Fish pen project gets grant

POWER, the organization that manages the fish pens in Electric City, was advised last week that it has received an $8,275 grant.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife stated in a letter to Carl Russell, longtime POWER (Promoters of Wildlife and Environmental Resources) member, that the local grant request ranked high enough to receive the grant, despite cuts in funding.

The “Banks Lake Rainbow Trout Net Pen Project” was one of 91 groups seeking funding for various wildlife projects in the state.

The local fish pen operation receives about 150,000 rainbow trout twice a year and raises them from fingerlings to about 10 inches in size for release into Banks Lake.

Fish and Wildlife will award $1.36 million this year in grants, compared to $1.85 million a year ago.

Despite the cuts, the fish pen grant ranked high enough, according to Josh Nicholas, program specialist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, for the grant which begins July 1.