Noxious invasive weed control grants available – due 7/27The Oregon State Weed Board is now accepting applications for noxious invasive weed control projects on both private and public lands. Eligible applicants include private landowners, counties, weed management areas, soil and water conservation districts, and watershed councils. No state or federal agency can apply for funds but can be a cooperator on successfully-awarded projects.
The deadline for grant applications is July 27, 2007. The State Weed Board will be awarding grants for the current round of funding in its September meeting.
The Oregon Legislature has recently increased the amount of funding for the grant program by $1 million for the 2007-09 biennium, bringing the total amount of funds available for the next two years to $2.5 million. The additional funding allows the State Weed Board to allocate an estimated 40 additional projects this biennium to help private and public land managers implement or continue watershed projects statewide that help meet the objectives of the Oregon Noxious Weed Strategic Plan. The grant program is in its fourth biennium with 378 grants awarded by the board to date totaling $4.4 million.
Noxious invasive weeds continue to impact agricultural land, forests, and natural areas causing severe production losses, increased control costs, and negative impacts to watershds. A conservative assessment doents an impact of more than $83 million in annual losses to Oregon's economy due to noxious weeds.
For more information, contact Shannon Brubaker, grants coordinator with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, at (503) 986-4621,
sbrubake@oda.state.or.us or visit:
http://oregon.gov/ODA/PLANT/WEEDS/grantindex.shtml.
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