Grants awarded to aid stranded marine mammals

Published 5:00 pm Thursday, September 16, 2010

Six Northwest organizations involved in helping stranded marine mammals and researching health issues will receive $514,470 in grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They include Portland State University, which works with the regional stranding network to aid critters in trouble on North Coast beaches.

The grants are among 42 given to NOAA’s partner organizations and total more than $3.7 million.

They will be used to recover and treat stranded marine mammals, collect data for scientific research on marine mammal health and support rehabilitation and data collection facilities.

The grants, through the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Program, are awarded to participants in the National Marine Mammal Stranding Network in 17 states.

The Pacific Northwest organizations receiving the grants are:

? Portland State University, $99,954;

? Oregon State University, Corvallis, $99,996;

? Makah Tribe, Neah Bay, Wash., $50,868;

? The Whale Museum, Friday Harbor, Wash., $79,177;

? Orca Network, Greenbank, Wash., $84,475; and

? Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, Wash., $100,000

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