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Project lures ideas with grant By MARK FREEMAN The Panda bear has a $25,000 check in its pocket for some person or group with a good idea to help conserve and restore fishery resources of the Rogue River. The World Wildlife Fund -- whose worldwide symbol is the panda -- is seeking applicants for a $25,000 award for the latest Rogue fishery conservation project to get the group's backing. The WWF's upcoming Walter A. Haas, Jr. Conservation Award is the fourth of 10 annual awards planned for fish-conservation projects in the Rogue Basin. The award is in memory of Haas, a former Oakland A's owner and Levis-Strauss Co. CEO who often vacationed and fished the Rogue at the former Zane Grey cabin his family owns in the Rogue River Canyon. The award is funded through a $300,000 contribution from Joseph F. Cullman III, a former tobacco company executive and longtime Haas friend. The grant is administered by the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, which has a committee review and award the grants annually. Deadline for consideration for the next $25,000 grant is Nov. 15. The winner will be announced in January. For an application form or more information, telephone the RVCOG at 664-6676, or visit the WWF's web site www.worldwildlife.org/new/news/rogueriver.htm The World Wildlife Fund works in more than 100 countries worldwide, but promotes conservation in southwest Oregon and Northern California as well. The group has designated the area as the so-called Klamath-Siskiyou eco-region, one of 200 such regions worldwide. The WWF considers these eco-regions to contain the most outstanding examples of the earth's diverse terrestrial, fresh water and marine habitats. Previous winners of the Haas award include the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy to buy conservation easements on forested wetlands in the Illinois River basin; Oregon Trout to support efforts to improve water-quality habitat in upper Rogue spawning streams; and the Curry Soil and Water Conservation District to restore portions of Lobster Creek, which flows into the lower Rogue near Gold Beach. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is currently soliciting grant applications from non-profit shooting clubs and ranges looking for financial help in improving their facilities. The agency has a program that can finance half of a range-improvement project as long as the remaining half is covered by non-profit groups that provide either cash contributions, donated materials or labor to cover their portion. Projects that can be funded through this program include backstops, target holders, roads, parking access, classrooms or other projects that provide greater range access to people with disabilities. The program was created by the Oregon Legislature in 1989 to help build and improve non-profit shooting and archery ranges. To be eligible for the grant, applications must provide public access. Groups have until Nov. 5 to apply for this year's grants. Grant application packets can be obtained by calling 503-872-5264, ext. 5365. They are also available over the Internet at www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/HunterEd/Range.html The sheep-hunting trip to Siberia by two Medford men will be the featured presentation at tonight's meeting of the Oregon Hunters Association's Rogue Valley Chapter. Chapter member Don Turcke will speak on the Siberian trip he took with Jerry Barrett, who is also a chapter member. The chapter meeting begins with a 6 p.m. social hour, followed by an optional dinner at 6:30 p.m. The program will begin at 7 p.m. The chapter meets at J.J. North's Grand Buffet, 1016 N. Riverside Ave., Medford. (Staff writer Mark Freeman covers the outdoors for the Mail Tribune. Call him at 776-4470 or e-mail him at [email protected] ) Outdoor Journal main page Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA