The Russell Family Foundation in Gig Harbor, Washington, has announced a two-year, $3 million grant in support of a campaign to conserve and restore the Puget Sound shoreline, the Tacoma News Tribune reports.

The grant from the foundation will kick off an $80 million effort by People for Puget Sound, the Nature Conservancy, and the Trust for Public Land to secure public and private funds for the creation of ten new parks and natural areas along the sound's shoreline over the next three years. The $80 million is just the initial investment in what the organizations hopes will be multi-billion-dollar, decade-long effort.

According to campaign organizers, less than 10 percent of the sound's shoreline is publicly accessible, while at least a third has been altered by development. "Saving the shoreline is necessary to saving the entire sound," said People for Puget Sound executive director Kathy Fletcher.