Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment Awards More Than $480,000 in Grants, Announces New Grants Available For 2012 Restoration Projects

PORTLAND, Ore. – On Thursday, August 25th in Portland, Oregon, Governor John Kitzhaber will award $481,690 in thirteen grants to aid farmers, landowners, and local governments for being stewards of our natural resources.

The grants are funded by the Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment, which is supported by pollution penalties. Since its inception in 2005, polluters have been ordered to pay nearly $5 million into the fund.

The news media are invited to attend the ceremony at 1:30 PM in the Flags Room at the World Trade Center located at 121 SW Salmon St, 2WTC, Portland, OR 97204.

“Oregon is renowned for its environmental leadership and stewardship. This fund enables us to advance those values with grants that create good jobs for Oregonians within a green economy,” said Governor Kitzhaber. “This year, we have expanded the grants beyond the Willamette Basin, helping more communities across the state create jobs that will promote the health of our watersheds, fish, and wildlife—and protect the Oregon we are proud to call home for future generations.”

Former Governor Ted Kulongoski and the United States Attorney’s Office 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. 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. The grant amounts vary each year based on the interest earned on the principal, new funds deposited through criminal fines, and additional private and public donations.

In the past five years, criminals prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon have paid over $6 million to fund local environmental projects as part of their criminal convictions — including nearly $5 million to the Governor’s Fund. With this year’s grants, the Governor’s Fund for the Environment has awarded in total over $2.7 million to 58 projects that have leveraged an additional $6.4 million in matching contributions.
“We must put criminal polluters’ profits to work protecting our natural resources.  The Governor’s Fund is a nationally-recognized model which leverages money from criminal fines to fund millions of dollars in vital environmental projects here in Oregon,” stated U.S. Attorney Dwight C. Holton.

This year’s thirteen successful grant recipients 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, Lower Columbia Basin, John Day Basin, Umatilla/Walla Walla Basin, Deschutes Basin, and the Oregon Coast. The grants range from $10,000 to $50,000, for a total of $481,690, with an additional $920,039 from matching funds and in-kind contributions.

“The goal of these grants is to improve water quality for people and wildlife,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. “The Governor’s Fund awards are creating better habitat for threatened and endangered species, and will have a positive impact on the resources we all cherish.”

“The Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment maximizes the ingenuity of conservation-minded communities, partners, and citizens throughout Oregon,” said Robyn Thorson, Pacific Northwest Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  “This year’s grants again reflect an array of environmental benefits through restoring our great rivers, improving fish passage and municipal water quality systems, and even developing a new Salmon-Safe program for the hops industry.”

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation also today announced the availability of grants through the seventh round of funding through the Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment. Pre-proposals for conservation and restoration projects are due by September 30, 2011.

Those who may apply for grants include non-profit conservation organizations, watershed councils, soil and water conservation districts, tribes, schools, local, state and federal government agencies, and other special districts.

“New project proposals from $10,000 to $50,000 will be considered, with priority given to those that address protection of intact fish habitat on rivers, streams and estuaries where existing salmon strongholds have been identified” said Krystyna Wolniakowski, Director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Western Partnership Office. “Protection of high quality fish habitat is the number one goal of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan and we believe the Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment program can be a leader in this effort.”

Application guidelines are available at www.nfwf.org/orgovfund.

This year’s grant program will award up to $ 300,000 in grants in 2012 for projects that will restore the quality of Oregon’s rivers and associated fish, wildlife, and plants. The people living in or near such habitats are intended to be the beneficiaries of the fund, on behalf of the habitats and their species. Continuing on the progress of the first six years of this grant program, the seventh year of funding will continue to help finance projects that meet the following purposes established in the settlement agreement:

• Develop and implement strategies to eliminate and/or reduce pollution and otherwise restore the quality Oregon rivers, streams and coastal areas;
• Restore and conserve fish, wildlife and plant resources critical to Oregon rivers, streams and coastal areas;
• Identify continuing sources of pollution of Oregon rivers, streams and coastal areas; or
• Improve state and local criminal enforcement of environmental and wildlife protection laws intended to protect Oregon rivers, streams and coastal areas

Pre-proposals should be submitted to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation by September 30, 2011.  Pre-proposals will be evaluated and ranked, and the strongest projects will be invited to submit full proposals due in December 2011.  Full proposal applicants will be notified of grant awards by April 2012, with funds available for projects shortly thereafter. Approved projects should be completed within two years.

Applicants should log onto the Foundation’s Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment program webpage at www.nfwf.org/orgovfund to review proposal criteria and requirements and to submit a pre-proposal.

The 2011 recipients of the Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment grants are:

Mary’s River Watershed Council:  Grant $49,275; Match $187,509
Project:  Shotpouch Creek Floodplain Connection Enhancement
Location:  Shotpouch Creek in the Marys River Watershed, Lincoln County
Mary’s River Watershed Council will address limiting factors for cutthroat trout in Shotpouch Creek by restoring floodplain connectivity and increasing in-stream habitat complexity along 7 miles of stream. The project will install large wood structures at 20 sites and plant live willows to improve cutthroat trout habitat and support beaver dam building activity.

The Nature Conservancy:  Grant $50,000; Match $50,000
Project:  Upper Willamette Floodplain Restoration Design
Location: Middle and Coast Forks of the Willamette River, Lane County
The Nature Conservancy will help to develop potential floodplain restoration projects for up to 11 priority restoration sites in the Upper Willamette Basin, specifically the Lower Coast Fork and Middle Fork Rivers. This project will incorporate these 11 restoration project plans into a formal restoration plan to improve fish and wildlife habitat.

Cascade Pacific Resource Conservation and Development Area, Inc.:  Grant $47,868; Match $15,000
Project:  Recruiting Landowners to Restore and Recover Watersheds
Location:  Streams in the Calapooia and North and South Santiam Watersheds, Willamette Valley
The Cascade Pacific Resource Conservation and Development Area, Inc. will conduct outreach to 60% of the landowners living along Endangered Species Act (ESA) recovery area streams in the Willamette Valley. This project will assist landowners in planning and implementing on-the-ground restoration projects that will benefit Chinook salmon and steelhead.

Salmon-Safe, Inc.:  Grant $32,455; Match $55,200
Project:  Salmon-Safe Willamette 2011
Location:  Agricultural lands in Marion and Polk counties
Salmon-Safe, Inc. will build on its innovative efforts that have transitioned half of Willamette Valley’s hop acreage to Salmon-Safe practices, leveraging their success in transitioning over 200 Willamette vineyards to fish friendly farming practices that protect water quality and native biodiversity. This project will develop a comprehensive new Salmon-Safe program for the Willamette Valley hop industry, with a particular focus on technical assistance to growers to reduce pesticide inputs and protect water quality.

Clean Water Services:  Grant $15,232; Match $30,000
Project:  Ramping up Restoration in Rural Communities
Location:  Upper Klamath Basin in Klamath, Lake, and Jackson Counties
Clean Water Services will assist small municipalities and restoration professionals to access potential water quality markets in the Upper Klamath basin. The project outcomes include cost estimates and feasibility numbers for a water quality trading program in the short-term, and measured reductions in nutrient loads to Upper Klamath Lake and investment from municipalities in the longer term.

West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District: Grant $10,000; Match $19,970
Project:  Sauvie Island Pesticide Collection Event
Location:  Sauvie Island, Multnomah and Columbia Counties
West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and partners will provide a free event for agricultural producers to dispose of old, outdated, or banned pesticides from the Sauvie Island area through a free and anonymous disposal service event. Funds will be used to pay a private disposal company to collect and properly dispose of pesticides collected.

Sandy River Basin Watershed Council:  Grant $50,000; Match $50,000
Project:  Middle Sandy River Restoration Prioritization Phase I
Location:  Sandy River, Multnomah County
The Sandy River Basin Watershed Council will prioritize restoration actions in the Middle Sandy River, linking key areas currently being restored. The project will create “The Prioritization Plan,” which will lead to restoration actions on public and private land to reconnect anchor habitats for ESA listed coho and Chinook salmon throughout the Sandy River basin.

North Fork John Day Watershed Council:  Grant $35,400; Match $91,360
Project:  Fox Creek USACE Channel Restoration
Location:  Fox Creek, tributary to the North Fork John Day River, Grant County
North Fork John Day Watershed Council will work to permanently abandon the US Army Corps of Engineers channel on Fox Creek and redirect all water into the historic, meandering channel. This project will result in improved spawning and rearing habitat for federally threatened summer steelhead and resident redband trout during both high and low flows.

The Freshwater Trust:  Grant $38,000; Match $45,000
Project:  Rudio Creek Watershed Habitat Restoration Plan and Community
Location:  Rudio Creek watershed, Grant County
The Freshwater Trust (TFT) will benefit federally-listed summer steelhead and spring Chinook salmon in the Rudio Creek watershed, located in the John Day River basin, by developing a comprehensive restoration plan and working with local landowners to implement priority restoration actions at the watershed scale. TFT will work with River Design Group to conduct a habitat assessment and identify the site-specific restoration actions necessary to address basin-scale limiting factors.

Tillamook Estuaries Partnership:  Grant $50,000; Match $25,000
Project:  Tillamook Bay Watershed Culvert Prioritization
Location:  Tillamook Bay Watershed, Tillamook and Clatsop Counties
Tillamook Estuaries Partnership will survey stream crossings throughout Tillamook Bay Watershed and collect data to prioritize culverts for replacement based on fish passage and upstream habitats. This project will prioritize crossings for replacement based mainly on their potential to impede fish passage and the quality and quantity of upstream habitats.

Western Rivers Conservancy:  Grant $35,000; Match $35,000
Project:  Lower John Day – Hay Creek Project (OR): Phase II
Location:  Lower John Day River Basin, Sherman and Gilliam Counties
With a 2010 Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment grant (Phase I), Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) restored Critical Habitat and increased channel complexity along Hay Creek for threatened steelhead through riparian planting, exclusion fencing along stream, and invasive species treatment. WRC will build on the success of Phase I by conducting supplemental and new riparian plantings along Hay Creek, reestablishing plant communities on the main stem John Day River, enhancing riparian vegetation near the mouth of Esau Canyon, continuing to address and reduce noxious weeds along Hay Creek, the main stem John Day River, and Esau Canyon.

Umatilla County Soil and Water Conservation District:  Grant $43,460; Match $168,000
Project:  Taylor Birch Creek Fish Passage Restoration Project (OR)
Location:  Birch Creek, Umatilla County
Umatilla County Soil and Water Conservation District will restore three miles of stream connectivity on Birch Creek through the removal of two abandoned irrigation dams currently acting as fish barriers. This will open access for summer steelhead, redband trout, and lamprey to rearing and spawning habitat in the headwaters.

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National Forest Foundation:  Grant $25,000; Match $148,000
Project:  Whychus Creek Streamflow Enhancement Project
Location:  Whychus Creek, Deschutes County
The National Forest Foundation will partner with the Deschutes River Conservancy and private landowners to replace 6,000 feet of the leaky irrigation Hurtley pipeline. This project will restore .25 – .5 cubic feet per second (cfs) in water savings to Whychus Creek, a tributary to the Deschutes River. Permanently returning a minimum of .25 cfs to Whychus Creek will help restore hydrologic and thermal regimes and improve fish habitat and connectivity in the watershed, while enhancing irrigation water management.

A nonprofit established by Congress in 1984, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation sustains, restores and enhances the nation’s fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Since its establishment, the foundation has awarded nearly 11,000 grants to more than 3,800 organizations in the United States and abroad and leveraged – with its partners – nearly $529 million in federal funds into more than $1.8 billion for on-the-ground conservation. For more information, visitwww.nfwf.org.