Whitman CD district receives grant

Whitman Conservation District was among 14 project applicants the Department of Ecology has named to receive almost $450,000 in water quality improvement projects. Six of the projects are in eastern Washington.

Ecology evaluated 27 different project proposals totaling about $945,000. The department weighed each proposal’s expected environmental benefits, local support and involvement, cost effectiveness and readiness.

The grants are funded through Ecology’s Terry Husseman account which derives from payments from penalties the department issues for violations of the state Water Pollution Control Act. The account is named after long-time Ecology Deputy Director Terry Husseman who died in 1998 and honors contributions in the field of environmental management.

The local Whitman Conservation District Alkali Creek project received $24,250 to improve water quality along Alkali Flat Creek.

The conservation district will plant native riparian vegetation, install 2,270 feet of livestock exclusion fencing, put in off-stream water systems and heavy use areas and establish a 50-foot buffer to protect about 1,135 feet of stream corridor from livestock impacts.