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Governors report outcome of joint meeting

For Immediate Release: April 28, 2005

OLYMPIA � April 28, 2005 � Governors Christine Gregoire of Washington, Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho, Ted Kulongoski of Oregon and Brian Schweitzer of Montana today outlined what came out of their joint meeting in Spokane Wednesday. They met for five hours at the Spokane Convention Center to share information about each state�s drought-response and fire-preparedness plans. They also discussed critical issues in the management of the Columbia River system.

Gov. Gregoire called the meeting, saying, �All four states will be dealing with issues of drought, fires and management of the Columbia River. Since weather knows no borders, we all came together to deal with these issues collectively from a regional perspective.�

The governors agreed to:

  • Prepare a letter in support of the National Drought Preparedness Act. This act will help the four states be better prepared for future droughts.

  • Prepare a letter in support of the extension of the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act. This act allows the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to share their water supplies during drought.

  • Prepare a letter notifying the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture of the Northwest states� interest in being eligible for funding under the Agricultural Assistance Act. This will help the states secure funding for farms affected by drought.

  • Work with farmers on the importance of keeping records to ensure that they qualify for potential federal funding and ensure that information on the impacts of the drought is consistent and coordinated across the four states.

  • Prepare a letter to request restoration of federal assistance funds for state and community firefighting programs.

  • Prepare a letter asking for federal action to restore federal firefighting air tankers. These planes are critical when fighting large, complex fires.

  • Seek clarification over states� authority to move rapidly to fight fires on federal lands. This will allow the states to rapidly respond to small fires before they spread.

  • Continue to work together on salmon recovery. The governors support the states� ongoing discussions with federal agencies on a long-term plan to operate the federal Columbia Basin dams for salmon recovery.