National forest roads in Washington to get funding
Congress and the Obama administration are responding with on-the-ground results in response to appeals by a coalition of conservation groups and the state departments of Ecology and Fish & Wildlife.
Federal action is now occurring to repair and reclaim crumbling national forest roads in Washington state that have been harming endangered salmon and clean water.
After years of neglect, deteriorating national forest roads are getting a record amount of federal dollars to reduce the risk they pose to clean water and the environment. The funding is creating new jobs in rural communities and carrying out federal commitments made in 2000.
Substantial federal funding coming to Washington and Oregon in 2010 doubles the federal allotments provided in 2008 and 2009 combined.
National forests in Washington and Oregon received $8.4 million in 2008 and $9.5 million in 2009. Now, a record $19.1 million is heading to the two Northwest states in 2010.
Longtime ecology group looking for new blood
Seattle's Civilian Conservation Corps Chapter 5 has been hard at work preserving building state parks, roads, fighting forest fires and planting new forests ever since the group was developed as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's economic recovery plan.
Chapter 5 was instrumental in raising the money and getting the C.C.C. worker statue placed in Deception Pass State Park as a lasting memory & tribute to all of the C.C.C. recruits everywhere.
But the aged memership is not being replenished with younger recruits so the chapter may call it quits.
Until just the last few years they were even still doing repairs on some of the C.C.C.'s original projects.
At the chapter's January 2010 meeting, President Berniece Phelps is planning on discussing the plans for disbanding the group.
Members have hailed from all over the state and Seattle, including Queen Anne. If you want to help the organization, contact Berniece Phelps of the the Darrington Historical Society at 425-746-1988.
Area health organization gets Gates matching
This year, your gift to global health can bring twice as much hope to people around the world. Thanks to the generosity of the McKinstry Co. Charitable Foundation and an anonymous donor, the PATH organization has been able to match every donation, up to a total of $116,000, through Dec. 31.
Each gift is matched by the Gates Foundation. PATH works every day to deal with some of the world's most challenging health issues and to give everyone a chance at good health.
Support from donors has already helped achieve some of PATH's biggest successes-and enabled it to change futures for countless children and families: For Mahalaxmi, in a third-grade classroom in India, the donations mean the energy to study and learn-instead of being distracted by an empty stomach.
For 2-year-old Wilson, in a Nicaraguan slum, it means another day at the playground-instead of a bed in a hospital's diarrhea ward.
For Chris, a father in Zambia, it means bednets and other tools he needs to protect his daughter from malaria.
Please make your first gift to PATH today, so that next year, together, we can do even more. Visit www.path.org.
Transportation advocacy day is coming
Everyone is urged to come to the annual Transportation Advocacy Day Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010 in Olympia to learn more about the state's hot-button transportation issues.
Visitors can learn about current transportation issues, meet with the 36th District legislators, attend hearings and more.
This 3/4-day event is headquartered at the United Church of Christ within a block of the State Capitol Campus. Food is provided. There will be a keynote address with Q&A by a prominent, transportation-oriented legislator.
Participants are needed from the Queen Anne Planning Area: the hill, view slopes and Uptown Urban Center. A major topic for transportation in this short session is laying the groundwork for city and county transit agencies to obtain added transportation-related funding to fill the gap left by the decline in sales tax revenues.
Most transit agencies, like Metro Transit, see a continuing funding gap even as the economy recovers, if they must rely only on fare increases and the weakened sales tax portion.
Organizers of the event are looking for drivers. If you're interested in attending Transportation Advocacy Day, contact John Coney online at djohnconey@aol.com, or call 206-283-2049.
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