Want to improve Puget Sound environment? Funding available

OLYMPIA—Washington state residents, businesses, organizations, watershed or salmon groups, tribal or local governments, and school teachers or educators may apply for funding to involve and educate citizens to protect and enhance Puget Sound.

The Puget Sound Action Team (Action Team), a partnership of state, local, federal and tribal organizations, is now accepting applications to fund community involvement and education projects in amounts of up to $45,000.

"The Action Team's Public Involvement and Education (PIE) fund is a great way to get people involved and educated about how they can make a difference in the quality of water in the Sound and life for aquatic animals and plants," said Anne Criss, who manages the PIE program for the Action Team. "We are looking forward to getting a significant number of creative and hands-on proposals aimed at making the Sound more sustainable."

The goal of the PIE fund is to provide people with the information, experience and tools they need to become effective stewards of Puget Sound. Projects must improve the environmental quality of Puget Sound through direct actions or changes.

Focused around the highest priorities of the Puget Sound Action Team, projects should address the following issues:

• Reduce harm from stormwater runoff,
• Prevent contamination from public and private sewage systems and other nonpoint pollution sources, such as agriculture runoff and pesticide and fertilizer use,
• Protect shorelines and other critical areas, such as wetlands,
• Educate and involve people in the recovery of orcas, salmon, groundfish and forage fish, and/or
• Reduce continuing toxic contamination and prevent future contamination.

PIE applications are available at the Puget Sound Action Team's Web site at http://www.psat.wa.gov/Programs/Pie_Ed/pie14_RFP.htm or by calling (800) 54-SOUND. Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. of October 13.

Puget Sound Action Team release, August 4

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