders; support coordinated program and project activities that advance focused implementation to protect and restore ecosystem functions and services; develop and monitor progress measures and indicators; and provide scientific information to decision-makers for incorporation into planning and management documents supporting ecosystem recovery.

Work is performed in Washington State, with administrative oversight in Olympia. The award obligated $73.55 million with a period of performance from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2030.

Puget Sound Partnership distributes funding through multiple sub-recipients. Oregon State University receives funding to provide regional technical support and social science research answering priority needs in Tasks 1 and 2 of the ecosystem recovery science portfolio. University of Washington provides science support for recovery efforts, including advancement of science-based implementation strategies, ecosystem monitoring, and peer review of recovery plans and documents. The State of Washington Department of Ecology coordinates the Northwest Straits Commission and seven Marine Resources Committees (spanning Clallam, Island, Jefferson, Skagit, San Juan, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties) to improve marine water and shoreline health through training, capacity-building, and implementation of the Action Agenda. Additional sub-recipients include Local Integrating Organizations (LIOs) serving watershed-scale recovery coordination across the Puyallup-White River, West Sound Partners for Ecosystem Recovery, Hood Canal, Island County, Whatcom County, Snohomish-Stillaguamish, and Strait Ecosystem Recovery Network regions, as well as the Mid Puget Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group for habitat restoration implementation. These sub-recipients convene tribal and local governments, state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and communities to identify priorities, develop recovery plans, and implement priority actions aligned with local and regional Puget Sound recovery goals.