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| Division of Bird Habitat Conservation | |
A total of $18.9 million in funding was approved for the following 22 projects on September 10, 2003. Project partners are contributing $43.7 million in matching funds and $52.6 million in nonmatching funds to affect 208,315 acres of habitat. These projects are considered part of the Fiscal Year 2004/Window 1 grants cycle. This information is accurate as of the date of approval. For further information about specific grant projects, please contact the grantee listed in individual project summaries. Project Summary Table.
| ALABAMA | |
| Project:Mobile - Tensaw Delta IV. Location: Baldwin and Mobile Counties, Alabama. Congressional District: 1. Grantee: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources-Forever Wild Program. Contact: Gregory Lein, (334) 353-7998, glein@dcnr.state.al.us. Partners: The Nature Conservancy of Alabama, Coastal Land Trust (Trust), Mobile Water and Sewer Board, and Alabama State Lands Division. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $3,360,000. Nonmatching Funds: $50,000. Joint Venture: Gulf Coast. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 27. |
Partners will acquire nine tracts, involving 9,222 acres of forested habitat and estuarine and palustrine emergent wetlands. The tracts have been held by the Trust for several years and are not under serious threat of development; however, by not being a part of the State's existing wildlife management area system, restoration and enhancement opportunities are missed. In addition, if these tracts are not acquired by the partnership for transfer to the State, the Trust would not be able to secure other ecologically important parcels on behalf of state and federal conservation agencies. |
| CALIFORNIA | |
| Project: Grassland Ecological Area, III. Location: Stanislaus, Fresno, and Merced Counties, California. Congressional District: 12, 18, and 20. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Mark Biddlecomb, (916) 852-2000, mbiddlecomb@ducks.org. Partners: Ducks Unlimited, Inc., California Department of Fish and Game, California Wildlife Conservation Board, Grassland Water District, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,024,606. Nonmatching Funds: $95,782. Joint Venture: Central Valley. Flyway: Pacific. BCR: 32. |
The San Joaquin Valley supports up to 25 percent of the Central Valley's wintering waterfowl populations and over 100,000 wintering shorebirds. The Grassland Ecologoical Area, located in the San Joaquin Valley, contains the largest contiguous wetland complex in California and is designated a Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. Here, partners will acquire 67 acres, restore 4,416 acres, and enhance 12,788 acres of wetlands, riparian, and associated uplands habitats. They will restore degraded portions of Mud Slough as well as several natural sloughs on state wildlife areas by installing water-control structures, restructuring topography, and planting vegetation. Wetland enhancements on the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge and state wildlife areas will consist of earthmoving and installing water-control structures to create habitats for waterfowl, shorebirds, and other wetland-associated birds throughout the year. |
| Project: Honey Lake Valley and Big Valley Wetlands Project. Location: Lassen and Modoc Counties, California. Congressional District: 4. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Mark Biddlecomb, (916) 852-2000, mbiddlecomb@ducks.org. Partners: Ken Doyle, Wild Goose Club, Bert Thomas, Honey Lake Ranch, Honey Lake Valley Resource Conservation District, Pheasants Forever-Northeastern California Chapter, California Department of Fish and Game, California Wildlife Conservation Board, Kramer Ranch, Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Intermountain West Joint Venture. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $852,823. Matching Funds: $1,806,652. Nonmatching Funds: $377,336. Joint Venture: Central Valley. Flyway: Pacific. BCR: 9. |
Partners will conserve 5,723 acres of wetlands, associated uplands, and forested habitats. Wetland restoration and enhancement work will include conducting topographic surveys and preparing engineering designs; contouring land; building levees and ditches; installing water- and erosion-control structures; installing wells, pumps, and pipelines; constructing fences; removing non native vegetation; reconditioning soils; and planting native grasses, riparian vegetation, and cereal grains. The partners' work will increase the wetland acreage available during fall and spring migrations and will provide reliable wetland habitat through the waterfowl nesting season. Upland habitat restoration and enhancement work will increase the amount of available food for fall- and spring-staging waterfowl and greatly improve cover conditions for nesting waterfowl. The restored native cottonwood and willow riparian vegetation will provide suitable habitat for a variety of Neotropical migratory songbirds. |
| Project: North Sacramento Valley Wetland Habitat
Project, I. Location: Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Sutter, Tehama, and Yuba Counties, California. Congressional District: 2. Grantee: California Waterfowl Association. Contact: Chadd Santerre, (530) 868-5072, chadd_santerre@calwaterfowl.org. Partners: California Wildlife Conservation Board, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, private landowners, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,107,453. Nonmatching Funds: $5,652,559. Joint Venture: Central Valley. Flyway: Pacific. BCR: 32. |
It is estimated that 60 percent of the Pacific Flyway's waterfowl population (excluding seaducks) either winters in or migrates through California's Central Valley. The State's natural wetlands have declined by more than 90 percent, from an estimated 5 million acres historically to less than 450,000 acres. The valley's increasing human population, with its concomitant urban and agricultural development and watershed and drainage encroachment, poses threats to the wetlands that remain. Partners will protect, restore, and/or enhance 10,503 acres of wetlands, riparian, and associated uplands habitats. They will conduct 35 restoration and enhancement projects on 28 private, 3 federal, and 4 state properties. These projects will involve contouring agricultural fields, constructing new levees, installing water-control structures, improving water-delivery systems, developing new water sources, rehabilitating degraded wetlands, planting riparian trees, and seeding upland areas. Thirty-year management agreements between landowners and the California Waterfowl Association will secure habitat values achieved by the partners conservation efforts. |
| Project:San
Joaquin River I. Location: Stanislaus County, California. Congressional District: 18. Grantee: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). Contact: Kim Forrest, (209) 826-3508, kim_forrest@fws.gov. Partners: State of California Resources Agency, Bob and Marie Gallo Foundation, Mape's Ranch and Lyon's Investments, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Berta Herger, Dean Houk, John Cox, Nick Blom, "Red" Nation, Modesto Junior College, Hughson High School, Patterson High School, Oristemba High School, Los Banos High School, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $993,205. Matching Funds: $2,733,853. Nonmatching Funds: $507,833. Joint Venture: Central Valley. Flyway: Pacific. BCR: 32. |
Partners will acquire 91 acres in fee title and 755 acres in conservation easements on private lands. The fee-title property will become part of the Service's San Joaquin National Wildlife Refuge. Restoration and enhancement work will take place on a total of 1,913 acres on the refuge and adjacent conservation easement lands and on four private properties along the San Joaquin River, 5 miles upstream from the refuge. Partners will recontour previously filled wetland basins; install water-delivery pipelines, canals, and water-control structures; remove old berms from across wetlands; install a well and rehabilitate a lift pump; reslope eroded banks; plant riparian vegetation; and build fences to exclude cattle from riparian habitat. When completed, they will have created shallow emergent marshes and permanent wetlands, short-grass foraging areas, and forested slough channels on the refuge and reconfigured agricultural fields to oxbow slough channels and swales on private lands. |
| FLORIDA | |
| Project: Hickory
Mound Impoundment Enhancement Project. Location: Taylor County, Florida. Congressional District: 2. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Craig Leschack, (843) 745-9110, cleschack@ducks.org. Partners: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (Commission), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Taylor County. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $391,249. Matching Funds: $686,065. Nonmatching Funds: $100,000. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 27. |
The partnership will refurbish a 2 mile section of levee surrounding the Hickory Mound Impoundment. The impoundment, situated in the Big Bend Wildlife Management Area, contains 300 acres of palustrine forested wetland, 700 acres of estuarine intertidal marsh, and 823 acres of live oak/Sabal palm hummocks and slash pine islands. Approximately 11 acres of levees define the impoundment. Partners will install a new 2,000 foot spillway in the levee and will replace existing culverts with four box culverts. The remaining levee will be reshaped and stabilized. The project will enhance the impoundment by restoring water and salinity level management capabilities, giving the Commission the ability to conduct periodic drawdowns and controlled burns. |
| Project: Torry,
Kreamer Island Restoration Project, Phase I. Location: Palm Beach County, Florida. Congressional District: 16. Grantee: Arthur R. Marshall, Jr. Foundation, Inc. Contact: John Arthur Marshall, (561) 805-8733, plancypress@aol.com. Partners: City of Belle Glade, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and South Florida Water Management District. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $400,000. Matching Funds: $820,000. Nonmatching Funds: $750,500. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 31. |
This project is a grassroots driven effort to return a 3,005 acre island in Lake Okeechobee to its old self. Partners will acquire 5 acres and will restore approximately 3,000 acres of wetlands and associated uplands on the island. Restoration activities include removing invasive plants, sediment from a waterway, and 2.56 miles of levees and berms to reestablish the hydrologic connection between the island's interior wetlands and the lake. Partners also will plant appropriate vegetation, including pond apple, cypress, red maple, and bulrushes, in wetlands, littoral zones, and uplands. The City of Belle Glade holds title to 600 acres of the island and will add the project's 5 acre acquisition to its holding; South Florida Water Management District holds title to the remaining 2,400 acres. The city will manage all of the island's habitats. |
| GEORGIA | |
| Project: Penholoway
Swamp Project. Location: Wayne and Mclntosh Counties, Georgia. Congressional District: 1. Grantee: Georgia Department of Natural Resources (Department). Contact: Greg Balkcom, (478) 325-6354, greg_balkcom@dnr.state.ga.us. Partners: The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., National Wild Turkey Federation, and International Paper. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $1,737,070. Nonmatching Funds: $13,400. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 27. |
Partners will conserve 2,394 acres of habitat in the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture’s Ocmulgee Oconee Altamaha Focus Area. The project involves three tracts: Penholoway Swamp (1,447 acres, fee acquisition), Cathead Creek (752 acres, fee donation), and Butler Island (195 acres, enhancement). The Penholoway Swamp Tract contains a mature bottomland forest: bottomland oaks, water tupelo, and cypress, with scattered loblolly pines along the Altamaha River and Alex Creek. It also contains a botanically rich bluff forest. The Cathead Creek Tract contains mature bottomland hardwood forests interspersed with maritime hardwood forests. It also encompasses 157 acres of emergent marsh. Enhancement activities on the Butler Island Tract will include herbicide treatments, dike repair, and water control structure installation to aid in the management of nesting, foraging, wintering, and stopover habitats for a large variety and number of migratory birds. |
| LOUISIANA | |
| Project: Avoca Island Restoration Project. Location: St. Mary and Terrebonne Parishes, Louisiana. Congressional District: 3. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Chad Courville, (337) 291-3068, ccourville@ducks.org. Partners: Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Avoca Island Duck Club, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $635,460. Matching Funds: $1,721,143. Nonmatching Funds: $11,168. Joint Venture: Gulf Coast. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 37. |
Historically, Louisiana had an estimated 3.4 million acres of coastal marsh. Since 1930, more than 960,000 acres (1,500 square miles) of this habitat has been lost due to subsidence, saltwater intrusion, or erosion caused or exacerbated by activities related to fossil fuel exploration, shipping, flood control, and agriculture. Currently, 16,000 to 19,000 acres (25-30 square miles) of Louisiana coastal marsh are lost annually. Project partners will focus on restoration and enhancement of this habitat type. They will restore and enhance a total of 9,645 acres on private lands. Some 2,222 acres of estuarine marsh will be restored on Avoca Island, and enhancement activities will be conducted on 7,423 acres of Falgout Canal. Partners will refurbish existing levees; plant a variety of emergent and submerged aquatic vegetation; construct rock barriers to reduce salt water intrusion, battle storm surge, and control shoreline erosion; and install water control structures to allow water-level management. |
| Project: Oyster
Bayou Restoration Project. Location: Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana. Congressional District: 7. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Chad Courville, (337) 291-3068, ccourville@ducks.org. Partners: Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Cameron Parish Gravity Drainage District No. 7, Marsh Club, ChevronTexaco, Stream Companies, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $990,495. Matching Funds: $2,817,529. Nonmatching Funds: $11,168. Joint Venture: Gulf Coast. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 37. |
Partners will restore or enhance approximately 21,653 acres of coastal marsh habitats on six tracts: five privately owned, one publicly owned. The Gulf of Mexico's coastal habitats are crucial to millions of migrating, wintering, and breeding birds. The habitats conserved by partners will assure that migratory birds and other wetland-associated species have suitable places to feed, rest, nest, and raise their young. The partnership will refurbish existing levees and install a water control structure on the Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, enhancing the management of moist soil habitat. On privately owned tracts, they will plant a variety of emergent and submerged aquatic vegetation; construct rock barriers to reduce salt water intrusion, battle storm surge, and control shoreline erosion; and install water control structures to allow water-level management. |
| MICHIGAN | |
| Project:Grand
River Watershed Project. Location: Barry, Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Kent, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, and Ottawa Counties, Michigan. Congressional District: 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Russ Terry, (734) 623-2000, rterry@ducks.org. Partners: Kent County Parks Department, Michigan Audubon Society, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Duck Hunters Association-Macatawa Bay Chapter, Michigan Duck Hunters Association-State Chapter, Pheasants Forever, Inc., and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $3,699,534. Nonmatching Funds: $50,000. Joint Venture: Upper Mississippi River/Great Lakes. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 23. |
Agricultural and urban development dominate the project-area landscape and have resulted in drained wetlands, fragmented forests, and increased sedimentation and nutrient loading in the State's lakes and streams. Since 1800, an estimated 229,000 wetland acres have been lost within the project area’s counties. The State suffered not only a loss of wetlands but also native prairie. Once, over 2 million acres of native prairie existed in MichiganConly 2 percent remain today. The partnership will acquire 887 acres and restore 920 acres of high-priority habitats throughout the Grand River watershed. Partners will expand state and federal wildlife areas and will restore small wetlands and their associated uplands on both public and private lands. In addition, they will reestablish native prairie communities associated with existing or restored wetlands. |
| MINNESOTA | |
| Project:Northern
Tallgrass Prairie Wetland Conservation Initiate, III. Location: Marshall, Polk, Norman, Mahnomen, Clay, Becker, Wilkin, Ottertail, Grant, Douglas, Todd, Traverse, Stevens, Pope, Stearns, Bigstone, and Lac qui Parle Counties, Minnesota. Congressional District: 7. Grantee: Pheasants Forever, Inc. Contact: Matt Holland, (320) 354-4377, ringneck@tds.net. Partners: Trust for Public Land, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (Board), Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, Stevens County Comprehensive Local Water Plan, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (Department), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,149,352. Nonmatching Funds: $19,021,919. Joint Venture: Prairie Pothole. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 11. |
The overriding goal of this project is to accelerate the conservation of the Northern Tallgrass Ecosystem’s prairies and wetlands to benefit wildlife. Because of the extensive and continuing conversion these habitats to commercial uses and because of their high value to numerous animal species, this ecosystem has been identified as a conservation priority by multiple conservation groups. Partners will acquire 2,209 fee title acres, which will be owned and managed by the Department and the Service. The NRCS and the Board will hold title to perpetual conservation easements, 20,482 acres and 784 acres, respectively. The landowners and agencies will cooperate in the easements' management. Partners will restore and enhance 7,584 acres of wetlands and 13,619 acres of tallgrass prairie. Wetland restoration activities will include the construction of low, earthen dams (some with water control structures) or the removal of drainage tiles. Lands previously converted for other uses will be restored to prairie using locally harvested native prairie seed. |
| MISSOURI | |
| Project: Lewis
and Clark Floodplain Heritage Partnership, Phase II. Location: St. Louis, St. Charles, Franklin, Ray, Laffayette, Linn, Livingston, Chariton, Cooper, Saline, Boone, Johnson, Holt, Atchison, Moniteau, and Missouri Counties, Missouri. Congressional District: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 9. Grantee: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). Contact: Maureen Gallagher, (573) 441-2788, maureen_gallagher@fws.gov. Partners: Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Western Rivers Conservancy, Metropolitan Parks and Recreation District, Boy Scouts of America, Forrest Keeling Nursery, Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation, Howard Wood, Jeff Churan, Ronald Stiles, Jay Henges, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Friends of Big Muddy. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,254,506. Nonmatching Funds: $18,864,451. Joint Venture: Upper Mississippi River/Great Lakes. Flyway: Mississippi. (LINK TO FLYWAY MAPS) BCR: 22 and 24. |
Partners will construct a "string of pearls" within the floodplain of the Missouri River's watershed that will provide oases of diverse aquatic habitat to support natural communities as complex as those noted by explorers Lewis and Clark. They will acquire 5,898 acres in fee title or in conservation easements. These purchases will complement other acquisitions for the Refuge. Restoration work will occur on 7,623 acres of palustrine emergent marsh and on 1,820 acres of bottomland forest. This work will counter the effects of fragmentation of bottomland forests and their disconnection from the river's natural flood pulse, which have been shown to reduce songbird species richness. The floodplain is believed to support about 50 percent of Missouri's waterfowl population. Restoring the river's natural wetland systems and the historic values of Fountain Grove Conservation AreaCone of the jewels of waterfowl management in bygone daysCwill enhance the capacity of the basin to support migrating and wintering ducks. |
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | |
| Project:Great
Bay Estuary V (Lamprey - Piscassic Watershed). Location: Rockingham and Strafford Counties, New Hampshire. Congressional District: 1. Grantee: The Nature Conservancy. Contact: Duane Hyde, (603) 224-5853, dhyde@tnc.org. Partners: Betty Burtt, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., the Towns of Barrington, Newmarket, Durham, Exeter, and Newfields, New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, Audubon Society of New Hampshire, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Lamprey River Advisory Committee. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,460,012. Nonmatching Funds: $2,000. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 30. |
Given its combination of wetland and upland community types and its relatively large size and high quality natural features, the project area, which includes the Lamprey and Piscassic Rivers' watersheds, may be one of the last remaining areas of its kind in New Hampshire. Partners have used a landscape scale approach in implementing their project. During phase five, they will connect an additional 2,680 acres of fee title and conservation-easement acquisitions with the 3,069 acres protected under previous North American Wetlands Conservation Act grants and with the 1,000 acres protected through other partnership efforts. They also plan to restore 42 acres of wetlands during this phase. Their work will result in the preservation of one of the largest unfragmented blocks of crucial habitat found along New Hampshire's seacoastCan area facing significant development pressures. |
| NEW JERSEY | |
| Project: Lower
Cohansey River Watershed Project. Cancelled. Location: Cumberland County, New Jersey. Congressional District: 2. Grantee: New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. Contact: Donald Wilkinson, (609) 292-9401, donald.wilkinson@dep.state.nj.us. Partners: New Jersey Green Acres Program, Cumberland County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., and New Jersey Department of Transportation. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $4,342,540. Nonmatching Funds: $503,414. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 30. |
Partners will acquire 1,342 acres of estuarine intertidal emergent marsh, palustrine forested wetlands, and associated uplands in fee title and will restore 718 wetland acres. On Tract G1, a 238 acre intertidal impoundment will be restored after rebuilding a dike across the mouth of Pine Mount Creek and installing two water control structures with tide gates and a fish ladder. Water control structures installed on Bacon's Neck Road, within Tract G1, will provide additional water level management capabilities. Restoration of Tract M5, located upstream of Tract G1, will include the installation of a water control structure and a fish ladder, which will prevent saltwater intrusion into traditional freshwater riparian areas, preventing further loss of salt intolerant woody vegetation. Fee-title acquisition of four more parcels in the Lower Cohansey River area will complement the restoration efforts. These large habitat blocks are essential in an area where fragmented habitats are becoming the dominant feature of the landscape. |
| NORTH DAKOTA | |
| Project: Devils Lake Drift Prairie Project, III. Location: Towner, Cavalier, Pembina, Benson, Ramsey, Walsh, Nelson, Grand Forks Counties, North Dakota. Congressional District: At large. Grantee: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Contact: Kevin Willis, (701) 355-8526, kevin_willis@fws.gov. Partners: North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Jo Scott, North Dakota Natural Resources Trust, American Foundation for Wildlife, Delta Waterfowl Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Devils Lake Basin Joint Water Resources Board, and many private landowners. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $922,399. Matching Funds: $922,567. Nonmatching Funds: $86,081. Joint Venture: Prairie Pothole. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 11. |
The project area encompasses 6.4 million acres within the Drift Prairie Coteau physiographic subregion of northeastern North Dakota. In this the third phase of an ongoing project, partners will protect, restore, and enhance wetland/grassland communities using a landscape level approach to planning. Partners will conserve more than 10,000 acres of wetlands habitat and approximately 3,500 acres of native grasslands. To maintain suitable nesting habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds, wetlands and their associated uplands will be protected by conservation easements and leases. Using geographic information system technology and databases, partners will identify optimal locations for grassland restoration and for habitat protection through fee title acquisition and grassland easements and leases. |
| Project: Drift
Prairie Wetland Project, IV. Location: Wells, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Steele, Trail, Stutsman, Barnes, Cass, LaMoure, Ransom, Dickey, Sargent, and Richland Counties, North Dakota. Congressional District: At large. Grantee: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Contact: Scott Collins, (701) 355-8527, scott_collins@fws.gov. Partners: North Dakota Natural Resources Trust, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., North Dakota State Water Commission, Delta Waterfowl Foundation, City of Finley, Steel County Job Development, Finley Wildlife Club, Nell Thormodsgaard, Mike Schmitz, Hal Kantrud, other private landowners, and Lake Agassiz Resource, Conservation, and Development. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $596,058. Matching Funds: $599,716. Nonmatching Funds: $30,400. Joint Venture: Prairie Pothole. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 11. |
Partners will protect, restore, enhance, and create approximately 14,845 acres of wetland complexes. To date, many of the project area's wetland complexes have been protected through perpetual conservation easements. However, much of the surrounding prairie uplands have been converted to agricultural use. The resulting habitat fragmentation has forced nesting waterfowl to concentrate their numbers in the remaining grassland cover, allowing predators to become more successful and their population numbers to increase. Typical nest success rates are below levels necessary to maintain waterfowl populations. Using a landscape approach to conservation and making use of technological tools such as geographic information systems and databases, partners will target and prioritize project sites that provide the highest-density wetland and waterfowl occurrences and to identify the best means to conserve these sites. |
| OREGON | |
| Project: Malheur
Lake Basin Project. Location: Harney County, Michigan. Congressional District: 2. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Michael Shannon, (541) 884-3449, mshannon@ducks.org. Partners: Harney Soil and Water Conservation District, Roaring Springs Ranch, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Tuscany Research Institute, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $1,521,694. Nonmatching Funds: $339,333. Joint Venture: Intermountain West. Flyway: Pacific. BCR: 9. |
Work activities associated with this project are focused on Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the largest waterfowl refuge in the West and the most important waterfowl breeding area in Oregon. The basin provides critical migration habitat for several million migratory and breeding birds. The project's Silvies River Tract will be restored to 1,400 acres of palustrine emergent marsh and 810 acres of grassland/sagebrush. More than 5 miles of the river and its associated riparian habitat will be restored. On the Roaring Springs Tract, a 450 acre palustrine emergent marsh will be restored and a 2,100 acre marsh enhanced, and on the Johnson Tract, a 50 acre palustrine emergent marsh will be restored. |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | |
| Project: Ace
Basin: Edisto River Corridor Protection Project. Location: Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, and Orangeburg Counties, South Carolina. Congressional District: 1 and 6. Grantee: National Audubon Society. Contact: Norman Brunswig, (843) 462-2150, nbrunswig@augubon.org. Partners: The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Lowcountry Open Land Trust, Pine Tree Conservation Society, Inc., MeadWestvaco Corporation, Bear Island Club, USDA Forest Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,684,747. Nonmatching Funds: $5,838,250. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 27. |
This is a multiyear project to protect strategic tracts comprised of freshwater and estuarine wetlands and associated uplands in the Edisto River watershed of the ACE Basin. Threats in this area include river-corridor development, forest fragmentation, pine plantation expansions, native hardwood and mixed-forests stands replacement, and water-quality degradation. To permanently protect the valuable habitat in the Edisto River corridor, partners will acquire 3,494 acres in fee title and 7,668 acres in conservation easements. The nearby Francis Beidler Forest (FBF), a Registered National Natural Landmark, supports the largest stand (1,700 acres) of virgin black-water bald cypress and tupelo gum forest in the United States. Some of the acquired acreage will become part of the FBF, and some will be a part of a new South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Management Area. |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | |
| Project: James
River Lowlands/Missouri Coteau Project. Location: 26 counties, South Dakota. Congressional District: At large. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Rick Warhurst, (701) 355-3527, rwarhurst@ducks.org. Partners: South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $1,417,107. Nonmatching Funds: $151,817. Joint Venture: Prairie Pothole. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 11. |
Partners will focus their efforts on private lands having some of the highest-density wetland and waterfowl areas in the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture area. Many of the project area wetlands have been protected through conservation easements held by the Service, but much of the surrounding uplands have been converted to agricultural use, forcing waterfowl and other grassland-nesting birds onto fewer parcels of grassland cover. In these fragmented parcels, increased populations of mammalian predators are more successful in locating nests, resulting in nest success rates for many waterfowl species that are below levels necessary to sustain populations. Partners will acquire conservation easements on 922 wetland acres and 6,764 grassland acres in the State's James River Lowlands and Missouri Coteau regions. The easements will be held and monitored by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The partners also will acquire 2,116 fee-title acres for inclusion in the Service’s Chip Allen Wildlife Management Area. |
| TEXAS | |
| Project:Austin's
Woods, II. Location: Brazoria, Matagorda, Wharton, and Fort Bend Counties, Texas. Congressional District: 14 and 22. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Chad Courville, (337) 291-3068, ccourville@ducks.org. Partners: Phillips Petroleum Company, Joseph Hudson, Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, Wes Griggs, Trust for Public Land, Pete Styner, Cradle of Texas Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy of Texas, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $480,000. Matching Funds: $555,411. Nonmatching Funds: $178,500. Joint Venture: Gulf Coast. Flyway: Central. BCR: 37. |
Historically, Austin's Woods blanketed 700,000 acres adjacent to the Gulf of MexicoCtoday, only 177,000 acres remain. It is the only expanse of forest adjacent to the Texas Gulf Coast. This vanishing habitat faces threats from Houston's expanding residential development, logging, draining, and clearing for grazing. To help conserve this unique and internationally significant wetland-forest ecosystem, partners will build on the project's first phase by conserving additional bottomland hardwood forest tracts: 1,035 acres will be added to the Service's San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, and 11 acres will be owned and managed by the Cradle of Texas Conservancy. Complementing these purchases, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has acquired two important bottomland hardwood tracts: 50 acres have been added to the Stringfellow Wildlife Management Area and 78 acres to Brazos Bend State Park. |
| WISCONSIN | |
| Project: Horicon
Marsh Headwaters Project. Location: Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, and Washington Counties, Wisconsin. Congressional District: 2, 5, and 6. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: John Coluccy, (743) 623-2000, jcoluccy@ducks.org. Partners: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Superior Glacier Ridge Landfill, Ozaukee/Washington Land Trust, Safari Club, Wings Over Wisconsin, John Deere, and Wisconsin Waterfowl Association. Approved: September 10, 2003. Grant: $683,142. Matching Funds: $1,366,285. Nonmatching Funds: None. Joint Venture: Upper Mississippi River/Great Lakes. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 22 and 23. |
The partners' objectives are to establish 1,500 acres of grassland nesting cover and to restore 5,000 acres of degraded wetlands within the 450 square mile project area. Restoring wetlands and uplands habitats within a matrix of agricultural lands throughout the landscape will buffer and support the highly productive core habitat areas found within the Horicon Marsh Wildlife Area and Horicon National Wildlife Refuge. Based on 1973 1979 peak numbers, the Wisconsin Spring Breeding Duck Survey's Southeast Central Stratum, within the Southern Wisconsin Priority I Habitat Area, has the potential to support 77,000 mallards, 145,000 blue winged teal, and 44,000 other ducks once wetland restoration and enhancement and additional perennial upland grass cover are established. The entire project area is located within this stratum. All of Wisconsin's northern pintails and one third of its black ducks are found in Priority I habitat. Partners will convert marginal cropland to grasslands and maintain and enhance areas of oak savanna grasslands, benefiting grassland birds. |
/birdhabitat/grants/nawca/Standard/US/2003_Sept.shtm was last updated 10/20/09 11:05:06
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