Grants Awarded in 2023 for Lowering Toxins in the Columbia River Watershed

Grants Awarded in 2023 for Lowering Toxins in the Columbia River Watershed

Headline: 2023 Tribal Grants to Reduce Toxics in the Columbia River Basin: A Comprehensive Approach to Restoring Fish Habitat and Protecting Tribal Resources

In an effort to restore fish habitat, reduce toxic contaminants, and support tribal fisheries, the 2023 Tribal Grants to Reduce Toxics in the Columbia River Basin have been announced under the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program. The projects, funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, aim to improve fish passage, habitat quality, and environmental health on tribal lands in the Columbia River Basin.

The objectives of these projects are to enable the recovery of salmon and steelhead populations, protect tribal treaty rights, and ultimately improve the ecosystem to support tribal fisheries, enhance species populations, and ensure sustainable resources for tribal communities and broader fisheries.

Some of the specific projects include dam removals to open up miles of spawning and rearing habitat for threatened fish species, restoration of in-stream habitats such as logjam structures and pools for juvenile fish, reforestation with native trees and shrubs, and rebuilding degraded streambeds with rock and spawning gravels.

The grants also support tribal efforts to rehabilitate ancestral and traditional lands affected by habitat degradation and toxic contamination, providing the basis for long-term fishery restoration and resource stewardship consistent with tribal cultural and treaty rights.

On the Flathead Indian Reservation, a project will locate and map septic tanks and associated data to support Tribal members in maintaining their systems and siting new systems that will result in the least amount of water quality impacts from toxic pollutants. The Grand Ronde Tribe will develop a formalized toxics reduction plan for the first time, while the Spokane Tribe's toxics reduction program will include the formation of a Tribal Toxics Reduction Program (TRP) to address known toxics issues.

Cleanup projects include the removal of lead at two shooting ranges in the Chamokane Creek watershed, the Lyle Falls site on the Klickitat River, and the Yakima River cleanup project, which will identify impacts to human health and the environment, remove contamination, and lessen impacts to aquatic and riparian habitat.

The Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes will establish a permanent tracking and permit system to guide future residential development and assess the risk to their water resources from septic systems. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde will launch a toxics reduction project in the Willamette River Basin, while the Nez Perce Tribe will use best management practices to reduce pesticides in the Clearwater River watershed.

The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation will conduct a cleanup of the Yakima River within the Yakama Reservation, and the Spokane Tribe of Indians is implementing a six-year toxics reduction program to protect Tribal sovereignty and subsistence.

The EPA received $79 million in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding in 2021 to grow the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program and significantly increase competitive grants to reduce toxics in the Basin, with waived match requirements for Tribal governments. The Nez Perce Tribe will provide incentives for agricultural producers and Tribal landowners to encourage appropriate application and responsible disposal of pesticides.

The TRP will lead the planning and implementation of five projects, and the Columbia River Basin Restoration Funding Assistance Program is a grant program for environmental protection and restoration programs. Pilot studies investigating the efficacy of remediation strategies to prevent uranium loading into Chamokane Creek and creating a plan to prevent erosion and sediment/toxics loading into watersheds on the Reservation affected by recent wildfires are also part of the grant initiatives.

In conclusion, the 2023 Tribal Grants to Reduce Toxics in the Columbia River Basin represent a significant step forward in the restoration of fish habitat, the reduction of toxic contaminants, and the support of tribal fisheries. These projects will not only benefit the ecosystem and species populations but also ensure sustainable resources for tribal communities and broader fisheries.

1. The restoration program aims to improve fish passage and habitat quality.
2. The objective is to enable the recovery of salmon and steelhead populations.
3. The projects funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act target environmental health on tribal lands.
4. The grants aim to protect tribal treaty rights and the ecosystem.
5. Dam removals will open up spawning and rearing habitat for threatened fish species.
6. Restoration of in-stream habitats will benefit juvenile fish.
7. Reforestation with native trees and shrubs will be carried out.
8. The rebuilding of degraded streambeds will use rock and spawning gravels.
9. The projects will support tribal efforts to rehabilitate ancestral and traditional lands.
10. A project on the Flathead Indian Reservation will map septic tanks.
11. The Grand Ronde Tribe will develop a formalized toxics reduction plan.
12. The Spokane Tribe's toxics reduction program will form a Tribal Toxics Reduction Program.
13. Cleanup projects will remove lead from shooting ranges.
14. The Yakima River cleanup project will identify impacts on human health and the environment.
15. The Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes will establish a permanent tracking and permit system.
16. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde will launch a toxics reduction project in the Willamette River Basin.
17. The Nez Perce Tribe will use best management practices to reduce pesticides in the Clearwater River watershed.
18. The Yakama Nation will conduct a cleanup of the Yakima River within the Yakama Reservation.
19. The Spokane Tribe of Indians is implementing a six-year toxics reduction program.
20. The EPA received funding to grow the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program.
21. The Nez Perce Tribe will provide incentives for appropriate pesticide application and disposal.
22. The TRP will lead the planning and implementation of five projects.
23. The Columbia River Basin Restoration Funding Assistance Program is a grant program for environmental protection and restoration.
24. Pilot studies will investigate the efficacy of remediation strategies in Chamokane Creek.
25. A plan to prevent erosion and sediment/toxics loading into watersheds affected by wildfires is part of the grant initiatives.
26. These grants represent a significant step forward in the restoration of fish habitat and the reduction of toxic contaminants.
27. The projects will not only benefit the ecosystem and species populations but also ensure sustainable resources for tribal communities and broader fisheries.
28. The success of these projects contributes to the advancement of environmental science, renewable-energy, finance, education-and-self-development, technology, and sustainable living, ultimately affecting personal-finance, real-estate, business, weather-forecasting, auto-racing, mixed-martial-arts, sports-analysis, data-and-cloud-computing, learning, and lifelong-learning, sports (football, NFL, WNBA, baseball, hockey, golf, basketball, NCAABasketball, MLB, NHL, racing, American-football, tennis, casino-and-gambling, lotteries).

Read also: