CBCD Joins DC Fly-in to Support the OGWRP

By Audrey Rhodes, CBCD's RCPP Program Manager

Side by side with the Columbia Basin Development League (CBDL) and the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District (ECBID), CBCD was invited to meet with several members of Washington State’s congressional delegation, federal committee members, and agency leadership on March 2nd and 3rd to advocate for the advancement of the Columbia Basin Project, including the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program (OGWRP).

From left to right: Brandon Swinger, Clark Kagele, Audrey Rhodes, Senator Maria Cantwell, Michele Kiesz, Zane Swinger, and Dennis Swinger.

Meetings included conversations with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Bureau of Reclamation, House and Senate Ag committees, Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, and Representatives Dan Newhouse and Mike Baumgartner, just to name a few.

From left to right: Audrey Rhodes, Dennis Swinger, Representative Dan Newhouse, Michele Kiesz, Zane Swinger, Brandon Swinger, Clark Kagele, and Brent Baglien.

Audrey Rhodes, CBCD’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Program Manager represented CBCD. Audrey conveyed the importance of Farm Bill programs for the OGWRP, including the RCPP and the PL-566 Small Watershed Program, and the policy changes that could help more efficiently implement these important funding sources.

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