The State Department of Natural Resources, Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account (ALEA), has announced the prioritized funding list for 2003 as approved by the Commissioner of Public Lands, Doug Sutherland. Following formal review and rating of projects submitted throughout the state, the proposal for acquisition and development of the Sinclair-Inlet Gorst Estuary Wildlife Preserve has come out in the top 10 projects recommended for funding. The project, proposed by Kitsap County and its partners, including the Port of Bremerton, was for a total project cost of $ 1.49 million dollars. The grant will become part of the state DNR requested capital budget for the match amount of $672,000 submitted to the legislature in January of 2003. Although final offers of funding for ALEA top ranked projects will be made at that time, official word from the ALEA office is that the project is "in the money" for funding in the upcoming biennium.