NOAA 2000-155
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kate Naughten
11/20/00

NOAA ANNOUNCES SOUTHWEST HABITAT RESTORATION GRANTS FOR 2000

NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service awarded $270,500 worth of grants for eight community level habitat restoration projects designed to improve a variety of marine habitats important to fisheries in the Southwest.

"Every year since 1996 NOAA Fisheries has been able to maximize the impact of its Community-Based Restoration Program funding by partnering with local organizations and state agencies across the nation. These public-private partnerships are essential to our mission, and the communities that get behind them are some of our most important allies in the restoration of marine habitats," said NOAA Fisheries Director Penny Dalton.

The grants were awarded directly through NOAA Fisheries' Community-Based Restoration Program. Staff from the NOAA Restoration Center, NOAA Fisheries Science Centers and regional staff work closely with communities to aid in project development and implementation. In turn, the projects are monitored and maintained by communities, promoting stewardship and a heightened appreciation for the environment and its well-being.

California

  • NOAA awarded a $15,771 grant to the Round Valley County Water District for a fencing and riparian project in Mendocino County. The major goals are to stabilize stream-banks, restore riparian vegetation and to eliminate current livestock pressures on critical streambanks in Turner Creek, an important migration route for adult steelhead and juvenile chinook salmon.
  • NOAA awarded a $60,000 grant to the Family Water Alliance for their Sacramento River Fish Screen Program in Sutter County. The goal is to increase the survivorship of juvenile salmon and steelhead by installing low-cost, state-of-the-art, self-cleaning fish screens on the river's agricultural water diversions.
  • NOAA awarded a $27,796 grant to the E Center's Mendocino Fisheries Program in Mendocino County. The goal is to improve fish passage for migratory fish, including steelhead, to the upper reach of Orr's Creek, an important tributary to the Russian River.

Texas

  • NOAA awarded a $40,000 grant to Scenic Galveston, Inc., in Galveston County. The project will replace about 6.5 acres of filled upland and surrounding shallow open water with new planted wetlands and reef habitat as part of Scenic Galveston's larger restoration work in the Galveston Bay estuary.

The NOAA Community-Based Restoration Program has been working with community organizations since 1996 to support effective habitat restoration projects in marine, estuarine and riparian areas across the nation. To date, 166 projects in 24 states have been implemented using NOAA funding and leveraged funding from five major restoration partners, including the American Sportfishing Association's FishAmerica Foundation, Restore America's Estuaries, the Five Star Restoration Challenge Grant Program, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the National Fisheries Institute.