Swinomish awarded two climate change adaption grants

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is one of a dozen tribes in the state to receive grants addressing the impacts of climate change, awards funded by federal infrastructure legislation passed earlier this year, U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell announced Nov. 3. Ten tribes and two tribal organizations in Washington state have been awarded grants from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Branch of Tribal Climate Resilience.

The grant funding will help combat the disproportionate impact of climate change on tribal communities, Murray and Cantwell said in a joint statement. They took lead roles in negotiating passage of the infrastructure law.

A total of 21 grants totaling $10,767,838 were awarded. Funding will aid tribes with ocean and coastal planning, relocation and climate adaption planning that protect tribal lands and waterways.

The two Swinomish grants total $302,834, one for planning and the other to increase access to and yield of huckleberries in an area of traditional gathering.

A $239,542 grant will fund a Swinomish integrated natural resources strategic climate policy and resilience plan and integrated natural resources climate resilience strategic plan.

A $63,292 award will facilitate development of new trails and enhancement of existing ones intended to allow more community members – especially children and elders – into Swinomish huckleberry patches.

Swinomish leadership has since 2007 advocated taking action to mitigate climate change. The tribal senate has emphasized engagement in climate change adaption planning across Swinomish departments and agencies. The Tribe has linked storm surges, flooding, erosion and various impacts to tribal fisheries resources to climate change.

“The Swinomish Tribe will continue its leadership to prioritize climate adaption action and ensure we are prepared to support and protect our people, our waters, our natural and cultural resources and our way of life for the next seven generations,” Swinomish Tribal Senate Chair Steve Edwards said in a statement posted on the tribe’s climate change initiative webpage.

The $10 million-plus federal investment will help Swinomish and other tribes reduce impacts of sea level rise, drought and other climate-related threats to their communities and way of life.

“From devastating wildfires to road-buckling heat, climate change is real in Washington state and it’s having a disproportionate impact on our tribes,” said Murray. “That’s why I fought hard to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest ever climate investment in American history, and it’s why I fought to bolster our climate resiliency – and get resources to communities bearing the biggest burden of climate disasters – via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”

Cantwell said Washington tribes are in the eye of the climate change storm.

“Some tribes,” she said, “need to relocate buildings and homes now because of sea-level rise and the threat of tsunamis. Others are working to protect salmon and critical fisheries from warming water temperatures and drought, while other tribes are simply trying to find ways to adapt to their changing lands and waters.”

The grants come from a $45 million program supported by $20 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $25 million from fiscal year 2022 annual appropriations.