SEATTLE — U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks and Jay Manning, chief of staff for Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, have received Clean Water Hero awards from the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative.
The awards were for their work to restore the state’s forests and protect clean water as part of the Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program, the state Department of Ecology said in a statement Thursday.
Dicks, D-Belfair, represents the 6th Congressional District, which includes the North Olympic Peninsula.
Important contribution
“The Legacy Roads and Trails program will be remembered as one of Congressman Dicks’ most important environmental contributions to our nation’s forest watersheds and fisheries,” said Sue Gunn, the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative’s director, in the statement.
Congress created the Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program in 2008 to restore watersheds in national forests and address a backlog of maintenance for forest roads. Since then, the program has invested $180 million nationwide, Ecology said.
Federal funding for national forests in Oregon and Washington state increased from $7.1 million in 2008 to $9.5 million in 2009 and $20 million in 2010.
Director of Ecology
Manning was the director of Ecology when the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative began in 2007.
“Jay understood the problem of failing forest roads following decades of road building for timber harvest,” said Stephen Bernath, Ecology forest policy lead.
“He understood the connection between failing roads and the healthy watersheds and salmon runs. With Jay’s support, we had the authorization to work on this issue with Washington’s congressional delegation, ultimately leading to Rep. Dicks’ great assistance.”
The Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative represents a collection of groups committed to salmon recovery and watershed restoration.
These parties include Washington state agencies, tribes, and recreation, fishing and environmental groups.
