Help secure funds for Dredging Project

Request funding in the 2008/2009 federal budget

Upper Newport Bay is in Representative John Campbell's district. Information on how to contact him can be found at http://campbell.house.gov/html/contact.cfm

It would be particularly beneficial for individuals and organizations from outside of Orange County to indicate to Congressman Campbell their support for continued funding of this important project in the 2008/2009 federal budget.

Important reasons to provide the remaining federal funding in the 2008/2009 budget:

· The federal government needs to honor a commitment it has already made to dredge Upper Newport Bay. Doing so now is the fiscally responsible thing to do, since funding delays will result in costly overruns because the contractor will be demobilized and will have to be remobilized later.

· The federal government is obligated to dredge Lower Newport Bay to navigable depths. Failure to complete the Upper Newport Bay project will lead to major additional costs for dredging the Lower Bay .

Upper Newport Bay - Regionally and Nationally Important

Upper Newport Bay is multi-faceted jewel. It is an educational, recreational, ecological and commercial resource of regional and national importance. Inner city schools from Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties routinely make field trips to the Bay. Birders from all over the USA visit the Bay to observe the several endangered species found here. As a key stopover and/or resting point on the Pacific Flyway, the Bay is a crucial to the long-term sustainability of many species of migrating birds. And, the Bay is an important spawning and nursery area for several commercial ocean fish, including the California halibut.