SUQUAMISH — The Suquamish Tribe could soon remove a culvert that has stymied one of the largest salmon runs in Kitsap County.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency announced this week it is awarding $600,000 to the Suquamish tribe to dig out a culvert on Chico Creek, which opens onto Dyes Inlet.

An estimated 30,000 salmon spawn up the creek each year, according to the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. Salmon have trouble swimming into the culvert at low tide and when water in the creek is running fast and high in the fall.

The Suquamish project will widen the opening to the estuary and allow easier access for fish. The tribe has already poured gravel and deposited tree roots in the creek to slow the flow of water.

The $600,000 grant was among a $30 million package for Puget Sound restoration projects the Enivronmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday in Suquamish.

Other federal grants awarded in Kitsap County included $668,034 to help the Kitsap County Health District improve water quality near shellfish beds and $763,200 for the Kitsap Regional Shoreline Restoration Project. The City of Bremerton will receive $659,477 for work on the Ghorst Creek Watershed.

For more information see http://www.epa.gov/region10/.