EPA Awards Nevada Tribe $$52,500 for Wetlands Project

SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded the Yerington Paiute Tribe $52,500 for a wetlands development project. The grants are part of over $1.5 million the EPAs Pacific Southwest region awarded to nine organizations, tribes and local governments this year to protect wetlands in California, Arizona and Nevada. The Yerington Paiute Tribes natural wetland resource is vital to the subsistence, cultural and spiritual well being of the tribe and its members, said Alexis Strauss, the EPAs Water Division director for the Pacific Southwest region. The EPA is pleased to support this project to further help protect tribal wetlands. The Yerington Paiute Tribe will use the grant, plus $17,500 in tribal matching funds, to assess agricultural and mining impacts on the tribes wetlands, and the potential for restoration. The tribe will hire a full-time wetland specialist to assess current risks associated with potential contaminants, and assess potential degradation and loss that may have affected the wetland. The tribe will also complete a habitat, vegetative and soil assessment, and implement a quarterly water-quality monitoring program.