SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Feb. 18, 2014 -- Six tribes in California and Arizona as well as four California organizations will soon receive $1,565,140 in 2013 Wetland Program Development Grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct research designed to prevent and eliminate water pollution.
Work under these grants, awarded annually, will range from enhancing computer programs that rapidly assess wetland conditions, to helping tribes develop programs to better monitor and protect their wetlands. Along with the grants, the EPA also announced today that it will begin accepting applications for the 2014 Wetland Program grant cycle.
"Wetlands are key to the vitality of local communities and wildlife. In an era of climate change, healthy wetlands act as natural buffers to floods and sea level rise," said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA's Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. "Continued support for research and projects to improve water resources is critical in the arid West."
First awarded in 1990, EPAs Wetland Program Development Grants provide eligible applicants an opportunity to conduct projects that promote the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution.
EPA will accept applications for the 2014 grant cycle until April 1, 2014. Approximately $1.5 million in federal funding will be available for projects in the Pacific Southwest Region.
List of 2013 Grantees:
· Bishop Paiute Tribe (Bishop, Calif.)
· Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (Rohnert Park, Calif.)
· Pala Tribe (Pala, Calif.)
· Pinoleville Pomo Nation (Mendocino County, Calif.)
· Yurok Tribe (Klamath, Calif.)
· White Mountain Apache Tribe (Whiteriver, Ariz.)
· East Merced Resource Conservation District (Merced, Calif.)
· Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy (West Sacramento, Calif.)
· San Jose University (San Jose, Calif.)
· Aquatic Science Center (Richmond, Calif.)
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