Washington, DC – The Coalition of Coastal Fisheries has awarded Representative Derek Kilmer the 2019 “Salmon Champion Award” for his efforts to protect salmon populations in the Northwest.

Kilmer, a Member of the House Appropriations Committee, was cited for securing $30 million to implement the newly ratified Pacific Salmon Treaty between the United States and Canada and $25 million to operate a series of hatcheries and fish passages in the Columbia River System.

Kilmer also got a $5 million increase in the Puget Sound Geographic Program, which provides grants to state, local, and tribal governments to implement water quality and habitat projects, and a $100,000 for the Puget Sound National Estuary Program, an EPA water quality program.