News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2002

ODNR AWARDS MORE THAN $80,000 IN GRANTS
TO 14 WATERSHED PROJECTS

COLUMBUS, OH - The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) recently awarded a total of $81,731 to 14 watershed groups across the state to help increase local participation in special water protection and improvement projects.

The money is part of a $109,571 Clean Water Act grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) designed to offer operational support to the state's 23 ODNR/OEPA watershed projects. Project grants were awarded on a competitive basis.

“These grants will aid watershed coordinators in their work of preserving and protecting Ohio's most vital streams and tributaries,” said David Hanselmann, chief of ODNR's Division of Soil & Water Conservation. “They will go a long way in building public ownership of watershed protection across the state.”

The funding will help watershed coordinators with public outreach and participation. It will help create important educational items such as web sites, flyers and display boards. The grant money will also cover printing costs for brochures, maps, watershed inventories and community-created watershed management plans.

Grants to the 14 watershed projects ranged from $1,747 to $10,000 each, depending on the size of the individual requests. Requests for proposals will go out later this spring for the remainder of the grant money.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A LIST OF FUNDED WATERSHED PROJECTS IS BELOW

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For additional news online, check out the ODNR Press Room at Ohiodnr.com

For Further Information Contact:
Rosida Porter, ODNR Soil & Water Conservation
(614) 265-6647
-or-
Jane Beathard, ODNR Media Relations
(614) 265-6860