Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 26, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Gov. Gary Locke Announces Nominations for Watershed Project Grants

Gov. Gary Locke today announced the nomination of six projects for funding under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Watershed Initiative Program.

The Governor’s Office worked closely with the state Department of Ecology and various tribes to determine the best projects to submit to the EPA for consideration. The six projects include:

Nisqually River Watershed (Proposal from the Nisqually Tribe);
Dungeness River Watershed (Proposal from the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe);
Skagit River Watershed (Joint proposal with Skagit River Cooperative);
Nooksack River Watershed (Joint proposal with the Nooksack Tribe and the Lummi Nation);
Hood Canal-Union River Watershed (Joint proposal with the Skokomish Tribe);
Walla Walla Watershed (Joint proposal with the state of Oregon).

“I applaud the cooperative effort between the state and the tribes to develop this impressive list of projects,” Locke said. “Each of these projects represents an important effort to sustain or restore vital watersheds.”

Each year, the EPA solicits nominations from the nation’s governors for watershed projects to be considered for funding under the EPA Watershed Initiative program. Each governor is allowed to nominate two watershed projects, an unlimited number of joint governor/tribal watersheds, and an unlimited number of multi-jurisdictional watersheds for consideration. Last year, a joint Washington/Oregon nomination – the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership – won an EPA Watershed Initiative grant in the amount of $700,000.

“I am pleased that the governor has chosen to support these innovative, comprehensive and collaborative approaches to protecting and restoring our watersheds,” said Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. “I believe our submission will be highly competitive.”

It will be several months before the EPA makes its decision on which projects will receive funding.

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