The region has just completed a massive grass-roots natural resources planning effort to develop subbasin plans in the U.S. portion of the Columbia River. Citizen participation in and awareness of the Council’s program across the basin is at an unprecedented high. New and broader constituencies have been developed, the energy produced in the planning effort needs to be followed with a robust on-the-ground plan implementation effort.

The statutorily established funding source for implementation of the Program (the Bonneville fund) is currently limited and unlikely to be significantly expanded in the near future. The Council's next steps are to facilitate the provincial review of proposed projects for Bonneville funding over the next three years, but also to help develop program partnerships to increase investment in implementation.

Below are links to most commonly used grants programs or search engines for environmental funding sources:

• Boise State University's Environmental Finance Center

• EPA's Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection

• Interagency Committee (Washington)

• Mid-Columbia Habitat Conservation Plan (30k Word form)

• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grants (open through March 1, 2006)

• National Resources Conservation Service

• NOAA

• NOAA's Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund

• OWEB Grant Program

• Private foundations

• Salmon Recovery Funding Board

• US Fish and Wildlife Service