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the school year. Local communities will benefit by offering youth employment and development <br /> opportunities. Crew members earn a stipend that is competitive with minimum wage for a 30 to <br /> 36 -hour work week over a period of 4 -6 weeks. <br /> Economically, this project will also promote the continued production of native seeds and plant <br /> materials from three Willamette Valley small commercial growers. Interest in native plant species is <br /> growing for a variety of uses, from landscaping to ecological restoration, and presents an opportunity <br /> for Willamette Valley growers to diversify their markets. In addition this project will employ two <br /> local individuals for seed collection and seed mixing in the West Eugene Wetlands for 11 weeks <br /> during the summer and provide critical staff support for a full time Wetland Ecologist position with <br /> the City of Eugene. All materials and supplies will be purchased from local vendors. <br /> Finally, this project benefits the community by forwarding well established community goals <br /> articulated locally in the West Eugene Wetlands Plan, the BLM WEW Environmental Assessment, <br /> and the Rivers to Ridges Vision, as well as regional goals described in the State Conservation Plan. <br /> 12. If the project is on private land how does it benefit federal lands or resources? <br /> The primary beneficiary of this project are 0 & C lands at North and South Taylor and the Long Tom <br /> ACEC, however some non - federal lands in the WEW managed by partner agencies and organizations <br /> (e.g. City of Eugene restoration sites, and The Nature Conservancy's Willow Creek Preserve) and <br /> other BLM lands in West Eugene that support federally endangered species will receive secondary <br /> benefits via continuation of the plant materials program and distribution of native seed mixes to <br /> projects on these lands. Helping sustain the plant materials program which has taken over ten years to <br /> develop, will ensure that critical plant materials are available for the BLM, and partners, for future <br /> restoration and enhancement projects throughout the West Eugene Wetlands. <br /> As per the Wyden Amendment (16 U.S.C. § 1011(a)), supporting this project with benefits that extend <br /> beyond the target 0 & C lands to other Rivers to Ridges partner lands is appropriate. The Wyden <br /> Amendment authorizes BLM to use appropriated funds to enter into and implement cooperative <br /> agreements with public and private entities to restore and enhance watersheds, including those outside <br /> public lands if appropriate criteria are met. 16 U.S.C. § 1011(a), as modified by the Omnibus <br /> Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999, Pub. L. No.105 -277, Div. A, <br /> Title I, § 136, 112 Stat. 2681 -266 (Oct. 7, 1998). <br /> 13. Is this project coordinated with other related project(s) on adjacent lands? <br /> a. ® Yes ❑ No (If yes, then describe) <br /> The Rivers -to- Ridges Partnership (formerly the West Eugene Wetlands partnership), of which BLM <br /> and the City of Eugene are a part, includes local government, federal, and non - governmental <br /> organizations that have a long tradition of working closely together to achieve mutual resource <br /> conservation goals in the Eugene area. This proposed wetland habitat improvement project will <br /> benefit from the close working relationship and depth of technical expertise provided by this existing <br /> partnership. By collaborating, the partnership unites the conservation efforts of all its members to <br /> 5of16 <br />