Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 17, 2001
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke presents Sammy Awards to Clark County citizens and organizations

VANCOUVER - Gov. Gary Locke today honored eight southwest Washington area residents and organizations with Clark County's first annual Sammy Awards to recognize their efforts to restore wild salmon.

"Saving salmon ultimately does not occur in the hallways of the State Capitol or at your county courthouse or in a judge's chambers," Locke said in a ceremony at the Water Resources Education Center here.

"Saving salmon begins with you, here where you live, where you work, where you play," Locke added.

The recipients of the awards, which are metal fish sculptures, are:

Don Buss (environmental science teacher at Alki Middle School)
Tony Meyer
Barbara Podesta
Bill Dygert
Clark County Homebuilders Association
Clark County Public Utilities
High Valley Homeowners Association
Fish First, a non-profit organization

The governor also called the Lower Columbia region a model for salmon recovery for the rest of the state.

He noted that Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board -- the state's only regional salmon recovery board established by state law -- has brought more than $3.6 million in salmon recovery grants to Clark County. Sponsors have raised another $2 million in matching funds while other salmon habitat projects have received additional funds from federal, state, local and private sources.

"The challenge to recover wild salmon can be daunting. We have to overcome a century of actions that we now know were harmful to fish. When we launched into this venture called salmon recovery we knew it would take years and years. Pausing to celebrate the accomplishments along the way is a critical part of the journey," Locke said.

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Related Links:
- Salmon Recovery Home Page

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