[Comm-Council] FW: NEWS RELEASE: Governor Kulongoski Awards more than $280, 000 in Environmental Grants

Tue Apr 29 14:43:13 PDT 2008

Lonn Hoklin

Public Affairs Manager

Oregon Department of Administrative Services

503.378.2627

503.428.2169 (cell)

________________________________

From: GOVERNORS Press * Governor's Office
[mailto:Governors.Press at state.or.us] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 2:35 PM
Subject: NEWS RELEASE: Governor Kulongoski Awards more than $280,000 in
Environmental Grants

Theodore R. Kulongoski

          Governor

NEWS RELEASE

April 29, 2008

Contacts:          Krystyna Wolniakowski, National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation, 503-702-0245

                        Joan Jewett, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
503-231-6120

                        Dwight Holton, U.S. Attorney's Office,
503-727-1128

Rem Nivens, Governor's Office, 503-378-6496

Governor Kulongoski awards more than $280,000 in environmental grants 

Governor announces third round of Governor's Fund for the Environment
awards 

(Portland)- Governor Ted Kulongoski today awarded seven Oregon
Governor's Fund for the Environment grants during a ceremony in
Portland. These grants will aid farmers, vintners, students, local
governments, and landowners in being stewards of our natural resources. 

Established in April 2005 with a court-ordered settlement in a criminal
pollution case, the Governor's Fund for the Environment is administered
by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. Governor Kulongoski and U.S. Attorney Karin Immergut
created the Fund with the goal of establishing a sustainable revenue
source that is dedicated to local environmental clean up and restoration
efforts focused on preserving and protecting Oregon's rivers, watersheds
and fish and wildlife.  The grant amounts vary each year based on the
interest earned on the principal and new funds deposited through
criminal fines and additional private and public donations.

"This fund continues to provide important resources for projects that
restore habitats, improve water quality, and enhance wildlife and
watershed functions," said Governor Kulongoski. "With continued
investment in the Willamette Basin, we can build on past restoration
work towards our goal of a clean and healthy basin that will benefit all
Oregonians."

"We continue to be committed to making polluters pay for the harm that
they cause," stated U.S. Attorney Karin Immergut.  "Through our
partnership with the Governor's Fund, polluters who are convicted of
criminal activity will pay to protect Oregon's rivers, streams and
habitat."

 "These grants will restore streambeds throughout the Willamette Basin,
improve water quality for people and wildlife, and provide a better home
for several threatened and endangered species of fish, plants and
wildlife," said Foundation Executive Director Jeff Trandahl.  "By
gaining landowner cooperation in improving fish and wildlife habitat,
we're creating win-win solutions that will have lasting benefits for
people and the natural resources we cherish." 

"Natural resources in the Willamette Valley will benefit greatly from
the wisdom shared by Governor Kulongoski and U.S. Attorney Karin
Immergut," said Ren Lohoefener, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's Pacific Region. "The selection of this year's grants truly
reflects the partnership aspect of the Fund. It is only through working
together that we will improve the health of aquatic and wildlife
habitats and the species that live in them."

Governor Kulongoski and Ms. Immergut created the Governor's Fund for the
Environment in 2005. Since then, polluters have been ordered to pay more
than $4.2 million to the Fund as part of community service sought by the
U.S. Attorney in criminal cases.  Earlier today, the U.S. Attorney
announced the most recent payment, stemming from the largest vessel
pollution case in Pacific Northwest history.  

This year's seven successful grant recipients, chosen from among 31
applicants, proposed projects that will identify and reduce pollution as
well as restore and conserve fish, wildlife and plant resources and help
enhance the quality of Oregon streams and habitats in the Willamette
Basin. The grants range from $26,500 to $50,000, and total $283,548,
with an additional $503,700 from matching funds and in-kind
contributions.

The 2008 recipients of the Oregon Governor's Fund for the Environments
grants are:

Lane Council of Governments:  Grant $49,979; Match $35,510

Project:  Linn Benton Farm Chemical Collection & Disposal

The Lane Council of Governments will protect ground and surface water by
safely disposing of old agricultural chemicals located in Linn and
Benton Counties. The project will create a collaboration of existing
partnerships that will work with growers on collection and disposal of
illegal and undesirable chemicals that, if released by flood or
accidental release, would be hazardous to ground, surface, and drinking
water in the Willamette River Basin.  Studies by Oregon State University
(OSU) have indicated that thousands of gallons of obsolete chemicals
still exist on farms, and many growers either do not know how to
properly dispose of them or are unable to pay the costs associated with
disposal.  The Lane Council of Governments will work with these growers
to dispose of harmful chemicals and eliminate associated risks to ground
and surface water and residents of the Willamette Valley.  Project
partners include OSU Extension, Allied Waste, Coffin Butte, various Soil
and Water Conservation Districts and Watershed Councils, and the Oregon
Department of Environmental Quality.

Salmon-Safe Inc.:  Grant $26,500; Match $43,050

Project:  Salmon-Safe Willamette 2008

Salmon-Safe will expand its pioneering partnership with the wine
industry to further engage 150 Willamette Valley vineyards in protecting
water quality and biodiversity while building markets for ecologically
sustainable Oregon wine.  The Willamette Valley is the heart of Oregon's
wine industry, home to more than half of the state's 400 vineyards.
Located on steep hillsides above the Yamhill River and other
tributaries, the valley's wine grape industry presents a major
opportunity to reduce run-off impacting imperiled salmon throughout the
Willamette Basin, where six runs of native salmon are threatened or
endangered.  This project seeks to extend Salmon-Safe certification to
an additional 35 vineyards, working with vineyard managers to reduce
run-off, protect existing non-farmed wildlife habitat, and cultivate
ecological compensation areas to enhance native biodiversity, protect
sensitive native oak woodlands, and reduce or eliminate pesticide use.
Project partners include Oregon State University, Washington State
University, University of Washington, NOAA Fisheries, Environmental
Protection Agency, and the Fish and Wildlife Service.

City of Tangent, Oregon:  Grant $50,000; Match $12,500

Project:  Tangent Stormwater Master Drainage Plan

The City of Tangent, Oregon will perform hydrological engineering and
biological assessment and planning that will preserve, restore, and
protect natural waterways, riparian areas, and habitat within Tangent
City Limits and downstream.  A significant portion of the Lower
Calapooia drainage flows through the City of Tangent into the Lake Creek
tributary, a home to ESA listed spring Chinook and winter steelhead
species.  To provide these fish with a hospitable environment in the
lower watershed, Tangent must protect the water it receives from the
middle and upper Calapooia watershed and properly manage discharges into
Lake Creek, Oak Creek, and the Calapooia.  With this funding, the City
of Tangent will be able to update and augment its Drainage and
Stormwater Management Plan to address environmental and conservation
issues, as well as define ecologically significant lands, former and
existing wetlands, and other areas in need of protection and
restoration.  Project partners include Tangent City Council, Linn County
Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Calapooia Watershed
Council.

McKenzie Watershed Council:  Grant $40,370; Match $261,710

Project:  Camp Creek Basin Study

The McKenzie Watershed Council will implement a watershed monitoring and
restoration program using high school students to examine water quality
and riparian conditions and develop restoration projects based upon
monitoring data.  Current and historical human activities have altered
aquatic and riparian habitat in the Camp Creek basin.  Timber harvest
activities, road building, rural growth, agricultural development, and
other human settlement related uses have all affected water quality and
fish and wildlife habitat in the basin.  The objective of the Camp Creek
basin study is to implement a long-term monitoring program involving
high school students who will examine the relationship between regional
land use patterns and water quality.  The study's short-term goal is to
collect 2-3 years of baseline habitat and water quality data that will
be used to identify restoration sites and develop remediation plans.
The long-term goal is to improve water quality and fish and wildlife
habitat in the Camp Creek basin and McKenzie River watershed.  The
watershed level design of the project will help to effect these
long-term changes on a large scale.  Partners include Springfield Public
Schools and Thurston High School.  

Long Tom Watershed Council:  Grant $43,424; Match $12,950

Project:  Coyote Creek Community-Based Restoration and Recovery

The Long Tom Watershed Council will provide education and technical
assistance to landowners to develop restoration projects that address
critical water quality and habitat issues in Oregon's Coyote Creek sub
watershed, a key native species recovery area.  This project addresses
the need for landowner education and engagement, as well as the specific
design of restoration projects and management actions, in the Coyote
Creek sub watershed of the Upper Willamette Basin. The Long Tom
Watershed Council will provide education and technical assistance to
landowners to design projects and enroll in incentive programs that
address critical water quality and habitat impairments. The vast
majority of land in the area is privately owned, and habitat-friendly
management of land and water is a necessity in order to recover stream
health and protect sensitive, threatened and endangered species in
wetland, prairie and oak savanna habitats. Therefore, private landowner
stewardship action is crucial to ecological recovery.  Project partners
include the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, City
of Eugene, Oregon Youth Conservation Corps, McKenzie River Trust, and
the Nature Conservancy.

The Nature Conservancy:  Grant $29,185; Match $38,480

Project:  McKenzie River Flow Restoration

The Nature Conservancy will identify natural flow regimes and reoperate
dams on the Willamette and McKenzie Rivers to restore aquatic and
terrestrial habitat for Chinook salmon, cutthroat trout, bull trout, and
Oregon chub.  In addition to these fish species, the Willamette River
Basin's wetlands and floodplains support other imperiled species such as
the western pond turtle and the Fender's blue butterfly.  With a view
towards benefitting the important aquatic species of the basin, this
project will create a stakeholder information and participation process
for the development of natural flow targets for the McKenzie River that
will better meet the ecological and water quality objectives of the
region.  Implementation of initial flow releases from the Corps of
Engineers dams on the Coast Fork and Middle Fork of the Willamette
River, and the Corps of Engineers and Eugene Water and Electric Board
dams on the McKenzie River will enhance critical habitat through
improved water quality and river dynamics.  

North Santiam Watershed Council:  Grant $44,000; Match $99,500

Project:  Santiam Tributary Landowner Restoration Planning

The North Santiam Watershed Council will assist landowners in restoring
two Santiam Basin tributaries by providing outreach, technical
assistance, and design consultation. Restoration projects on two creeks,
Stout Creek and Crabtree Creek, will restore riparian habitat through
erosion control, placement of large woody debris, and native plantings.
The limiting factors existing for both creeks include erosion, lack of
habitat complexity due to lack of large woody debris and channelization,
lack of shade, and noxious weeds.  A total of 4 stream miles stretching
through the properties of 10 landowners will be evaluated by qualified
contractors who will plan restoration projects preventing erosion,
planting native vegetation, and reconnecting side channels.  Project
partners include Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Forest
Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resource Conservation
Service, and Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

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