NOAA AWARDS MORE THAN $500,000 TO OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE SUPPORTING PACIFIC SALMON TREATY ACTIVITIES

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration granted $529,155 to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to support implementation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The grant will finance state projects that will provide the Pacific Salmon Commission with technical data and analysis. Research will include salmon tagging and tag-recovery programs, as well as counting and sampling of salmon fishery catches and salmon spawning escapements to collect biological information.

“Sustaining healthy salmon populations is a priority for us, and these programs will help to improve our body of scientific knowledge to achieve this goal,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “This grant allows the state of Oregon to manage its coastal salmon resources while actively supporting efforts that reinforce NOAA’s and the Bush Administration’s commitment to the environment.”

Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission to study the Earth’s natural systems in order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect life and property, and provide decision makers with reliable scientific information. NOAA’s goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 34 years.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit: http://www.noaa.gov.