North Olympic Peninsula Lead Entity

Selinda Barkhuis, Coordinator

sbarkhuis@co.clallam.wa.us

www.NOPLEgroup.org

Clallam County Courthouse

223 E. Fourth Street, # 5

Port Angeles, WA  98362

Phone direct (360) 417-2430

 

                                                                       

Salmon Recovery Newsletter

V2 E2, February 2005

Find electronic versions (with live links) of this and previous Newsletters at http://www.noplegroup.org

 

 

Events   

·   The next SRFB meeting is February 10 and 11 2005 in Olympia.  For agenda and directions, go to http://www.iac.wa.gov/srfb/board/schedules.htm

·   Clallam Conservation District annual native plant sale, selling bare-root seedling trees and shrubs in bundles of 10 of the same species.  http://clallam.scc.wa.gov/plantsale.htm

·   7th Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference is scheduled for Tuesday, March 29, through Thursday, March 31, 2005 at the Washington Convention and Trade Center in Seattle. http://www.engr.washington.edu/epp/psgb/save.html

·   2005 Sustainability and Restoration Regional Conference: A Practical Partnership for the 21st Century, April 4-8, 2005 in Seattle  http://www.engr.washington.edu/epp/ser/index.html

·   2005 Northwest Sustainability Conference, April 22 - 24, 2005 in Seattle http://www.nweec.org/sust-400b_04-05_seattle.htm 

 

Federal & WA State Salmon Recovery News

·   For newspaper coverage on the Shared Strategy Summit of January 26 and 27, check out the following page and scroll down http://www.theolympian.com/home/specialsections/Environment/ as well as http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/209588_salmon27.html

·   NOAA Fisheries proposed Salmon Critical Habitat Designations.  Written comments are due by 5:00pm on February 14th! The following NOAA-Fisheries site has all the pertinent documents: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/1salmon/salmesa/crithab/CHsite.htm.  NOAA Fisheries also has their GIS data in an interactive mapper, which contains maps for the proposed nearshore and watershed critical habitat for both Puget Sound Chinook and Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca / Hood Canal Summer Chum: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/1salmon/salmesa/crithab/gisdata/disclaimer.html Please consider commenting!

 

Olympic Peninsula Salmon Recovery News

·   SRFB funded projects in the NOPLE area from 1999 through 2004 as well as Community Salmon Fund projects, can be viewed on-line at http://noplegroup.org/NOPLE/pages/habitatprojects.htm

·   Sadie Creek in the News: State DNR and Pacific Northwest 4-Wheel Drive Association Sign Adopt-a-Trail Agreement for Sadie Creek 4x4 Trail  http://www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/adm/comm/nr04_118.htm

·   Knotweed slideshow.  Ed Bowen of Lake Ozette has put together an excellent powerpoint entitled “Invasive Knotweed in western Clallam and west slope Jefferson Counties.”  It can be downloaded from http://noplegroup.org/NOPLE/documents/misc/ClJfKntweed.ppt  Please note it is 15 MB!

·   Dungeness in the News: “Rivers End Homes Removed to Help Estuary” http://www.nwifc.org/newsinfo/newsrelsdet.asp?ID=284

·   Find the Shared Strategy feedback to the WRIA 18 chapter of the Shared Strategy Recovery Plan at http://www.sharedsalmonstrategy.org/watersheds/feedback-letters/Elwha.pdf.  For more information, go to http://sharedsalmonstrategy.org/resources.htm#documents

·   Olympic Peninsula Salmon Recovery Information.  The website of the North Olympic Peninsula Lead Entity (NOPLE) contains links to local salmon stock info, local salmon habitat recovery resources, regional salmon recovery efforts, landowner habitat recovery resources, and an interactive map with local SRFB funded salmon habitat recovery projects.  The website is rapidly growing towards its goal of becoming the North Olympic Peninsula clearinghouse for local salmon recovery resources.  Find it at http://www.noplegroup.org

 

More News

·   WDFW is seeking public comments by March 11, 2005 on a draft management framework to guide future acquisitions of land for fish and wildlife habitat and recreation needs. http://wdfw.wa.gov/do/newreal/jan2805b.htm

·   WDFW reminds anglers of retention rules for wild steelhead on Olympic Peninsula   http://wdfw.wa.gov/do/newreal/jan1805a.htm

·   Salmon Restoration Leaders Needed!  A statewide Board is looking for people to provide leadership, direction, and support to the Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group (RFEG) Program at the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. There is one sport position, one commercial, and one at-large position open at present.   These voluntary positions are three of an eight-member Advisory Board that meets quarterly throughout the State to review and approve projects for salmon recovery proposed by the 14 Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups (RFEGs). These positions also review and comment on agency policy toward RFEGs and work to remove impediments and strengthen the Program as a whole. Travel reimbursement and per diem expenses are available, but these positions do not receive direct compensation.  The three-year terms begin March 2005 and expire December 31, 2008.  Persons wishing to be considered should submit a letter of interest and a resume by January 28, 2005 to WDFW, RFEG, Attn:  Dianne Ludwig, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, Washington 98501-1091.  For more info, call Dianne Ludwig at 360/902-2252, or email LUDWIDKL@DFW.WA.GOV

·   Totally unrelated.  Clallam County is now able to access Birth Certificates for people born in Washington State from 1936 to the present, go to www.clallam.net/healthservices.  To apply for someone born in Washington from 1935 and previous, or for someone born outside of Washington, go to http://vitalchek.com  and click on the place of interest.

 

Education and Resources

·   WSU's Forest Stewardship class will be offered in Port Hadlock this spring (WSU Extension Office, Shold Business Building, Spruce Room), Thursday evenings April 7- May 26, 2005. http://ext.nrs.wsu.edu/doc/JeffersonBrochReg.pdf

·   The Low Impact Development Technical Guidance Manual for Puget Sound is now completed. You can download a 4-color version of the manual from the Action Team's web page on low impact development: http://www.psat.wa.gov/Programs/LID.htm. The Puget Sound Action Team and Washington State University (WSU) Extension Pierce County partnered to develop the manual, with significant help from a broad-based advisory committee and additional contributors. The manual is targeted to professionals in the Puget Sound region interested in incorporating Low Impact Development (LID) practices into development projects. This manual is our best thinking to date on this subject; we anticipate updating it periodically as we learn more about LID.  For those who are unfamiliar with LID, it's an environmentally friendly approach to developing land and managing stormwater runoff. Originally developed by Prince Georges County, Maryland and others, many jurisdictions across the country, including several in Puget Sound, are turning to LID techniques to help protect their waters and natural resources. 

·   Environmental Health Lecture Series – Our Health, Our Environment: Making the Link, Sponsored by the Seattle Biotech Legacy Foundation (SBLF) and organized by ICEH, the Environmental Health Lecture Series strives to educate Puget Sound residents about the latest science on environmental health issues and what we can do personally and professionally to protect and sustain human and ecological health in this region.  http://www.iceh.org/CHE-NWlectures.html

·   The State of the Sound 2004 provides an overview of the health of Puget Sound's water, submerged lands, habitats, and species. It documents evidence of continuing poor health in Puget Sound. Declines in salmon, orca, marine birds, and rockfish, closures of shellfish beds, and a growing dead zone in Hood Canal are some of the warning signals that the very best of Puget Sound may be in jeopardy. State of the Sound 2004 also describes some of the work of the Puget Sound Action Team partnership, and work being done by thousands of others, across many walks of life, to protect and restore the Sound. This work is improving water quality and protecting and restoring habitat in many areas of the Sound. The report concludes that the efforts around to protect and restore the Sound are not yet equal to the scale of the problems. It calls for expanding the scale and scope of our efforts. To view the report and a six-page overview, visit http://www.psat.wa.gov

·   nowCOAST is a site designed to improve maritime safety and commerce and to monitor changes in weather, oceanographic and river conditions. It provides real-time coastal observations and NOAA forecasts for major U.S. estuaries and seaports, coastal regions and the Great Lakes.  It also combines hydrological and water quality data from federal, state and educational observing networks on land and water. Users can pinpoint a location, pan out, zoom in or compare information. To try the new service, visit: http://nowcoast.noaa.gov

·   University of Washington college of engineering professional development programs course catalog http://www.engr.washington.edu/epp/cee/

·   Center for Water and Watershed Studies will be presenting their 15th Annual Review of Research, 17 February 2005, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Free and open to general public http://depts.washington.edu/cwws/Outreach/review05.html

 

 

 

Grants

·   For a list of links to Olympic Peninsula landowner salmon habitat recovery resources, go to http://www.noplegroup.org/NOPLE/pages/landownerresources.htm

·   TENTATIVE!!!!   Community Salmon Fund.   The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation received a $1 million grant from the SRFB which they are matching with $1 million of their own to fund 13 or so community salmon fund programs among the 26 lead entities of the State of Washington.  It has not yet been decided which lead entities will be the recipients.  At this time, I merely want to give you heads up that IF the North Olympic Peninsula is selected, a request for RFPs would be forthcoming within a matter of months or perhaps later this year, with criteria that will probably be substantially similar to last year’s program.  For more information, go to http://noplegroup.org/NOPLE/pages/applications.htm

·   2005 SRFB 6th Round.  No word yet on when the 2005 6th Round SRFB Grant Cycle starts up again.  As soon as I know, I will get the word out.  In the meantime, you can check out http://noplegroup.org/NOPLE/pages/applications.htm for more information

·   Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account: grants for volunteers and volunteer organizations to conduct on-the-ground volunteer projects to benefit fish and wildlife in Washington. Individual grants have ranged from $235 to $76,000. In past years, the grants have helped fund support for habitat restoration activities, improvements to access outdoor recreation, and activities to conduct a wide range of natural resource education programs. If interested in applying, send letters of interest to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Attention Cheryl McCartney, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091 or e-mail: ALEA@dfw.wa.gov mailto:ALEA@dfw.wa.gov by Tuesday, February 15, 2005. The due date for complete applications is March 31, 2005. For more information call (360) 902-2700.

·   The Private Stewardship Program provides grants and other assistance on a competitive basis to individuals and groups engaged in local, private, and voluntary conservation efforts that benefit federally listed, proposed, or candidate species, or other at-risk species. About $6.5 million is available FY 2005 through this grant program to support on-the-ground conservation efforts on private lands.  A ten percent (10%) match of cash or through in-kind contributions is required. The program is available to private landowners and their partners. http://endangered.fws.gov/grants/private_stewardship/index.html

·   Native Plant Conservation Initiative.  The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with the Plant Conservation Alliance, is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals for the 2005 Native Plant Conservation Initiative (NPCI). Through this initiative, grants of federal dollars will be provided to non-profit organizations and agencies at all levels of government to promote the conservation of native plants. This Request for Proposals includes two separate grant cycles, with pre-proposal submission dates of Feb 15 and Aug 15, 2005.  http://www.nfwf.org/programs/npci.htm  For additional RFPs in Environment, visit: http://fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_environment.jhtml

·   The FishAmerica Foundation and the NOAA Restoration Center announce the availability of up to $600,000 for hands-on, grassroots projects across the coastal United States to restore marine, estuarine and riparian habitats, including salt marshes, mangrove forests, and freshwater habitats important to anadromous fish species.  Community-based nonprofit organizations, such as local sporting clubs and conservation associations, as well as state and local agencies are encouraged to submit proposals. Projects must result in on-the-ground habitat restoration, clearly demonstrate significant benefits to marine, estuarine or anadromous fisheries resources, particularly sportfish, and must involve community participation through an educational or volunteer component tied to the restoration activities.  Applicants are encouraged to incorporate the participation of NOAA staff to strengthen the development and implementation of sound restoration projects.  Deadline is February 25, 2005.  For more info, go to  http://www.fishamerica.org/faf/ 

·   Five Star Restoration Matching Grants Program.  The National Association of Counties, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Wildlife Habitat Council, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Community-Based Restoration Program within NOAA Fisheries, and other sponsors (e.g., Office of Surface Mining), are pleased to solicit applications for the Five-Star Restoration Matching Grants Program. The Five-Star Restoration Program provides modest financial assistance on a competitive basis to support community-based wetland, riparian, and coastal habitat restoration projects that build diverse partnerships and foster local natural resource stewardship through education, outreach and training activities. In 2004, 50 projects received grants of on average $10,000 out of approximately 180 applications received.  The Five-Star Restoration Matching Grants Program is open to any public or private entity. For more info, including application form, go to http://www.nfwf.org/programs/5star-rfp.htm.  Applications must be postmarked by March 1, 2005. Projects will be evaluated to the extent by which the above guidelines are met. Applicants will be notified of their awards in mid-June.

·   The Family Forest Fish Passage Program provides 75%-100% of the cost of replacing, repairing or removing fish barriers such as culverts, weirs, dams, spillways and other artificial instream structures.  To qualify, you must be a small forest landowner (harvest less than 2 million board feet of timber per year) and have a fish barrier that is on forestland. Application Deadline: June 30, 2005 http://www.dnr.wa.gov/sflo/fffpp/

·   The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program provides up to 75% cost-sharing for such wildlife habitat enhancement projects as: forage enhancement for threatened wildlife species, restablishment of threatened habitat types, wetland and riparian enhancement and others. Application Deadline: Open enrollment http://www.wa.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip/whip.html

·   A good source of relevant grant opportunities will come to your email box via SFLO-mail, the bi-monthly e-mail newsletter produced by the Small Forest Landowner Office.  This newsletter provides up-to-date information relevant to small forest landowners in Washington State.  To subscribe, please send a message to mailto:sflo-mail@wadnr.gov  with the word "subscribe" in the subject box and "your name" and "your e-mail address"
in the message box.

·   For an extensive list of grant programs, go to http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/PI/Fundsrcs.htm#anchor149508

·   For a searchable database of grant programs, check out http://ssrc.boisestate.edu/