CHARLESTON, W.Va. (December 3, 2020) – The West Virginia Stream Partners Program recently announced the recipients of its annual grant awards, with 17 watershed groups receiving grant amounts totaling $77,025.
The West Virginia Stream Partners Program is a cooperative effort between the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), the state Division of Natural Resources (DNR), the state Division of Forestry, and the Soil Conservation Agency. The program has $100,000 appropriated each year to award to watershed associations interested in protecting and restoring state streams. This year, 17 organizations received funds up to $5,000 each.
“The West Virginia Stream Partners Program is proud to support the watershed volunteers across this state who have dedicated years to the love of West Virginia and our streams and rivers,” said Stream Partners coordinator Jennifer Pauer. “Over the past 25 years, we have supported 122 organizations and their volunteers. The $5,000 investment in these communities is matched with hundreds of volunteer hours and additional project funds that have proven to improve our streams and the quality of life within the watersheds and state.”
The West Virginia Stream Partners Program began in 1996 with the creation of the West Virginia Stream Partners Program Act. The state Legislature appropriated general revenue funds to support a grant program that encourages citizens to work with state agencies and local stakeholders, supplies seed grants, and helps organizations form partnerships to complete projects that will have long-term effects on the community and the watershed. Many watershed associations formed in 1996 are still active and successful today.
The following list of 2021 grant recipients was approved by the Stream Partners Program Executive Committee:
• Buckhannon River Watershed Association: $5,000
• Coal River Group: $5,000
• Coal River Mountain Watch: $5,000
• Davis Creek: $1,200
• Forks of the Coal: $4,250
• Fourpole Creek Watershed Association: $1,575
• Friends of the Blackwater: $5,000
• Friends of Deckers Creek: $5,000
• Friends of the Cacapon River: $5,000
• Friends of the Cheat, Inc.: $5,000
• Friends of the Hughes River Watershed: $5,000
• Friends of the Tug Fork: $5,000
• Greenbrier River Watershed Association: $5,000
• Morris Creek Watershed Association: $5,000
• Piney Creek Watershed Association: 5,000
• Save the Tygart: $5,000
• Warm Springs Watershed Association: $5,000
For more WVDEP news and information, go to www.dep.wv.gov. Also, connect with the agency on all social media platforms. Follow @DEPWV on Twitter, Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/depwv/, and find us on YouTube by searching “Environment Matters.”
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