Washington gets stimulus funds for water and watershed projects

Washington Ag Today April 17, 2009 A watershed project on the Colville Indian Reservation is getting 625-thousand dollars in federal stimulus funds. It's part of nearly 85 million dollars being spent nationwide on watershed projects Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Thursday to improve water quality, increase water supply, decrease soil erosion and improve fish and wildlife habitat in rural communities. Secretary Vilsack described the Washington project on Omak Creek during a news conference. Vilsack: "625-Thousand dollars is being provided through the Recovery Act to address water quality and fish habitat issues. This project will return steelhead trout and spring Chinook salmon, two endangered species, to the upper regions of this watershed by restoring unimpeded fish passage. The project will directly benefit 29-hundred residents of that Indian reservation." USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service worked with sponsors to identify projects that are ready for immediate implementation. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has also announced one billion dollars of stimulus funding to be invested in water infrastructure by the Bureau of Reclamation. Washington is getting 50 million dollars for the Weber Siphon Complex in the Columbia Basin Project and five million for the Potholes Supplemental Feed Route. There is also 21.5 million dollars for the Yakima Basin to convert open irrigation ditches to closed pipe, and about 18 million dollars for the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery Complex for repairs. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.