COLUMBUS, OH - The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has awarded more than $145,000 in grants to four watershed groups to help them support local stream and river protection.
Each grantee could receive a maximum of $40,000 this year, part of $4 million allocated to fund watershed coordinator positions throughout the state over a six-year period.
Local watershed groups play an essential role in protecting our water resources and sustaining long-term efforts to improve Ohio's lakes, rivers and streams, said Sam Speck, director of ODNR. This round of grants will allow these local organizations to strengthen their focus on watershed stewardship.
As a funding requirement, each grant recipient must provide in-kind services such as office space, office equipment and transportation for the watershed coordinator it hires.
The following is a list of the four watershed projects that received new funds in the 2001 round of grants:
- The Washington Soil & Water Conservation District in Marietta was offered $25,202 to support a watershed coordinator for Duck Creek. Local governments in Noble and Washington counties are working with a citizen's group, "Keepers of the Duck Creek," to create a community-supported watershed plan. Duck Creek feeds both Wolf Run and Caldwell Lake in the region, both of which are primary water sources for the Village of Caldwell and other area communities.
- The Northeast Ohio Four County Regional Planning and Development Organization (NEFCO) received $40,000 to support a watershed coordinator for the Upper Tuscarawas River watershed which includes Chippewa and Nimishillen creeks. Portions of this watershed lie in Medina, Summit, Portage, Stark and Wayne counties.
- The Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) received $40,000 to continue a successful remedial action plan for the Maumee River. The Maumee Remedial Action Plan lost federal funding earlier this year. The ODNR grant will supplement donations from local governments and businesses in the Toledo area to fund a full-time watershed coordinator for the river.
- Rural Action, Inc., which serves the Appalachian foothills of southeastern Ohio, received $40,000 to host a coordinator for the Sunday Creek watershed which lies in portions of Perry, Morgan and Athens counties. The coordinator, Jennifer Shimala, began watershed planning for the area last year under a federal Clean Water Act grant. The new grant money will allow her to continue in the role, addressing acid mine drainage due to abandoned coal mines and other negative impacts on Sunday Creek.
Grant funding will come from ODNR's Divisions of Mineral Resources Management and Soil & Water Conservation, as well as the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA).
For Further Information Contact:
Rosida Porter, ODNR Soil & Water Conservation
(614) 265-6647
-or-
Jane Beathard, ODNR Media Relations
(614) 265-6860