The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Watershed Academy will hold a free webcast on watershed project funding on October 17 starting at 1:00 p.m.

Tim Jones, EPA Environmental Protection Specialist and Dan Nees, Senior Associate of People and Ecosystems Program, World Resources Institute will discuss essential elements of developing a watershed finance strategy and key steps in the financing planning process.

Community leaders and local officials often focus watershed protection efforts on one or two funding sources, such as the Environmental Protection Agency's section 319 funds. This approach to funding is understandable given the complexity of the problems, issues, and potential solutions available.

Finding public funds – usually in the form of grants – is often the easiest and least politically costly financing solution to very entrenched issues and problems. Yet, anyone with experience in designing and managing watershed restoration projects knows that there is not enough public funding or private grants to recover watersheds and habitat areas.

Creating a watershed-financing plan that identifies and leverages sustainable funding sources is key to successful implementation of any community effort, including watershed restoration and protection.

Essential elements of developing a watershed finance strategy and key steps in the financing planning process will be discussed. Concepts will be demonstrated through presentation of successful watershed finance case study examples.

For more information or to access archived audio versions of past webcasts, visit the Watershed Academy webcast webpage.

10/12/2007