Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe First to Receive Watershed Plan Certification
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 10 recently certified the Jamestown
Tribe's Watershed Based Plan "Protecting
Restoring the Waters of the Dungeness." Certifica-
tion was based on compliance with federal tribal
nonpoint source program guidelines.
The Jamestown S'Kallam Tribe is the first Native
American Tribe in the nation to achieve certification of
a watershed based plan. The Tribe is based in Sequim,
WA, on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula.
The plan characterizes the Dungeness Watershed
area, highlighting the causes and sources of non-point
source pollution. The plan describes watershed area
goals along with management measures for protecting
water quality and restoring impaired water bodies.
Many water bodies in the watershed are impaired by
low dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform contamination,
loss of habitat, and heavy metals.
The Tribe serves as a principal facilitator of the Dunge-
ness River Management Team, which celebrates its
20th Anniversary this year. The team includes the
Tribe, the City of Sequim, Clallam County, Washington
Department of Ecology, Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife, and non-profits representing sport
fishermen and resource conservation. The Tribe's
watershed based plan incorporates the goals of its
partners, while building upon previous plans and
studies.
or details, contact Diana Boquist, EPA, at 206-553-
586, boquist.diana@epa.gov; or Krista Mendelman
PA, 206-553-1571, mendelman.krista@epa.gov, or
1-800-424-4372.
In This Issue...
SPOTLIGHT
CALENDAR
EPA News to update
you on agency activities,
pages 2-3.
Tools to clue you in on
resources, publications,
opportunities, and ser-
vices, pages 4-6.
Waterwords covering
water related issues,
pages 7-8.
Spotlight to showcase
success stories and
environmental stars.
page 9.
Ecosystem to provide
news that goes beyond
water topics, page 10.
Calendar to highlight
environmental events.
page 11.
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Washington Water Quality Standards Approved
EPA has approved recent revisions to the Washington
Water Quality Standards regulations. EPA believes
these new standards will significantly aid in the protec-
tion and recovery of salmon, trout, and other aquatic
life in the state.
Washington's package includes standards identifying
where salmon are spawning and rearing. It also
identifies the new temperature criteria to protect
salmon and other aquatic life. EPA conducted the
review under Section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act.
Under the Act, EPA must ensure that the State's
revised water quality standards protect aquatic life
uses and do not harm listed species under the Endan-
gered Species Act.
For information visit www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/
swqs/index.html. For more on EPA's water quality
standards for the Pacific Northwest and Alaska,
visit: http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/WATER.NSF/
Water+Quality+Standards/WQS+Pacific+NW/.
Puget Sound Watershed Projects are Finalists for $4.5
Million in EPA Funding
Puget Sound watershed protection efforts will get a
$4.5 million boost, thanks to EPA's West Coast Estu-
aries Initiative. Eight watershed protection projects,
encompassing broad coalitions of local and Tribal
efforts, have been selected as finalists in the first round
of focused funding under the initiative.
The grants will help local and tribal governments in
Puget Sound protect and restore watersheds that are
facing significant population growth and development
pressures.
"The Puget Sound needs our help," said EPA Regional
Administrator Elin Miller. "And we can start at the
watershed level by adopting smarter land use patterns
and better management practices to protect water
quality. These eight grants will also influence and
advance natural resource protection throughout the
Puget Sound Partnership's action areas."
Grants of up to $625,000 will fund watershed protection
projects led by Skagit, Whatcom, King, Thurston, and
Clallam counties and the Squaxin Island Tribe. Pro-
continued on page 3
Get on Watertalk's E-List
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for the Watertalk List-Serv. You'll get your Watertalk electronically
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Watertalk is ready, and link you to its website. Once in awhile, you will
get other water-related news from EPA. Remember to send an email
to lindsay.andrea@epa.gov to be removed from the hard copy
mailing list.
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Comment on EPA's Water Strategy to Respond to Climate Change
EPA seeks public comment on a draft climate change
strategy. It is called the National Water Program
Strategy. Response to Climate Change. It de-
scribes the possible effects of climate change on clean
water, drinking water, and ocean protection programs,
and outlines EPA response actions in 2008 and 2009.
EPA requests comments by May 27, 2008.
The draft document reviews possible impacts of
climate change on water resources, such as: in-
creases in certain water pollution problems; changes
in availability of drinking water supplies; and collective
impacts on coastal areas. The strategy also identifies
actions that water programs can make to reduce
greenhouse gases. It also covers ways people can
prepare for and respond to anticipated effects from
climate change. The draft strategy includes actions
designed to help EPA managers adapt their water
programs to respond to a changing climate. It dis-
cusses steps needed to strengthen links between
climate research and water programs, and to improve
education for water program professionals on possible
climate change impacts. For details, visit
www.epa.gov/water/climatechange.
Army Corps, EPA Release Wetland and Stream Mitigation Rule
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and EPA have
released a national rule. The rule clarifies how to
provide compensatory mitigation for unavoidable
impacts to wetlands and streams. This compensatory
mitigation rule:
Intends to foster predictability, transparency, and
performance of compensatory mitigation projects
Establishes standards for all forms of mitigation
Sets clear science-based and results-oriented
standards nationwide while allowing for regional
variations
Expands public participation
Encourages watershed-based decisions
Requires that projects minimize potential impacts
to wetlands and streams before proceeding to
compensatory mitigation.
Each year, thousands of projects affect the nation's
aquatic resources. A Corps permit may require a
property owner to restore, establish, enhance or
preserve other aquatic resources in order to replace
those impacted by the proposed project. This process
seeks to replace the loss of existing aquatic resource
functions and area. The new rule changes where
and how mitigation is to be completed, but maintains
existing requirements on when mitigation is required.
Wetlands and streams provide important environmental
functions including protecting and improving water
quality and providing habitat. Successful compensatory
mitigation projects will replace environmental func-
tions that are lost as a result of permitted activities.
For details, visit www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecwo/reg/
citizen.htm or www.epa.gov/wetlandsmitigation.
Information on the importance of wetlands is at
www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/.
continued from page 2
Puget Sound Watershed Projects
posed projects include: connecting watershed in-
formation to land use decisions; applying education
programs and land stewardship incentives; evaluating
the effectiveness of current zoning and regulations;
acquiring land for habitat protection; protecting
shellfish areas; and studying the sources and impacts
of nitrogen pollution in sensitive marine areas.
The West Coast Estuaries Initiative grant program is
unique in targeting projects that connect watershed
management and land use decision making to support
the protection and restoration of high value Puget
Sound aquatic resources. For more information about
EPA's Puget Sound work, go to
www.epa.gov/region10/psgb
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Call for Environmental Justice
Grant Proposals
EPA is now seeking
grant applications
for projects to assist
low-income and
minority communi-
ties. The grants will
help communities
develop locally-
based solutions to
their sometimes
disproportionate
share of environmental and public health issues.
Nationally, up to $800,000 is available to non-profit
organizations, a city, township, county government,
or Native American tribal government through EPA's
Office of Environmental Justice. Grants will be awarded
through the Environmental Justice Small Grants
Programs.
For the Pacific Northwest, EPA anticipates awarding
up to four grants in the amount of $20,000 per award.
Grants are awarded on a competitive basis. The
deadline for grant applications is June 30, 2008.
The program is designed to assist recipients in building
collaborative partnerships that will help them under-
stand and address the environmental and/or public
health issues in their communities. Successful col-
laborative partnerships with other stakeholders involve
well-designed strategic plans to build, maintain and
sustain the partnerships, and to work towards address-
ing the local environmental and/or public health issues.
For information, visit www.epa.gov/compliance/
environmentaljustice/grants/ej-smgrants.html.
Bright
Ideas!
Check New Multimedia Portal:
EPA has gathered together audio, video, and
photos for you to explore. See them at
www.epa.gov/multimedia.
Enter Your Art: Celebrate the environment
- Enter the Rachel Carson Sense of Wonder
Intergenerational Poetry, Essay and Photography
Contest: The deadline for entries is June 16.
Learn more at http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/
admpress.nsf/names/hq_2008-3-18_racheL
carson.
Reduce your carbon footprint: Leaving your car
at home twice a week can cut greenhouse gas
emissions over 1,500 pounds per year. See
www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/road.html.
Calculator Tallies Greenhouse Gas: Can you
picture what it means to reduce carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions by 1 million metric tons? News
stories are packed with measurements of green-
house gas reductions, but it can be difficult to
understand them until now. EPA's new Green-
house Gas Calculator helps you turn greenhouse
gas savings into more easily understood everyday
terms. Find the calculator at www.epa.gov/
cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html.
Environmental Regulation Website Improved
EPA has added new features to one of its most popular
websites for environmental regulatory information. This
site -titled Laws, Regulations, Guidance and Dock-
ets- is often the public's first exposure to EPA's regula-
tory activities. It now has easier ways to search and
comment on EPA regulations and significant guidance
documents, and to learn how environmental regula-
tions are written. The site also includes new sections for
finding regulations and related documents, plus regula-
tory history, statutory authority, supporting analyses,
compliance information, and guidance for implementa-
tion. For the first time, searches for regulatory informa-
tion can be done by topics such as water or air, or by
business sectors such as transportation or construction.
See the new site at www.epa.gov/lawsregs/.
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Search: " All EPA < Laws. Regulations. Guidance and Dockets
£P* Hom« » L««i. *«Qul*tten*. Qutdwtc* ft Ooek*t<
How We Write Regulations
Learn me basics on how regulations are written at EPA and the many
stakeholders involved m the process.
*"' EPA a no« providing
monthly Action Initiation Lists
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Energy Star:
Helping Water, Wastewater Facilities Tap into Energy Savings
Drinking water systems and wastewater treatment
plants can now save energy and reduce their carbon
emissions by using a new Energy Star benchmark-
ing tool. The online tool offers wastewater treatment
plant managers the ability to compare the energy use
of their plants to others, track energy use, set targets
for investment priorities, and verify efficiency improve-
ments.
Nationally, drinking water and wastewater systems
spend about $4 billion a year on energy to pump, treat,
deliver, collect, and clean water at the 52,000 com-
munity drinking water and 16,500 wastewater facilities.
Water and wastewater facilities are energy intensive
facilities. They account for more than one-third of
municipal energy use.
Energy Star was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a
market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the Energy
ENERGY STAR
Star label can be found on
more than 50 different kinds
of products, new homes, and
commercial and industrial
buildings. Products and
buildings that have earned
the Energy Star designation
prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting energy-
efficiency specifications set by the government. Last
year, with Energy Star, Americans saved about $14
billion on their energy bills and reduced the greenhouse
gas by an amount equivalent to taking 25 million
vehicles off the road.
Clarence Ortman, of Columbia City, Oregon, has
recently been hired to field questions and assist
regional wastewater facility operators with the new
Energy Star tool for wastewater treatment plants.
For more information contact Clarence by e-mail at
R10EnergyStar@epaqpx.rtp.epa.gov. Learn more at
www.energystar.gov.
Building Multicultural Environmental Awareness
Teach English, tuck About
= the" '
EPA has released two
publications designed to
increase environmental
awareness among multilin-
gual communities. Teach
English, Teach about the
Environment is a curriculum
to help teach adult students
English, while introducing
basic concepts about the
environment and individual
environmental responsibility.
The concepts in the cur-
riculum can help immigrants
understand their role in contributing towards cleaner
and healthier communities by reducing, reusing and
recycling. Find it at www.epa.gov/epaoswer/educa-
tion/teachers.htm.
The second publication,
Working Together for a
Healthy Environment - A
Guide for Multi-Cultural
Community Groups, is
designed to help community-
based organizations plan
community events that
promote reducing, reusing
and recycling. It has a brief
introduction on the inside
cover in Spanish, Chinese,
Vietnamese, and Korean.
See the guide at
www.epa.gov/osw/community.htm.
1 tux* to IhW-Cimril Cmwnttr Cm*»
Visit WaterTalk online at www.epa.gov/rlOearth/watertalk.htm
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Sourcewiter
i
Drinking Water
Campaign for Local
Officials Launched
The Source Water Collaborative (SWC) is launching a
campaign, Your Water. Your Decision. Its aim is to
help local decision-makers protect sources of drinking
water, understand the costs involved, and consider
ways to pay for it. The SWC, a group of 16 national
organizations and three federal agencies including
EPA, formed in 2006 to further the goal of protecting
sources of drinking water.
As part of this initiative, the SWC has developed a
guide for community leaders and a toolkit for using
the guide. The "Your Water. Your Decision." guide
is intended as a quick resource on local options for
protecting drinking water, including development,
stewardship, and budgeting. Using the theme, "how
you govern can determine what you drink," the guide
can help local officials take action within their communi-
ties and with neighboring communities. Details can be
found at www.ProtectDrinkingWater.org.
Clearinghouse Features TMDLs
Virginia Tech's Center for Total Maximum Daily Load
(TMDL) and Watershed Studies has a new on-line
database of TMDL-related information in one central
location. The searchable clearinghouse contains three
types of resources:
TMDL guidance documents,
reviews and summaries of TMDL-related technical
and trade literature, and
state-by-state summaries of TMDL programs.
State summaries are updated regularly for all 50 states
and include the approach used to develop TMDLs in
that state. About 500 documents are available in the
database, funded in part by an EPA grant. The TMDL
Knowledgebase Clearinghouse can be accessed at
www.tmdl.bse.vt.edu/site/knowledgebase/.
Manual Helps Measure Progress in Estuaries
The Indicator Development for Estuaries manual is
designed to improve measuring progress in the Nation-
al Estuary Program estuaries and other estuaries. It is
organized to provide the user with a logical, stepwise
process for developing and implementing indicators
for the estuarine environment. Indicators can provide
cost-effective information on the status and trends of
a system, the effectiveness of management actions
and allow for mid-course corrections. Indicators
also provide information to inform diverse audiences
including environmental managers, scientists, resource
managers and the public on the status and progress of
restoration efforts. The manual is available at
http://www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/.
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EPA Lab Puts New Technology to Work:
Microbial Source Tracking
The closure of waters due to fecal contamination can
be devastating to a community that depends on tourism
or commercial shellfish harvests. This contamination is
measured by testing for fecal coliform bacteria. These
bacteria can be used as an indicator of pathogens in
water since their presence is associated with recent
fecal contamination. When the level of these bacteria
exceeds a "safety net" standard, the water is deemed
unsafe for swimming or shellfish harvesting, among
other uses.
This safety net is important from a public health
standpoint. Its use has dramatically reduced the
incidence of waterborne and shellfish borne disease
transmission. However, closure of a water body
doesn't solve the contamination problem nor assist
with clean-up. In order to do this, it is necessary to first
identify the sources of contamination and then develop
a plan to restore the water to healthy conditions.
A new technology at EPA Region 10's Laboratory
(located in Port Orchard, WA), can assist with the first
job - identifying the sources of contamination. The
technology is called Microbial Source Tracking
(MST). It can establish whether fecal bacteria are
being introduced into water bodies through human,
wildlife, or agricultural wastes.
The lab uses a molecular method to focus on a species
of bacteria called Bacteroides. The technology is
based on DMA patterns in the bacteria that are unique
to a group of animals. Bacteroides in humans have
a different DNA pattern from Bacteroides in cattle. In
MST, Bacteroides are isolated from water samples and
a DNA pattern or "fingerprint" is obtained. The pattern
is then compared to known sources to identify the
source(s) in a sample.
Five large projects already have been done in Region
10 to assist tribal entities, environmental conservation
organizations, and environmental and public health
agencies determine the source of fecal contamination
in their waters. The information provided through
this technology has proven to help in development of
remediation plans. The Region 10 Laboratory contin-
ues to look for future applications of this new technol-
ogy to help regional groups identify sources of fecal
contamination. For more information, call Stephanie
Harris, EPA Lab, at 360-871-8710, or
harris.stephanie@epa.gov.
"Green Infrastructure" Plan to Benefit Communities and Environment
EPA, with state and national partners, released a
comprehensive plan to reduce runoff and increase
environmental and economic benefits for communities.
The strategy will help reduce stormwater runoff and
sewer overflows by promoting "green infrastructure"
approaches.
Green infrastructure includes things like green roofs,
trees and tree boxes, rain gardens, and porous pave-
ments. Green infrastructure techniques, technologies,
and practices reduce the amount of water and pollut-
ants that run off a site. These tools have many other
benefits - cost savings, improved air quality, urban
heat island reductions, energy savings, water conser-
vation, and urban habitat creation.
The document is called "Managing Wet Weather
with Green Infrastructure Action Strategy 2008.' It
outlines ways to bring green infrastructure into main-
stream use for runoff and sewer overflow management.
The plan includes 7 implementation areas: Research,
Outreach and Communication, Tools, Clean Water Act
Regulatory Support, Economic Viability and Funding,
Demonstrations and Recognition, and Partnerships and
Promotion. The plan was developed by EPA, American
Rivers, the Association of State and Interstate
Water Pollution Control Administrators, the National
Association of Clean Water Agencies, the Natural
Resources Defense Council, and the Low Impact
Development Center. Learn more at
www.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure/general.
Page 7
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EPA Reports on Clean Water Infrastructure Needs
A new EPA report estimates $202.5 billion is the
nationwide capital investment needed to control
wastewater pollution for up to a 20-year period. The
document, the 2004 Clean Watersheds Needs
Survey, was delivered to Congress recently. It sum-
marizes results of the agency's 14th national survey
on the needs of publicly owned wastewater treatment
works. The estimate includes:
$134.4 billion for wastewater treatment and
collection systems,
$54.8 billion for combined sewer overflow
corrections, and
$9.0 billion for stormwater management.
Communities across the country face challenges in
sustaining their water infrastructure. EPA is working
with states, tribes, utilities, and other partners to
reduce the demand on infrastructure. This can be
done through improved asset management, improved
technology, water efficiency, and watershed-based
decision making. EPA is also working with Congress
to enact the Administration's Water Enterprise Bond
proposal.
The figures represent documented wastewater invest-
ment needs, but do not account for expected invest-
ment and revenues. Wastewater treatment utilities pay
for infrastructure using revenue from rates charged to
customers and may finance projects using loans or
bonds. State and federal funding programs, such as
EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund, can also
help communities meet wastewater pollution control
needs. The needs in this survey represent an 8.6%
increase over the 2000 report. The increase is due
to population growth, more protective water quality
standards, and aging infrastructure. Find details at
www.epa.gov/cwns/.
EPA Seeks Nominations for
Wastewater Treatment Awards
EPA is calling for nominations for its 2008
National Clean Water Act Recognition
Awards. The awards program recognizes
municipalities and industries for outstanding
and innovative technological achievements in
wastewater treatment and pollution abatement
programs. Awards will be given to winners for
outstanding achievements in five categories:
operations and maintenance, biosolids manage-
ment, pretreatment, stormwater management,
and combined sewer overflows control. These
awards heighten public awareness of the
contributions wastewater treatment facilities
make to clean water and public health and
safety. Nominations are due May 30, 2008.
For information, go to www.epa.gov/owm/mtb/intnet.htm.
Page ft
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SPOTLIGHT
Redmond High Schoolers' "Cool School" Campaign
Gets Presidential Recognition
Award Recipients (Redmond High School): Zachary Do/eac, Emily Quo, Jamie Hall, Joseph Hegge, Laura Wang. Project
Sponsors: Meg Town: Mike Town (not shown)
Five Redmond High School students have developed
an award-winning program to reduce carbon dioxide
generation in the classroom through changes in
transportation, recycling, electricity, and heating. The
students also asked teachers to pledge to reduce
classroom CO2 emissions by 1,000 Ib. In 2007, the
students reduced classroom CO2 output by 72 tons
and the school district saved $7,500 in recycling and
electricity costs!
Now the students are getting national recognition for
designing this innovative program that challenged
teachers and peers to take steps to reduce energy use
and CO2 emissions. The student leaders were honored
by President Bush, along with EPA Administrator
Johnson and EPA Region 10 Administrator Elin Miller,
with the President's Environmental Youth Award in
an April ceremony at the White House.
"These Redmond High Students started small by
thinking big about climate change," said EPA's Miller.
"Their impressive achievement shows that changes like
these can help other high schools, in other districts,
reduce greenhouse gases and save money."
The campaign has spread across the school district.
Over the past two and a half years, the district has
saved $550,000 by recycling more, watering less,
reducing waste, and using less energy. The success
of the students' efforts prompted the Puget Sound
Clean Air Agency and Puget Sound Energy to provide
financial assistance to train more teachers. The
students also presented their results to the U.S.
Conference of Mayors meeting in Los Angeles,
California.
There are two runners up in EPA's awards competition.
From Kenai, AK, an 11th grader developed and
directs the "Make the Switch...Make a Difference"
project to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. She has
encouraged 840 people to switch from incandescent
to energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. From
Tekoa, WA, elementary school students are restoring
stream habitat, monitoring water quality, removing
noxious weeds, and planting trees in partnership with
businesses and local community members.
The President's Environmental Youth Awards program
encourages individuals, school classes, summer
camps, public interest groups, and youth organizations
to promote environmental awareness and positive
community involvement. Each year, young people,
kindergarten through high school, are invited to
participate in the awards program. The program has
two components: the regional certificate program and
the national awards competition. Certificates from the
President are awarded by each of the ten EPA regions.
One outstanding project from each region is presented
with a Presidential plaque at an EPA sponsored award
ceremony. For details, contact
Sally Hanft, EPA, at 206-553-1207, 800-424-4372, or
hanft.sally@epa.gov.
For program information and to learn what you can do
to address climate change:
www.epa.gov/enviroed/peya/index.html
www.epa.gov/climatechange
www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/school.html
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Beneficial Landscaping
The Red Flower Currant, a Native Friend to Hummingbirds
Ribes sanguineum commonly known as red currant,
blood currant, or red flower currant is one of the
earliest native spring blooming shrubs in the Northwest.
It currently grows from British Columbia to south of
San Francisco, California and from the Pacific coast to
the eastern slope of the Cascades in Washington and
northern Oregon. It is a versatile shrub that grows in
open to wooded areas, moist to dry valleys and lower
mountains.
Its subtle-to-extravagant array of pale to deep reddish
pink flower clusters make this shrub a wonderful addition
to Northwest gardens. If planted in open areas, flowering
is profuse; shaded specimens, which flower less abun-
dantly, offer intriguing blood red pendant jewels among
the bare twigs of surrounding woodlands. The small
powdery black fruits that follow are inconspicuous and
unpalatable. However, it is the red currant's close
partnership with hummingbirds that is its most amazing
feature!
The timing of red currant bloom varies from its southern
range to the north, but seems meticulously synchronized
with the return of migrating hummingbirds. In the Puget
Sound region bloom begins in late March, just in time for
the return of hungry Rufous hummingbirds. While there
are other native shrubs blooming at that time, including
Indian plum, Oemleria ceraciformis, and Salmonberry,
Rubus spectabilis, neither are timed so precisely with the
return of hummingbirds as the red currant. The shape
and color of red currant flowers are also best designed
for hummers. The flowers are tubular, pink to red, and
are born in pendant clusters that provide a progression of
opening blossoms.
Once persecuted for being an alternate host for the
white pine blister rust, attempts were made to completely
eradicate the red currant. Luckily, these efforts failed and
it remains a component of our native flora, but its occur-
rence has likely been reduced as a result. To befriend
and sustain our hummingbird friends, as well as to restore
the beauty it brings, consider adding red currant to your
garden. It is commonly available for purchase at native
plant sales and nurseries. Contact your local conserva-
tion district, native plant society, or native plant nursery for
sale dates and availability.
For more information on this and other topics in Beneficial
Landscaping, contact Elaine Somers at 206-553-2966 or
1-800-424-4372 X2966, or at somers.elaine@epa.gov.
Or, visit our website at www.epa.gov/r10earth/bl.htm.
Reference:
C. Leo Hitchcock and A. Cronquist. Flora of the Pacific
Northwest, University of Washington Press, 1973.
Invasive Species:
State Noxious Weed Lists
Each state has its own list of noxious weeds.
Noxious weeds are non-native plants that can
spread quickly and are hard to control. They can
invade ecosystems, pushing out native species,
causing ecological and economical damage. Below
is information to help you find the weed list in each
of the Region 10 states. Note that each county may
also have its own list that may be slightly different.
Alaska:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/
noxious?rptType=State&statefips=02
Idaho:
www.idahoag.us/Categories/Plantslnsects/
NoxiousWeeds/watchlist.php
Oregon:
www.oregon.gov/ODA/PLANTA/VEEDS/lists.shtml
Washington:
http://www.hear.org/weedlists/usa/WA.htm
Id
-------
CALENDAR
May
American Wetlands Month, www.epa.gov/
owow/wetlands/awm/
May 17-18:
Idaho Green Expo, Boise, ID, www.
idahogreenexpo.org
May 21:
Solar Power: Project and Permitting
Conference, Seattle, WA, The Seminar Group,
800-574-4852, www.theseminargroup.net/
solarpower
May 22:
Ecosystem Markets: Taking Action, Northwest
Environmental Business Council, Portland, OR,
http://www.nebc.org/content.aspx?pageid=33
May 22-23:
Ocean Law, Law Seminars International,
Seattle, WA, www.lawseminars.com,
206-567-4490, 1-800-854-8009
June
June 5-6:
Clean Water and Stormwater Conference:
2008 Regulations and Compliance Strategies,
Seattle, WA, Law Seminars International,
1-800-854-8009
June 19-22:
Thinking Through Nature: Philosophy for an
Endangered World, International Association
for Environmental Philosophy, Eugene, OR,
http://www.uoregon.edu/~toadvine/IAEP/
ThinkingThroughNature.html
July
July 14:
Deadline for contributions to the August
edition of Watertalk Newsletter, Andrea
Lindsay, Editor, 206-553-1896, 800-424-4372,
lindsay.andrea@epa.gov
May is American Wetlands Month:
Learn, Explore, Take Action!
May is American Wetlands Month. This annual
celebration is a time to recognize and highlight the
wonderful ways that wetlands enrich the environ-
ment and human society. EPA encourages indi-
viduals and groups to learn about and help raise
awareness of the critical role wetlands play in our
environment and build support for their protection
and restoration.
Check in your community for opportunities to:
Participate in a wetland walk, canoe trip, bird
watch, or other outdoor activity
Do a wetland or stream clean-up
Recognize a wetland hero
Give or attend a talk about wetlands
Start or participate in a volunteer wetland monitor-
ing or restoration group.
For information, visit www.epa.gov/owow/wet-
lands/awm. To learn more about EPA's wetlands
and aquatic resources programs, visit
www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands or call the Wetlands
Helpline at 1-800-832-7828.
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Watertalk
May 2008
Watertalk is published quarterly by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 10. Watertalk seeks to be a useful tool for those who protect
water resources and ecosystems in communities of the Greater Pacific
Northwest, by providing practical resources and relevant agency news.
You are invited to contribute items for publication. Submittal deadline is the
15th day of the month before publication.
Watertalk articles can be used in other publications.
Please give credit to Watertalk.
For mailing list changes, or to contact the editor, call Andrea Lindsay at (206)
553-1896 or 1-800-424-4EPA x!896, or e-mail lindsay.andrea@epa.gov.
Mention of trade names, products or services does not convey, and should not
be interpreted as conveying, official EPA approval, endorsement or recom-
mendation.
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