In its new budget request to Congress this week, the Obama administration has included some money for Washington and four other Western states to restore salmon habitat. The $65 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund is a lot more than zero, which is what the Bush administration had offered for 2009, but it's only half of what was originally budgeted when the fund was created in 2000.

Glen Spain, northwest regional director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, says thousands of jobs in his industry have already been lost, because fish populations are not recovering quickly enough.

"The West Coast salmon fishing industry is facing potentially a third year of closures - complete closures in California and Oregon, that will also affect Washington. We really need these funds on the ground, right away."

The money is used to match state, local and tribal funds for fish habitat projects, and has been credited with improving almost 4,300 miles of streams in the West. Spain hopes Congress, when it considers the fund, will look at it as a step toward economic recovery.

"The more we have, the more this is an investment in habitat restoration and restored salmon runs, which provide jobs and dollars for all of our local and coastal communities. Right now, when we need it the most, is not the time to be cutting back on those investments."

In 2008, Washington received almost $24 million from the fund. In past years, it has been as much as $34 million. Congress could approve the recommended total, or even increase it. Either way, it is part of the 2011 federal budget, which means the money probably would not be available until October of this year, at the earliest.