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OWEB Board to consider investing $4 million in the Deschutes community
January 11, 2008
News media contacts:
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Carolyn M. Devine, OWEB Communications Coordinator, (503) 986-0195
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Rick Craiger, OWEB Regional Program Representative, (541) 923-7353
If approved, lottery funds will provide economic benefits and improve water quality while bringing salmon and steelhead to their home waters.
The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) will consider allocating $4 million in funds for the Upper Deschutes Special Investment Partnership (SIP) at meetings January 16 and 17 in Astoria. Held at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, 204 West Marine Drive, Astoria, meetings both days begin at 8 a.m. For more information and the agenda, visit the OWEB Web site at www.oregon.gov/OWEB.
The Upper Deschutes SIP is a large-scale commitment to returning chinook and sockeye salmon and steelhead trout to the Upper Deschutes, Metolius, Whychus and Crooked rivers. Fish already present in these rivers will also benefit from the restored habitat and opened passage-ways. Reflecting a strong partnership between local groups interested in the health of these rivers, the SIP is comprised of a long list of projects including the modification of existing passage barriers, the removal or lowering of levees, habitat restoration projects and land protection agreements. Work will be performed by local contractors, local partner organizations and project managers.
“What makes the SIP different from OWEB's regular grant program partnerships we've had with these groups is how we are all working together to coordinate and prioritize efforts,” states OWEB Regional Program Representative Rick Craiger.
Funding for the Upper Deschutes SIP comes from Oregon State Lottery and will be matched to a large degree by partners who include: Portland General Electric, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, Deschutes River Conservancy, Crooked River Watershed Council, Deschutes Basin Land Trust and others.
Other items on the agenda include a report on the results of fencing to keep livestock away from fragile riversides so that stream banks and vegetation can recover, grant program updates and the election of board chairs.
OWEB is a state agency led by a 17-member citizen board. OWEB provides grants and services to landowners, citizen groups, organizations and agencies working to restore healthy streams, lakes and rivers in Oregon. Funding comes from the Oregon Lottery as a result of a citizen initiative in 1998, sales of salmon license plates, federal salmon funds and other sources.
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