Friends Of The Poudre receives $27,000 Watershed Assistance Grant from River Network.

Congratulations are in order for Gary Kimsey for securing a $27,000 Watershed Assistance Grant from River Network for the Friends Of The Poudre. The purpose of the grant is to help build a coalition of stakeholders in the Cache la Poudre River. The Friends Of The Poudre proposal includes three topics: water quality assessment, an educational series, and staheholder development.

David Lauer will oversee the water quality assessment. Citizen involvement in areas such as sampling and scientific testing will be needed. We'll keep you posted.

The educational series will feature a River Ranger Program this summer. Additionally, the series will raise public awareness of the river and the entire watershed. Gary Kimsey will coordinate this effort.

Tim Johnson will head up the stakeholder development. There are many groups who will benefit from this coalition building.

Look for more information in the future as this exciting grant develops!

Below is the Press Release from River Network. You can learn more about the Watershed Assistance Grant by visiting their website at http://www.rivernetwork.org/wapress.htm

RIVER NETWORK
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 8, 1999

For more information contact:
Kathy Luscher: (503) 241-3506 ext. 16
Thalia Zepatos: (503) 241-3506 ext. 40

Portland, OR. - River Network, a Portland, Oregon-based national river and watershed conservation organization, announced today the list of 22 recipients for $557,000 available through the Watershed Assistance Grant (WAG) program. The WAG program, a pilot project supported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), supports communities as they work to protect and restore their watersheds. Award amounts range from $6,500 to $30,000.

With guidance from a national advisory panel, River Network reviewed over 480 proposals, seeking projects which can demonstrate nationally important lessons associated with group process, formation, organizational structure, and action to protect and restore watersheds.

"The number and quality of the proposals we received was nearly overwhelming," said River Network President, Ken Margolis. "Even before accomplishing anything else, this program has provided a service by making visible a broad cross-section of the exciting, effective partnerships that people are building in the course of working for healthy rivers and watersheds."

Added Kathy Luscher, coordinator of the grants program for River Network, "Nationally, there is very little money available to fund organizational-building processes. Yet, without effective organizations in place, implementation of on-the-ground work becomes exponentially more difficult. EPA should be praised for its commitment to support the development of watershed partnerships."

Collectively, the 22 funded projects represent a geographically balanced mix of diverse, sustainable watershed partnerships utilizing conventional and innovative organizing methods.

Funded projects include:

• The Mississippi River Basin Alliance (MN), which will help communities implement effective nutrient management and watershed planning systems to address the "Dead Zone" at the mouth of the Mississippi through a facilitated consensus-building process of public meetings, workshops and conferences.
• The Rogue Basin Coordinating Council (OR), which will prepare a collaborative assessment of all human-made barriers to anadromous fish passage within the Basin and develop an action plan for barrier removal.
• The Navajo Nation (AZ), which will implement a community program to address the concerns of resource degradation and develop best management practices.

The remaining 19 awardees are:

• Alabama Rivers Alliance, AL
• Cabinet Resource Group, MT
• Charles River Watershed Association, MA
• City of Alpine, TX
• City Parks Foundation/Partnership for Parks, NY
• ClearWater Conservancy, PA
• Colorado Acequia Association, CO
• Cook Inlet Keeper, AK
• Friends of the Poudre, CO
• Huron River Watershed Council, MI
• Native Village of Kwinhagak, AK
• Natural Resources Council of Maine, ME
• Plumas Corporation, CA
• Pure Water for Kansas, KS
• Resource Conservation and Development for Northeast Iowa, IA
• Ruidoso River Association, Inc., NM
• Shenandoah Valley Pure Water 2000 Forum, VA
• St. Louis River Citizens Action Committee, MN
• Tennessee Clean Water Network, TN

River Network is dedicated to helping people protect and restore rivers and watersheds. River Network supports river and watershed advocates at the local, state, and regional levels, helps them build effective organizations and promotes and national movement for rivers and watersheds. River Network also acquires and conserves riverlands that are critical to the services that rivers perform for human communities: drinking water supply, floodplain management, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation and open space.

Announced by President Clinton and Vice President Gore in February, 1998, The Clean Water Action Plan (http://www.cleanwater.gov/) will protect public health and restore our nation's waterways by setting strong goals and providing states, communities, farmers, and landowners the tools and resources to meet them. It emphasizes collaborative strategies built around watersheds and the communities they sustain. The Watershed Assistance Grants, a key action under the Clean Water Action Plan, promote and support joint efforts among states, tribes, local communities, and stakeholders in local watersheds. EPA believes that watershed management works best when the programs and authorities of the public sector are enhanced and guided by the active involvement of local citizens and organizations interested in protecting the quality of waters where they live. These efforts can be dramatically enhanced by a small amount of grant assistance.