Watershed News

September 2009

Watershed News is a publication of EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds. It is designed to provide timely information to groups working at the watershed level.

In this month's newsletter

1) Sustain our Great Lakes Program
2) Environmental Education Grants
3) Federal Agencies Release Draft Reports Required by Chesapeake Bay Executive Order
4) Interagency Task Force on Ocean Policy
5) Winning Videos available from EPA Water Quality Video Contest
6) Houston to Host Low Impact Development Contest
7) Watershed Tool of the Month - New Smart Growth Guidebook to help Coastal, Waterfront Communities Address Climate Change, Other Challenges
8) Climate Change YouTube Educational Video Part of New Toolkit
9) San Diego Coastkeeper launches new interactive wiki site
10) EPA Webcasts available on iTunes
11) Watershed Institute
12) Water and Land Use in the Pacific Northwest: Integrating Communities and Watersheds Conference
13) Restore America's Estuaries Conference

Funding/Technical Assistance

Sustain our Great Lakes Program

Sustain Our Great Lakes is a public-private partnership among ArcelorMittal, NOAA, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, NRCS, EPA, USFWS, and FS. The program is designed to support the implementation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, an outcomes-focused initiative designed to protect, maintain and restore the chemical, biological and physical integrity of the Great Lakes ecosystem. The program supports habitat restoration, protection and enhancement projects, invasive species control, water quality improvements, and watershed planning and management within the Great Lakes basin. Applications are due in October but specific deadlines vary by grant program.

Environmental Education Grants

EPA's Office of Environmental Education will be soliciting proposals later this year. Click here to be added to the mailing list or visit: http://epa.gov/Education/grants.html to read about grants funded in past years.

News

Federal Agencies Release Draft Reports Required by Chesapeake Bay Executive Order

On Sept. 10, federal agencies released seven draft reports required by President Obama's executive order on the Chesapeake Bay. The reports contain a range of proposed strategies for accelerating cleanup of the nation's largest estuary and its vast watershed. They collectively call for increased accountability and performance from pollution control, habitat protection and land conservation programs at all levels of government, including an expanded use of regulatory authorities to address pollution control and additional voluntary and market-based solutions. The proposed actions are in response to overwhelming scientific evidence that the health of the Chesapeake Bay remains exceptionally poor, despite the concerted restoration efforts of the past 25 years. For more information on the executive or to read the draft reports, visit Chesapeake Bay Executive Order.

Interagency Task Force on Ocean Policy

On June 12, 2009, President Obama signed a memorandum calling for development of an Ocean Policy within 90 days. The memo also called for development of a "framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning." Within 180 days from the date of this memorandum, the Task Force shall develop, with appropriate public input, a recommended framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning. This framework should be a comprehensive, integrated, ecosystem-based approach that addresses conservation, economic activity, user conflict, and sustainable use of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources consistent with international law, including customary international law as reflected in the "1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea." To submit comments or learn about upcoming public meetings, visit Interagency Task Force on Ocean Policy (http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/oceans/).

Partial screenshot of video contest winner page

Winning Videos available from EPA Water Quality Video Contest

In June, EPA announced the winners of its first-ever Water Quality video contest designed to engage the public on water quality issues and to inspire stewardship for the nation's waters. The videos cover a wide variety of topics including: low impact development, wetlands, marine debris, watershed management, water quality monitoring, polluted runoff, and other water-related topics. You can now download the winners and honorable mentions (http://www.epa.gov/owow/videocontest.html). EPA has a royalty-free license to use and make available all the videos submitted to the contest for watershed education. For more information, contact Patricia Scott (scott.patricia@epa.gov).

Houston to host Low Impact Development Contest

Check out Houston, Texas’ innovative contest to recognize Low Impact Development projects (http://www.houstonlwsforum.org/designCompetition/).

Watershed Tool of the Month -- New Smart Growth Guidebook to help Coastal, Waterfront Communities Address Climate Change, Other Challenges

A new interagency guidebook, Smart Growth for Coastal and Waterfront Communities, is available for planners, local government officials, developers, non-profit groups, and coastal and waterfront residents. The guide that will help coastal and waterfront communities tackle threats from sea level rise, stronger hurricanes, flooding and other challenges, and it includes a description of tools and techniques for applying smart growth guidelines, with case studies illustrating the guidelines in action.

The guide was developed by EPA, NOAA, the International City/County Management Association and the Rhode Island Sea Grant Program, in consultation with the national Smart Growth Network. More information on the guide (http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/sg-coastal.html).

Climate Change YouTube Educational Video part of new Toolkit

EPA partnered with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management to produce a new educational kit, Climate Change, Wildlife, and Wildlands Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators. The kit contains case studies, activities, and a video based on the highest quality climate science, environmental education and stewardship information, and is designed to educate, inspire, and engage students everywhere to become stewards of our nations wildlife and ecosystems.

San Diego Coastkeeper launches new interactive wiki site

Check out a new social media tool offering information about San Diego's watersheds (www.sdwatersheds.org). "The San Diego Watersheds Wiki is a platform to share information and data about the San Diego region's watersheds, utilizing social media tools and data display technologies to not only make data freely available to interested audiences, but also to explain its relevance. The interactive wiki has been designed to convey complex data in an understandable way, and its overall purpose is to make information transparent and digestible, and to support a dialog on how members of San Diego’s community can address the pollution affecting our region."

EPA Webcasts available on iTunes

Want to take training, but never seems to have the time? For those with iPod and iTunes, it’s as easy as a click away. Simply subscribe to EPA’s Watershed Academy Webcast podcast feed and listen to the latest training program 24-7.