JOHN DAY — The John Day Basin Partnership has been awarded $149,613 from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.

The grant was one of eight totaling $937,369 provided to local organizations statewide to support partnerships and plans that improve native fish and wildlife habitat.

Funds will be shared among local groups and hired experts. Local soil and water conservation districts and watershed councils will receive support to review existing plans, set local priorities and establish restoration goals from the ground up, while contractors will work at the basin-scale to compile existing plans, identify data gaps, develop a monitoring program and otherwise help the partnership complete a final plan by 2017.

The John Day-based Grant Soil & Water Conservation District will receive $20,000 of the award to administer the grant.

Jason Kehrberg, district manager of the Grant Soil & Water Conservation District, said, “This grant offers the support we need to participate in the planning effort and report the local needs we are seeing in the field and area communities.”

The John Day Partnership formed in 2014 to build a basin wide plan that can attract additional funding to support voluntary restoration actions that work for wildlife and landowners. It includes a diverse mix of 23 partners, including local soil and water conservation districts, watershed councils, forest and landowner collaboratives, tribes, state and federal agencies and conservation groups from across the basin.

The new partnership was nominated for the 2015 Outstanding Partnership Award given by OWEB.