INDEX:
---EDITOR'S NOTE---

---EDITOR'S CHOICE---
Meadow Trumps Mall in New Jersey
Study Lists Likely Sites of Future Water Conflicts in West
Upstream And Out Of Mind: The Feds Abandon Protection for Our Headwater Streams
New Data Format for National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) Data
EPA Announces $15 Million for the Nation's Watersheds

---NATIONAL UPDATES---
House Committee Approves Military Exemptions to Wildlife Protection Laws
Bush Rolls Out Transportation Spending Plan
Judge Agrees With Environmentalists that Salmon Plan is Faulty
Interior Department Provides New Guidance To Promote Development of Conservation Banks
Bah, Wilderness! Reopening a Frontier to Development
IJC Reviews Progress to Restore Great Lakes Areas of Concern
2002 Farm Bill Programs Moving Ahead (From Farm Bill Network)

---LEGISLATIVE UPDATES---
US Senate Keeps Alaska Drilling Out of Energy Bill

---STATES NEWS---
New Program to Enhance Wetlands Restoration
More than 1,700 People Evacuated in Michigan After Dams Wash Out
Virginia Commission Denies King William Reservoir Permit
Animal Rights Group Sues to Stop Maryland From Killing Mute Swans
DEP Enters Agreements With Water Companies to Evaluate Open Space
596-Acre Centennial Waterfowl Production Area Dedicated in Minnesota
Governor Bush Reaches out to Legal, Technical Experts on Everglades
Massachusetts Oil Spill Threatens Endangered Species
PA: Pilot Water Quality Trading Program Underway
EPA Orders Developer to Restore Wetlands In Las Cucharillas, PR
NJ DEP Upgrades Status of Pine Barrens Tree Frog

---PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES---
LGEAN Launches Online Land Use Decision-making Tool
Stream Mitigation Guidelines Available Now
Sora Added to Bibliography, "The Effects of Management Practices on Wetland Birds"

---POTPOURRI---
Position Available for Senior Regulatory Scientist
The Conservation Reserve Program EBI Fact Sheet is Back On-Line!
Study Finds Underground Water Storage May Alter Ground-Water Quality
Funding Available to Protect Delaware Estuary
Funds Available From National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Funds Education in Monterey Bay
Math Discovery May Aid Resource Management

---MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES---
For a rolling calendar of meeting, conferences, and other events visit the ASWM calendar.

EDITOR'S NOTE

Dear friends and colleagues,

Honda Civic Hybrid update: A disappointing first month - 38 miles per gallon - has been long forgotten due to mileage of about 47 MPG thanks to a change in my driving habits. No more rapid accelerations, abrupt cornering, and hard braking - unless I'm really, really late. My personal best so far is a 450 mile round trip to Watertown NY where I eked out a little over 51 miles per gallon. Boy did that feel good, until I read an article by Bill McKibben in Orion magazine where he managed a stunning 80 MPG trip through some fancy coasting and very slow driving [see http://www.orionsociety.org/pages/om/03-1om/McKibben.html]. I haven't reached that level of enthusiasm - yet. On the "Funny Cide" I did have one odd moment when this man in a Cadillac cornered me in a deli parking lot and said he hated me after we compared mileage notes (seems he gets a paltry 15 MPG). Fortunately he said it with shake of his head then he drove off in the opposite direction after our conversation ended. Phew.

Jeanne has begun making those phone calls ("How's Wetland Breaking News coming?") every other week to encourage the production of two editions a month. This is my attempt to step up production, although the timing couldn't be worse thanks to the warmer weather and the call of our season pass to Moreau Lake State Park, The Great Escape, lawn passes to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and the opening of two local drive-ins. I will not resort to dragging along a laptop every where we go as a family, so I'll keep plugging along here at home late at night, doing my best to fend off Jeanne's reminders that there is work to do. It's a good thing she's located three states away.

Please send in news that's important to your region for possible inclusion in the next edition, and many thanks to those of you who have.

Thanks, and have a pleasant American Wetlands Month!

Jennifer Brady-Connor
Editor, Wetland Breaking News

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Meadow Trumps Mall in New Jersey

May 15, 2003. The first thing that travelers from New York see of the Garden State is not a garden at all but a swampy mosquito-breeding wasteland known, counterintuitively, as the Hackensack Meadowlands. Now, however, under a plan being cobbled together by environmentalists, business leaders and state and local officials, New Jersey's worst eyesore - which comes into view just west of the railroad tunnels - may one day become a watery ecological preserve covering 8,400 acres of protected wetlands, wildlife refuges, hiking trails, playing fields and even a golf course or two. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/15/opinion/15THU2.html?ex=1054020086&ei=1&en=35c36c754ccf4f71

Study Lists Likely Sites of Future Water Conflicts in West

May 2003, U.S. Water News Online, San Diego-- Political and legal conflicts over the water supply are highly likely in seven of the West's biggest cities by 2025, a federal study found. The Interior Department identified Las Vegas; Reno, Nev.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Denver; Houston; Salt Lake City; and Flagstaff, Ariz., as cities where conflict is most likely over the next two decades. Two major waterways, the Rio Grande and the Colorado River, also were named ``highly likely'' sources of conflict. The study was based on population trends, rainfall records, water capacity and storage and habitats of endangered species, said Assistant Interior Secretary Bennett Raley. http://www.uswaternews.com/archives/arcsupply/3stulis5.html

Upstream And Out Of Mind: The Feds Abandon Protection for Our Headwater Streams

By Ted Williams, Fly Rod & Reel, April-May 2003. Scat, as the biologists call it and the bumper stickers proclaim, happens. Often it floats, as the Enron employees observe. And always it travels downstream, as the Bush Administration seems not to comprehend. Since assuming power, President Bush and his people have dedicated themselves to eviscerating the Clean Water Act, most effectively by removing protection for headwater wetlands and streams--the 20 percent of America's waterways occurring wholly within a state's boundaries (intrastate) and classified as isolated and non-navigable. http://www.amrivers.org/feature/tedwilliams.htm

New Data Format for National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) Data

USFWS. NWI staff converted all of its 27,735 wetland files over to shapefile format. The NWI shapedata files are in UTM projection, NAD83. These include re-projected NAD27 data for which there are hard-copy NWI maps available, and the "Updated NAD83" data for which there are no hard-copy NWI maps available. The conversion was made to make the data available to users that do not have supplicated GIS software. Go to the NWI webpage http://www.nwi.fws.gov and click on "Downloads" to get started. Users with only an Internet connection and a browser can view digitized wetlands maps using the Wetlands Interactive Mapper also found on the National Wetlands Inventory webpage http://www.nwi.fws.gov/mapper_tool.htm

EPA Announces $15 Million for the Nation's Watersheds

EPA Newsroom, 5/2/03. To support community-driven initiatives that protect habitat, improve water quality, and enhance outdoor recreation, EPA announced nearly $15 million in grants to 20 watershed organizations selected as part of a new Watershed Initiative. The winning watersheds cover more than 90,000 square miles of the nation's lakes, rivers and streams. Funds will go toward restoration and protection projects, such as stream stabilization and habitat enhancement, implementing agricultural best management practices, and working with local governments and homeowners to promote sustainable practices and strategies. The grants range from $300,000 to $1 million. http://www.epa.gov/newsroom/headline_050203.htm

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NATIONAL UPDATE

House Committee Approves Military Exemptions to Wildlife Protection Laws

Washington, DC, May 16, 2003 (ENS) - The House Armed Services committee approved the 2004 military budget this week, a bill that includes broad exemptions from two major federal laws designed to protect the nation's wildlife. Critics of the exemptions say the language in the bill goes beyond what the Pentagon requested and essentially guts both the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The Pentagon request only covered military lands, but environmentalists say the House bill would compromise the laws on all U.S. land. http://ens-news.com/ens/may2003/2003-05-16-09.asp#anchor1 [Also see "House Bill Would Exempt Military Gardens and Golf Courses" http://ens-news.com/ens/may2003/2003-05-09-09.asp#anchor3]

Bush Rolls Out Transportation Spending Plan

By J.R. Pegg, 5/15/03, Washington, DC, (ENS) - The Bush administration unveiled a $247 billion, six-year transportation spending plan Wednesday that aims to improve safety programs, reduce traffic congestion and minimize project delays by reforming environmental reviews. http://ens-news.com/ens/may2003/2003-05-15-10.asp

Judge Agrees With Environmentalists that Salmon Plan is Faulty

ENN Daily News, 5/8/03, Portland, OR - Government programs meant to protect threatened and endangered salmon runs in the Columbia River Basin do not meet the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, a federal judge has ruled. In December 2000, NOAA Fisheries issued a strategy for protecting Columbia Basin salmon that focused on improvements to habitat, hatchery operations, and harvest limitations without breaching four dams on the lower Snake River. Some environmentalists wanted the dams breached. A coalition of environmental and fishers' groups sued in May 2001, claiming the strategy concluded, without rational basis, that the plan would not put the fish stocks in jeopardy of extinction. U.S. District Judge James Redden's 26-page opinion Wednesday agreed with the plaintiffs. He ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service to develop a plan that complies with the law. http://www.enn.com/news/2003-05-09/s_4366.asp

Interior Department Provides New Guidance to Promote Development of Conservation Banks

US DOI news release, 5/8/03. The U.S. Department of the Interior has issued the first comprehensive federal guidelines designed to promote the establishment of Conservation Banks, which ensure perpetual protection for endangered species that are adversely affected elsewhere. Conservation Banks were first authorized by the state of California in 1995. The banks are lands acquired by third parties, managed for specific endangered species and protected permanently by conservation easements. Banks may sell a fixed number of mitigation credits to developers to offset adverse effects on a species elsewhere. Traditionally, developers have been asked to preserve a portion of the area they are developing - a policy that can translate into scattered, small parcels of land. Conservation Banks provide for much larger acreage, where species protection is more effective as well as more efficient. http://www.doi.gov/news/030508a.htm

Bah, Wilderness! Reopening a Frontier to Development

NY Times By TIMOTHY EGAN, 5/4/03, Seattle - More than a century after historians declared an end to the American Frontier, the Interior Department made a somewhat similar announcement last month, with no fanfare. On a Friday night, just after Congress had left for spring break, the government said it would no longer consider huge swaths of public land to be wilderness. The administration declared that it would end reviews of Western landholdings for new wilderness protection. As long as the lands had been under consideration for the American wilderness system, they had temporary protection from development. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/04/weekinreview/04EGAN.html

IJC Reviews Progress to Restore Great Lakes Areas of Concern

International Joint Commission, 5/1/03. In a Special Report IJC provides the most comprehensive review in almost a decade of the work to restore Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes. The IJC found that the United States and Canada have invested a significant amount of time and money in projects to restore the viability and environment of these areas and that two of 43 areas are considered restored. In the report, the IJC makes nine recommendations to improve the management of restoration efforts, which if implemented, will assist the governments in taking a more comprehensive and strategic approach to restoration. Recommendations include: defining restoration targets where they do not exist; developing maps specifying AOC boundaries; ensuring accountability and responsibility for restoration; securing needed resources; and monitoring recovery. WWW.IJC.ORG.

2002 Farm Bill Programs Moving Ahead (From Farm Bill Network)

Over the past month the U.S. Department of Agriculture has moved ahead with implementing programs created and/or reauthorized in the 2002 Farm Bill. Comprehensive information about the Conservation Title Programs, Federal Register Notices, Press Releases and Program Manuals etc. can be found at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2002/products.html. This includes information about the Wetland Reserve Program, the new EQIP and Farm and Ranch Lands Protection rules and the "Notice of availability of program funds for the Grassland Reserve Program."

The new Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) includes $49.9 million in fiscal year 2003 funding is available to implement the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) in selected areas. A continuous signup for the much-anticipated program will start June 16, 2003. However, according to the Federal Register "Notice of Availability of Program Funds for the Grassland Reserve Program" the signup and funds will only be available in four target areas:
* The Klamath River Basin in Oregon and California;
* The watersheds of the Rio Grande River in New Mexico and Texas;
* Drought affected areas in Colorado, eastern, Idaho, Montana, northern Utah and Wyoming; and
* The lesser prairie-chicken habitat area in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

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LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

US Senate Keeps Alaska Drilling Out of Energy Bill

Planet Ark World Environment News, 5/8/03, Washington - The head of the Senate Energy Committee said Republicans lack the votes to block opposition to oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, so the proposal will not be in a pending energy bill. Drilling in ANWR is the centerpiece of the Bush administration's national energy plan because the White House believes the refuge's potential 16 billion barrels of crude would help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. However, Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, head of the energy panel, said drilling supporters do not have the 60 votes needed to stop a Senate filibuster of the controversial ANWR plan. http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/20724/story.htm

The following are bills that have moved in Congress. For details visit http://thomas.loc.gov/

H.R.1904 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (Reported in House) Title: To improve the capacity of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to plan and conduct hazardous fuels reduction projects on National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management lands aimed at protecting communities, watersheds, and certain other at-risk lands from catastrophic wildfire, to enhance efforts to protect watersheds and address threats to forest and rangeland health, including catastrophic wildfire, across the landscape, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep McInnis, Scott [CO-3] (introduced 5/1/2003) Cosponsors: 137 Latest Major Action: 5/16/2003 House preparation for floor. Status: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 52.

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STATES NEWS

New Program to Enhance Wetlands Restoration

Catawba College's "EcoConnections" online magazine. North Carolina is again taking the lead in wetlands preservation and restoration. The state's new Ecosystem Enhancement Program will take an innovative approach to offsetting wetlands loss caused by transportation projects in North Carolina. It is the only initiative of its type in the nation. A partnership made up of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the State Department of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will implement the program, which is expected to improve substantially the compensatory mitigation process now required through the Clean Water Act. http://www.ecoconnections.com/wetlands.htm

More than 1,700 People Evacuated in Michigan After Dams Wash Out

By Mike Tyree, 5/16/03, Marquette, Mich. - Two dam breaks sent water surging downriver toward the largest town in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and more than 1,700 people were ordered to leave their homes Thursday. The deluge flooded a power plant, but no injuries were reported and no one was reported missing. Officials were trying to determine whether other dams would hold and were telling evacuees they would not be able to return until Friday morning at the earliest. http://www.enn.com/news/2003-05-16/s_4480.asp

Virginia Commission Denies King William Reservoir Permit

5/15/03, Chesapeake Bay Foundation Staff. In a huge victory for shad, wetlands, and the Chesapeake Bay, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) has denied a water withdrawal permit to the City of Newport News for the proposed King William Reservoir. The 6-2 vote to deny the permit came on May 14 after the commission reconvened a public hearing in Newport News to hear more citizens testify against the reservoir. CBF had long opposed the reservoir project because of its damage to wetlands--the reservoir would flood and destroy more than 435 acres of nontidal wetlands--and its harm to the American shad population in the Mattaponi River, Virginia's prime shad spawning and nursery river. http://www.cbf.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6690

Animal Rights Group Sues to Stop Maryland From Killing Mute Swans

Washington, DC, May 14, 2003 (ENS) - The Fund for Animals and several Eastern Shore residents filed a complaint in federal court Tuesday challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to authorize Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials to shoot 1,500 federally protected mute swans on the Chesapeake Bay. Mute swans are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the International Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds, but the federal permit allows the swans to be killed at any time and in any location of the state. http://ens-news.com/ens/may2003/2003-05-14-09.asp#anchor6

DEP Enters Agreements With Water Companies to Evaluate Open Space

CT DEP news release, 5/14/03. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bridgeport-based Aquarion Water Company to evaluate up to 1,300 acres of water company land in Greenwich and Mystic for potential future acquisition as open space. The agreement, signed in March 2003, is in addition to agreements between the DEP and Birmingham Utilities, Connecticut Water Services, and the Torrington Water Company, signed in December 2002, to assess approximately 13,000 acres owned by those three water companies.As a result of these voluntary partnerships, over 70% of the land held by private water companies in Connecticut will be protected from sale while the DEP assesses the property for its natural resource and conservation value. http://dep.state.ct.us/whatshap/press/2003/mf0514.htm

596-Acre Centennial Waterfowl Production Area Dedicated in Minnesota

USFWS, 5/13/03. About 120 people, including about 80 students from Ortonville Elementary School gathered at a former soybean field near Clinton, MN on May 2 to dedicate the Centennial Waterfowl Production Area (WPA), a 596-acre restored wetland that will be a rich nesting ground for migratory waterfowl. The project was made possible in part by fourth graders at Ortonville Elementary, who raised money by selling passes for school privileges such as chewing gum. After two years, the fourth graders (now fifth and six graders) had amassed $4,386. http://news.fws.gov/newsreleases/r3/5953C779-C2E4-46D7-A55A9E958CD88425.html

Governor Bush Reaches out to Legal, Technical Experts on Everglades

FL DEP news release, 5/13/03, Tallahassee - Governor Jeb Bush is reaching out to legal advisors, technical experts and the public about efforts to restore America's Everglades. Providing extensive and up to date information on Everglades restoration, water quality, legislation, funding and scientific research, the Department of Environmental Protection website outlines Florida's progress to restore the famed River of Grass at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/evergladesforever/. Seeking external legal advice, Governor Bush selected two attorneys to review the Everglades Forever Act. The two attorneys will conduct an impartial evaluation of current legislation to amend the Everglades Forever Act. http://www.dep.state.fl.us/secretary/comm/2003/may/0513_efa.htm

Massachusetts Oil Spill Threatens Endangered Species

Dartmouth, Massachusetts, May 6, 2003 (ENS) - Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service are wrestling with the impact to wildlife from the April 27 oil spill that dumped some 15,000 gallons of oil into Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. A barge carrying some four million gallons of fuel oil hit an unknown object, causing a 13-mile long oil slick. Massachusetts state officials imposed a shellfish ban in most of Buzzards Bay, which accounts for some 25 percent of the state's shellfish economy. And the spill came at bad time for coastal birds and other wildlife, agency officials say. They are in particular worried about the potential impact to the between 30 and 50 pairs of endangered piping plovers that typically begin nesting on the islands in the bay in May. http://ens-news.com/ens/may2003/2003-05-06-09.asp#anchor3

PA: Pilot Water Quality Trading Program Underway

Region 3 News Release, 5/6/03, Philadelphia - EPA announced today that Pfizer is joining EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in a new water quality improvement project for the Conestoga Watershed that involves innovative trading practices. Under the pilot project, industries and municipalities can earn credits by reducing pollution through projects that improve water quality in a watershed. As a participant, Pfizer is cleaning and restoring stream banks along the Santa Domingo Creek and Lititz Spring Run in Lancaster County near a Pfizer manufacturing facility in Lititz, Pa. This will improve water quality by reducing the sediment and nutrient loadings into the waterways. http://yosemite.epa.gov/r3/press.nsf/7f3f954af9cce39b882563fd0063a09c/ca6fe913afdc0d9985256d1e0069c9ba?OpenDocument

EPA Orders Developer to Restore Wetlands In Las Cucharillas, PR

EPA Region 2 News, 5/6/03, San Juan, PR - EPA has ordered a developer and a construction company to immediately remove material they improperly placed in a parcel of wetlands that is part of Puerto Rico's 1,236-acre Las Cucharillas marsh, and to stop any new construction activities that might impact the wetlands. The companies - Mac Development Corporation and its contractor, Desuja Construction Corporation - plan to build a complex called Bahia Industrial Park on a 177-acre property that is partly in Las Cucharillas. EPA is taking this action because development negatively impacts Las Cucharillas marsh, which contains the highest diversity of waterfowl in the San Juan Bay area and serves as an essential environmental filter for industrial and urban runoff from nearby populated areas. http://www.epa.gov/region2/news/2003/03052.htm

NJ DEP Upgrades Status of Pine Barrens Tree Frog

NJ DEP news release, 5/2/03, TRENTON - NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced an upgrade to the status of the Pine Barrens tree frog, moving it from the endangered species list to the threatened species list. The frog's improved status is based on biologists' determination that it is locally abundant and that its habitat is well protected by the Pinelands Commission's Comprehensive Management Plan. The Pine Barrens tree frog requires specialized habitats that are rare elsewhere but common in the million-acre Pinelands region of southern New Jersey. The species requires acidic water and it favors Atlantic white cedar swamps that are carpeted with dense mats of sphagnum moss. It breeds in shallow ponds that dry up in summer and are free of predators. Because of its improved status, the DEP has declared the Pine Barrens tree frog Species of the Month for May. http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/releases/03_0065.htm

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NEW PUBLICATIONS and RESOURCES

LGEAN Launches Online Land Use Decision-making Tool

5/8/03, LGEAN Update In partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 and Purdue University, the Local Government Environmental Assistance Network (LGEAN) recently launched an online tool to help local government planners measure the water quality impacts of land use changes. Based on community-specific climate data, the online tool estimates changes in recharge, runoff, and nonpoint source pollution resulting from proposed development. For more information, click on the following URL: http://www.lgean.org/html/whatsnew.cfm?id=592

Stream Mitigation Guidelines Available Now

A workgroup consisting of representatives from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District (District), North Carolina Division of Water Quality (DWQ), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IV (EPA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) prepared The Stream Mitigation Guidelines to have joint and consistent, District and DWQ stream mitigation guidance for the regulated community of North Carolina. http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/wetlands/Mitigation/stream_mitigation.html

Sora Added to Bibliography, "The Effects of Management Practices on Wetland Birds"

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. A species account and annotated bibliography for the Sora has been added to the Effects of Management Practices on Wetland Birds.

Scientists Patent Method to Use Natural Virus to Kill Mosquitoes

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POTPOURRI

Position Available for Senior Regulatory Scientist

The South Carolina Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, the State's coastal zone management agency, has a job opening for the position of Senior Regulatory Scientist. This position will serve as Project Manager for major tidal wetland permits as well as a technical support resource for OCRM's 26 person Regulatory Division. Minimum requirements are a Master's Degree in natural or physical sciences and 4-6 years of coastal or resource management experience. Position is located in Charleston, SC. The compensation range is $39,055 to $55,654 based on experience and education. A SC state application form must be received by June 2, 2003. Applications are available on the web at http://www.state.sc.us/jobs/application.

The Conservation Reserve Program EBI Fact Sheet is Back On-Line!

5/12/03. The CRP general sign-up is being held from May 5 through May 30. Producers can sign up at local USDA service centers across the nation. The 2002 Farm Bill authorized USDA to maintain CRP enrollment up to 39.2 million acres. Aside from the general sign-up, CRP's continuous sign-up program will be ongoing. USDA has reserved two million acres for the continuous sign-up program, which represents the most environmentally desirable and sensitive land. USDA is making a special effort to help enhance wildlife habitats and air quality by setting aside 500,000 acres for bottomland hardwood tree planting. Continuous sign-up for hardwood planting will start after the general sign-up. FSA fact sheet: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/facts/html/crpebi03.htm.

Study Finds Underground Water Storage May Alter Ground-Water Quality

USGS news release, 5/13/03, Department of the Interior. As alternative approaches to increasing water supply and availability in southern California, such as injecting and storing treated water underground are explored, water managers need to be aware of potential impacts on water quality, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS study of a test site in the Antelope Valley of southern California, near Lancaster, found that when treated surface water was used to recharge the aquifer, by-products of the water disinfection process accumulated in the aquifer. These by products include trihalomethanes (THMs), which have been listed as carcinogenic by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/wri/wri034062/

Funding Available to Protect Delaware Estuary

EnviroBytes, 5/9/03. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced a new $500,000 grant program to help local communities restore critical wildlife habitat and improve water quality within the Delaware Estuary. The grant will support wetlands and stream restoration, riparian planting, land conservation, as well as the development of community watershed management plans and other water quality improvement strategies. For more information, go to http://www.nfwf.org/.

Funds Available From National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register, 5/13/03. In support of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training Program NOAA invites the public to submit proposals for available funding to implement environmental education projects in the following two areas of interest: ``Meaningful'' Outdoor Experiences for Students and Professional Development in the Area of Environmental Education for Teachers. Funds are available to institutions of higher education, community-based and nonprofit organizations, state or local government agencies, interstate agencies, and Indian tribal governments. Applications due 6/12/03. http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a030513c.html.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Funds Education in Monterey Bay

Federal Register, 5/13/03. In support of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training Program, NOAA invites the public to submit proposals for available funding to implement environmental education projects in the following two areas of interest: ``Meaningful'' Outdoor Experiences for Students in the Monterey Bay Watershed and Professional Development in the Area of Environmental Education for Teachers in the Monterey Bay Watershed. Funds are available to K-through-12 public and independent schools and school systems, institutions of higher education, community-based and nonprofit organizations, state or local government agencies, interstate agencies, and Indian tribal governments. Applications due 6/12/03. http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a030513c.html.

Math Discovery May Aid Resource Management

CORVALLIS, Ore. - With the aid of a chance discovery by a graduate student, scientists from Oregon State University have identified, dusted off and found a new use for an old math theory from the early 1800s that could revolutionize the management of lands, protection of species and study of ecology. The discovery promises for the first time to address the enormous complexities of the natural world with the powerful tools of advanced mathematics - which, until now, have been of limited use in the study of many natural resource issues. Existing mathematical approaches have often been relegated to the sidelines, in favor of time-consuming and costly experiments or trial-and-error management. The findings are being published in the journal American Naturalist and are co-authored by Jeffrey Dambacher, Hans Luh, Hiram Li and Philippe Rossignol. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-05/osu-mdm050903.php

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