This week, a delegation of Columbia Basin Development League advocates traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with congressional leaders and deliver a unified message from organizations across Eastern Washington. A letter signed by agricultural producers, irrigation districts, conservation districts, agricultural businesses, and community partners respectfully requests that Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell support inclusion of language in the Senate Farm Bill designating the Columbia Basin Project within USDA's Western Waters Region Critical Conservation Area, consistent with the House-passed Farm Bill amendment. View sign on letters.
The Columbia Basin Development League (CBDL) is applauding Representative Michael Baumgartner for securing language in the House-passed Farm Bill that recognizes the importance of the Columbia Basin Project and strengthens opportunities for future federal conservation and water infrastructure investments throughout the region. Representative Baumgartner's amendment directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to include the Columbia Basin Project area within the Western Waters Region Critical Conservation Area (CCA), a designation that helps agricultural regions compete for targeted conservation, water management, and infrastructure funding through USDA programs. Read full press release.
Bettencourt is a third-generation farmer at Bettencourt Farms, which has a popular pumpkin patch. During Trump's first term, she served as deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of the Secretary, Water and Science Division, where she oversaw water and science policy. Read More