Yakima Basin recovery board outlines 25 years of local projects and funding to Ellensburg council

Alex Conley, executive director of the Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board, presented to the Ellensburg City Council an overview of the board’s governance, mission and project history.

Conley explained the board was created under an interlocal agreement (ILA) including 18 cities, three counties and the Yakama Nation; it functions as a special district with a nonprofit board of directors that implements the work plan. He described the funding model tied to the state Salmon and Steelhead Recovery Funding Board and noted the board has funded about 181 projects in the basin, totaling approximately $47 million over 25 years, with significant project density around Ellensburg.

Conley described the board’s role in grant solicitation and a technical and citizen-review process, its focus on aquatic species (steelhead, Chinook, coho, bull trout and lamprey), and the challenge of securing monitoring and design funding versus capital funding. He highlighted recent water‑storage and snowpack variability, mixed fish-count trends across species, local floodplain restoration work and site-specific projects (e.g., levee setbacks on Reeser Creek) that intersect with Ellensburg’s watershed and recreation planning.

Councilmembers thanked Conley and noted the Gold Creek project as a successful example of tribal collaboration; Conley offered to provide updated project booklets and to support member cities on funding and technical coordination.