LAKE COUNTY >> The Board of Supervisors has given the approval for the use of grant funds to the Lake County Watershed Protection District (LCWPD). The funding will support their Quagga and Zebra Mussel Infestation Prevention program.
The grant was given to the county by the State of California Parks and Recreation, Division of Boating and Waterways and can be used when needed. But Phil Moy, Director of the Water Resource Department for Lake County, said the board was responsible for authorizing access to the funds.
“We’ve already received the money, we will provide a little bit of a match, predominately in the form of kind labor and so we just need the signatory authority to operate the grant,” Moy explained.
The LCWPD applied for a grant of $312,606 to be able to address tasks related to the prevention program without dipping into county coffers. These including funding the eight boat ramp monitors for their two-year cycle and two boat ramp monitor coordinators.
The amount will also allow the department to send boat ramp monitors to Watercraft Inspection Training and to give the Water Resource Technician the proper training he needs, as well.
Although the training could be performed here in the county, it is conducted by the Fish and Wildlife Service and is a nationally certified program that has to be completed in designated areas. With the training, county officials will be prepared for inspections and staffed for specific needs.
