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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Nov. 19, 1999
99-247
Contact: Joye Redfield-Wilder, public information manager, (509) 575-2610
YAKIMA - Seed money to help local residents find water solutions in the Klickitat River watershed will be presented to Klickitat County commissioners during a board meeting slated for 2:30 p.m., Nov. 29, at the courthouse in Goldendale.
The $45,000 grant, awarded by the Washington Department of Ecology, will give residents the opportunity to begin creating a plan for managing ground and surface water supplies as well as restoring habitat and stream flows for fish.
"We're pleased to see that Klickitat County is willing to take the lead in developing a community-based plan for managing its water," said Polly Zehm, regional director for Ecology. "Already, local residents have embarked on a mission to restore salmon to the Klickitat River. Watershed planning is the next natural step for these efforts."
Chinook and chum salmon, steelhead and bull trout are all listed as threatened species in the Lower Columbia River system. Steelhead, bull trout and west-slope cutthroat are also threatened in the Middle Columbia River.
The grant is part of $4.5 million going to 31 communities across the state to support collaborative planning for water needs for people and fish, to reduce water pollution and to protect fish habitat. The state legislature through the Watershed Planning Act of 1998 established a framework for such planning and has provided money to help local groups pay for those efforts.
The county watershed planning unit could be eligible for an additional $200,000 in funding once the initial organizational and scoping phase is complete and planners are ready to move into an assessment phase.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
