The Whatcom Assistance Program is a small grants program for community outreach on water and salmon  topics in Whatcom County and related to the functions of the WRIA 1 Watershed Management Board.  The Program was originally piloted in 2014 using seed funding from the Whatcom LIO Coordination Grant.  Feedback received on the pilot program was very positive and interest expressed to have the program continue.  However, without a dedicated source of funding, the next opportunity to implement the Whatcom Assistance Program did not occur until 2021 when an outreach grant was received by PUD No. 1 of Whatcom County and administered on behalf of the WRIA 1 Watershed Management Board.  The funding source for the 2021 grant was the EPA National Estuary Program administered by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as the Puget Sound Habitat Strategic Initiative Co-Lead.   The grant allocated a total of $60,000 for small outreach grants to be implemented through 2022.

The final reports for the 2014/2015 and 2021/2022 Whatcom Assistance Program funded outreach projects are posted at the below links:

• 2014/2015 Whatcom Assistance Program community outreach projects.

• 2021/2022 Whatcom Assistance Program community outreach projects.