EPA Supports Wetland Programs in Pacific Northwest and Alaska

EPA has awarded nearly $900,000 in grants to strengthen state, tribal and local government capacity in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska to protect and restore wetlands.

These Wetland Program Development Grants provide tribes, interstate agencies and local governments with funding to develop and refine comprehensive state, tribal and local wetlands programs.

“Healthy wetlands provide important benefits including buffering from storms and flooding, filtering stormwater, protecting fish and wildlife habitat and offering recreational enjoyment,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “Wetlands also help our economy because of their key role in fishing, hunting, agriculture, and recreation.”

EPA has awarded funding for 14 projects across the Northwest and Alaska.

Healthy wetlands perform important ecological functions, such as feeding downstream waters, trapping floodwaters, recharging groundwater supplies, removing pollution, and providing habitat for fish and wildlife, said EPA in their release.

The funded grants are:

Alaska

• Sitka Tribe of Alaska – Sitka Tribe of Alaska Wetlands Program Plan Development;
• Alaska Center for Conservation Science – University of Alaska, Anchorage;
• Alaska Department of Natural Resources – Alaska Wetland Collaborative.

Idaho

• Nez Perce Tribe – Wetland Program Plan Development and Adapting a Functional Assessment Tool for Regional and Tribal Use;
• Coeur d’Alene Tribe – Coeur d’Alene Tribe Wetland Program Development: Assessment and Conservation Planning.

Oregon

• Oregon Department of State Lands – Design of a Monitoring Framework and Training for Oregon’s Aquatic Resource Mitigation Program;
• Oregon Department of State Lands – Assessment and Planning Tools: Oregon Aquatic Resources Mitigation Program;
• Lane County Council of Governments – Wetland Planning Tools for Local Resource Managers.

Washington

• Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation – Wetland Program Plan (WPP) Development;
• Washington Department of Natural Resources – Measuring Land Use Impacts to Peatland Hydrology, Water Chemistry, and Vegetation. Implications for Peatland Management, Restoration and Conservation;
• Tulalip Tribes of Washington – 2013 – 2019 Tulalip Wetland Program Plan Update, and Development of Wetland and Riparian Rehabilitation standards;
• Washington Department of Ecology – Washington State Wetlands Classification Training;
• Washington Department of Ecology – Washington State Tool for Online Wetland Rating;
• Snoqualmie Indian Tribe – R10 Tribal Wetland Working Group (TWIG).