All-new co-designed grant process reflects tribal expertise and priorities
QUINAULT INDIAN RESERVATION, Wash. – The Washington State Department of Commerce awarded $52 million in grant funding to support climate resilience for 28 federally recognized tribes within Washington, as well as four federally recognized tribes with lands within the state. The funding was made possible by Washington’s Climate Commitment Act, and the grant was co-designed with Tribes to ensure funds could be put to their highest and best use.
“This CCA funding will help nearly all of the tribes within Washington prepare for the climate risks ahead,” said Washington Governor Jay Inslee. “Environmental justice is foundational to the CCA and tribes know best how to protect their land and people. I appreciate that Commerce co-designed this grant in a way that honors tribal sovereignty and knowledge.”
“Tribal citizens are crucial, forward-thinking leaders in addressing climate resilience,” Commerce Director Mike Fong said. “These tribal nations are leaders in green energy and economies, which I’ve seen first-hand in my tours across the state. Their perspectives can enrich the shared vision of a clean energy future that will protect our environment while creating good jobs for generations.”
Inslee and Fong traveled to the Quinault Indian Reservation for the announcement on Tuesday.
Commerce consulted with tribes to co-design a strategy to distribute $52 million Climate Commitment Act dollars, which were appropriated by the state Legislature for tribal climate resilience in the 2023-2025 biennium. In response to tribal input, it is being administered as direct appropriations, formula grants, and competitive grant funding.
The latest $13 million competitive round of grant funding was awarded on June 14. It adds to the $25 million in formula grant funding and $14 million in direct appropriations awarded to tribes within Washington during the 2023-2025 biennium for tribal climate resilience.
Climate change affects tribes differently depending on their unique geography, culture and economy. Tribes and Commerce’s Office of Tribal Relations and Growth Management Services Unit intentionally designed this funding to give tribes flexibility to determine the best use to address their climate resiliency needs. Funds can be used for all project stages: planning, feasibility studies, pre-construction and construction costs.
The Quinault Indian Nation is using $13 million in direct appropriations and formula grants for foundational infrastructure as part of their plan to move the two main villages, Taholah and Queets, out of the Olympic Coast’s flooding and tsunami zone. The funding will help build a new Generations Building to house child and elder services; an emergency shelter on safe ground in Queets; and a new water tank and pump house on higher ground in Taholah to serve housing, government buildings, and a relocated public school. The funding will also help further the tribe’s vision for relocation through development of a master plan and architectural drawings for a new museum and cultural center.
“We are incredibly grateful for this funding allowing us to take a big step forward in our mission to get our people, our homes and our critical infrastructure out of harm’s way,” said Quinault Indian Nation President Guy Capoeman. “Funding for a new ‘Generations Building’ is truly a blessing. It will allow us to serve our elders and children, our most precious resource, in a safe space while providing an emergency shelter and operations base when we need to respond to inevitable flooding and other natural disasters that are part of life on the coast.”
Director Fong visited the Quinault Tribe several times recently and saw first-hand the immediate impacts of climate change on the community. He was impressed by the tribe’s perseverance to adapt their entire way of life to benefit future generations.
This and other tribal-specific funding opportunities, in addition to a recently-signed memorandum of understanding establishing formal government-to-government relations with The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, is part of a new era in Commerce’s tribal relations.
Funding for Commerce’s Tribal Climate Resilience Program comes from the Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov.
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