South-Central Prairie Pothole Initiative

NAWCA and the South Central Prairie Pothole Initiative

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) provides needed funding for conservation partnerships to protect important fish and wildlife habitats. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is one of 10 partners in the South-Central Wisconsin Prairie Pothole Initiative Phase III that was funded by a NAWCA grant in September 2005. The project area includes 11 counties--Adams, Waushara, Marquette, Sauk, Columbia, Dane, Jefferson, Green Lake, Walworth, Waukesha and Rock--in south-central Wisconsin.

The partners, including 8 conservation organizations, the Service and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, provided more than $3.1 million in matching funds and received a $1 million grant. Partners will use grant and match monies from this phase to protect and restore more than 4,256 acres of wetland and grassland habitats in the project area. Protection and restoration of these habitats provides critical nesting, brooding, roosting and migratory areas for waterfowl and other migratory birds. For hunters and birders, this equates into a greater number of ducks, geese and other migratory birds present throughout the seasons.

Detailed Map

How did NAWCA come about?

In response to seriously declining waterfowl populations during the early 1980s, the United States and Canadian governments developed the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). This international agreement, signed by the U.S. and Canada in 1986 and Mexico in 1994, provides a strategy for the long-term protection of wetlands and associated uplands needed by waterfowl and other migratory birds.

The success of the plan is dependent upon partnerships, called Joint Ventures, that involve government agencies, conservation organizations, businesses and individual citizens. Eleven Joint Ventures are located in the U.S. and three are in Canada. The State of Wisconsin is located in the Upper Mississippi and Great Lakes Region Joint Venture. At the urging of the partners who created the NAWMP, Congress authorized NAWCA in 1989 to provide up to $50 million annually in Congressional appropriations for a grant program to assist habitat conservation in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

What does NAWCA do?

NAWCA provides matching grants to private organizations and public agencies that have developed partnerships to carry out wetland and upland conservation projects. These projects can include the acquisition of wetlands and associated uplands; grants can also be used to restore and enhance important fish and wildlife habitats. Under the standard grants program, grant requests are limited to $1 million; partners must match each grant request with a minimum 1:1 ratio.

Since 1991, NAWCA has provided $481 million for wetland conservation in North America--partners have contributed an additional $1.3 billion. Over 15.9 million acres of wetlands and associated uplands have been affected across the continent. Since ducks, geese and many other bird species are migratory, conservation projects in the South-Central Wisconsin Prairie Pothole Initiative benefit the immediate area, the State of Wisconsin and other areas in North America. Likewise, NAWCA projects outside of Wisconsin often benefit Wisconsin hunters and birders when birds raised on out-state areas migrate through Wisconsin or Wisconsin hunters and birders visit other states.

What’s on the horizon?

In March 2005, partners submitted the South-Central Wisconsin Prairie Pothole Initiative III, a NAWCA grant proposal. During this phase, partners will provide more than $2 million in match and are requesting $1 million in grant funds; the project’s goal is to protect and restore 3,300 acres of wetland and grassland habitats. Further, $43.5 million was appropriated by Congress for NAWCA in Fiscal year 2002. Competition for grant money during funding cycles is very competitive, but the partners are always optimistic that their grant proposals will be accepted and funded. If so, Wisconsin partners can continue their strong conservation effort within project areas to benefit the state’s waterfowl, resident wildlife and citizens.

What can NAWCA do for private landowners within the South Central Wisconsin Prairie Pothole Initiative project area?

The Service has funds from the current grant to restore wetland and grassland habitats on private lands through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program. Landowners living in the project area who are interested in restoring wetland and/or grassland habitats should contact a biologist at their local Service office to see how the agency can provide technical assistance and funds.