BOISE, ID (AP) – The U.S. government will invest $240 million in salmon and steelhead hatcheries in the PNW to boost declining fish populations and support the treaty-protected fishing rights of Native American tribes.

The departments of Commerce and the Interior said there will be an initial $54 million for hatchery maintenance and modernization made available to 27 tribes.

Jennifer Quan, the regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region, says some of the facilities are on the brink of failure.

She mentioned the Lummi Nation Skookum Hatchery, which is the only hatchery that raises spring Chinook salmon native to the recovery of Puget Sound Chinook Salmon, as a facility in need of repair.

Lisa Wilson, secretary of the Lummi Indian Business Council, thanked everyone involved in securing this historic funding.

She added that salmon are as important as the air they breathe, their health and their way of life.