Lead Entity Chelan County

Chelan County staff facilitated and attended the Wenatchee and Entiat watershed planning meetings to help project sponsors plan, coordinate, seek funding, and develop high priority salmon recovery projects. The Chelan County lead entity coordinator also helped sponsors work with the regional technical review team and State review panel to develop, revise, and implement technically sound projects consistent with the recovery plan. The lead entity maintained a Citizen Advisory Committee who reviewed and ranked projects in the 2009 and 2010 grant cycles to ensure these projects proposed are supported by the community. The lead entity worked with the Upper Columbia Region staff to develop a process guide that describes the grant round process. The lead entity also provided training to sponsors on how to use databases such as PRISM and Habitat Work Schedule to apply for grants and provide public information about projects. The lead entity worked with stakeholders and partners on education and outreach about watershed health and salmon recovery. Specifically, the lead entity has been hosting and attending outreach events and community meetings to spread the word in support of salmon recovery. The lead entity also developed a video and web site for communication with the public about salmon recovery planning and project implementation. The web site address is
http://www.co.chelan.wa.us/nr/default.asp

With support and direction from the Legislature, Washington State developed the Statewide Strategy to Recover Salmon. Its goal statement is “Restore salmon, steelhead, and trout populations to healthy and harvestable levels and improve the habitats on which fish rely.” Recognizing that a strong watershed-based locally implemented plan is essential for local, regional, and statewide salmon recovery and that habitat restoration is a vital component of salmon recovery efforts, the Legislature developed a framework for the creation of lead entities.



A lead entity’s primary purpose is to establish a citizen committee to compile a list of habitat projects, establish priorities for individual projects, define the sequence for project implementation, and submit these activities to the Salmon Recovery Funding Board as the habitat project list. By providing a citizen-based evaluation of the projects proposed to promote salmon habitat, the lead entity builds community support for salmon recovery while improving the habitat our salmon rely on.