See the 2005-06 EKERI Grant Final Report.

Focus Watershed: North Fork of the Kentucky River

This grant will provide funding assistance to support an AmeriCorps/VISTA position in the headwaters of the North Fork of the Kentucky River in Letcher County . This region of the Kentucky River Basin has been found to have numerous water quality impairments, including high instream pathogen levels.

This watershed position is a part of the Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team, a national partnership between the Federal Office of Surface Mining and AmeriCorps* VISTA . The OSM/VISTA's work is built around a set of Core Goals: build capacity in the watershed organization, organize the water quality monitoring critical to future funding, reach out to youth and adults in their community to create awareness about watershed issues, engage in economic revitalization efforts, and find the funds to keep all this critical work moving forward.

The individual previously fulfilling this watershed coordinator role has demonstrated significant progress in increasing awareness of watershed issues and potential local solutions. This grant will ensure the continued presence of a coordinator to facilitate water quality improvements through community awareness and involvement.