Printer
Friendly Version
WYDEN, SMITH GAIN FUNDING APPROVAL
FOR SALMON RECOVERY, OCEAN RESEARCH
Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations will
also assist
Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services
June 24, 2005
Washington, DC – U.S.
Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) today announced
that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved funding
for the Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund and for Oregon State
University (OSU) for oceanic observation research. The funding
approved this week was included in the Senate’s FY 2006
Commerce/Justice/Science (CJS) funding bill; the legislation will
next be considered by the full Senate and then a House-Senate
conference committee, which will direct additional funds to specific
programs across the nation.
“The Federal dollars in
this bill will support important programs that benefit the environment,
the economy and our communities alike,” said Wyden. “The
funding approved for oceanic research is particularly important
and timely in light of the recent tsunami warnings along the West
Coast.”
“Our fisheries are facing
the difficult dilemma of how to conserve our natural resources
while protecting working families,” Smith said. “It’s
going to take years of work, but I’m hopeful that we’ll
be able to strike the right balance.”
The Senate FY 2006 CJS Appropriations
bill includes funding for the following programs:
• The Pacific Coast Salmon
Recovery Fund will receive $13 million for Oregon to fund habitat
restoration, data collection, as well as evaluation and monitoring
of local watersheds;
• OSU will receive $2
million for the development of the Oregon Coastal Ocean Observing
System. The system will consist of instrumentation deployed in
the ocean to return real-time data to help improve the safety
and efficiency of U.S. marine operations and to mitigate the effects
of natural disasters including tsunami.
The Appropriations Committee
also recommended funding for the Columbia River Hatcheries operations
reform program and the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business
Services for the development of a one-stop permitting portal.
The new internet portal would allow consumers to more easily apply
for and purchase building permits, request building inspections,
submit plans and access building department information through
a single website.
Funding was also approved for
a number of other regional initiatives that will benefit Oregon,
including:
• The National Marine
Fisheries Service would receive $51,192,000 for ESA Recovery and
research, $15.1 million for Columbia River Biological Opinion
Implementation work, and $300,000 for endangered species studies;
• $17,022,000 for the
Columbia River Hatcheries salmon management activities;
• $8 million for the Pacific
Salmon Treaty;
• The National Weather
service would receive $5,680,000 to strengthen the U.S. Tsunami
Warning Network and $2,291,000 for a Tsunami Hazard and Mitigation
Program;
• $5.2 million for West
Coast Groundfish survey and monitoring projects;
• $5 million for the
West Coast Observers program;
• $3,455,000 for the Recreational
Fishery Information Network;
• $3 million for Pacific
Coastal Fisheries Information Network;
• $1.7 million for the
Northwest Fisheries Science Center Groundfish team; and
• $1 million for the
West Coast Groundfish Cooperative Research program.
###
