Briefings - Section
6 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
Purpose: The Secretary of the Interior is directed to cooperate with States to conserve
endangered or threatened species. This includes providing grants to States for
endangered and threatened species projects under Section 6 of the Endangered Species
Act.
Eligible Participants: Any State or Territory which establishes and maintains an adequate and active
program for conservation of endangered and threatened species is eligible. The
State and the Service must enter into a Cooperative Agreement, which specifies
the State's authority for management of endangered and threatened species, before
the Service can provide funds for projects proposed by a State. Continued eligibility
is reaffirmed annually by reviewing changes in the States' management authority
or their endangered and threatened species program.
Funding: Funds are appropriated annually through several programs as part of the Service's
budget process:
-
Traditional section
6 Conservation Grants are distributed by the Washington D.C. Office to
the regional offices based primarily on the number of listed species in the
Region, and total number of Section 6 Cooperative Agreements with States in
the Region.
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Recovery Land Acquisition
Grants for acquisition of habitat for endangered and threatened
species in support of approved recovery plans. Acquisition of habitat to secure
long term protection is often an essential element of a comprehensive recovery
effort for a listed species. (National competition)
-
Habitat Conservation
Plan (HCP) Grants to support the development of HCPs, through support
of baseline surveys and inventories, document preparation, outreach, and similar
planning activities. Grants may also support the implementation of conservation
actions that complement the mitigation actions called for in approved HCPs. (National competition)
-
Safe Harbor Grants for planning, development, and implementation of Safe Harbor Agreements
for listed species on state, private, and other non-Federal lands, with emphasis
on statewide and range-wide Safe Harbor Agreements and associated private
landowner agreements. Safe Harbor Agreements have proven extremely effective
in encouraging non-Federal landowners to enhance or improve habitat for threatened
and endangered species on their property. (Regional competition)
-
Candidate Conservation
Agreement Grants for planning, development,
and implementation of Candidate Conservation Agreements to conserve candidate
and proposed species, and species likely to become candidates, on State, private,
and other non-Federal lands. By addressing the needs of species early, potential
conflicts associated with listing may be avoided. Emphasis is placed on statewide
and range-wide agreements and local and private landowner agreements associated
with these state-wide or range-wide efforts. (Regional competition)
-
The HCP Land Acquisition
Program is administered through Ecological Services (503-231-6241).
Matching Requirements: The Federal share of a project cannot exceed 75 percent unless two or more adjacent
states jointly prepare a cooperative project in which they have a common interest.
The maximum federal share of a joint project in which two or more states are
actively involved is 90 percent.
Project Application/Selection
Process: Annually, States prepare project proposals which receive
initial review by the Endangered Species Field Offices to ensure they are eligible
and address high priority activities; proposals are submitted to the Regional
Office. Proposals are ranked according to criteria which include degree of threat,
likelihood of recovery, consistency with Recovery Plans, listing status of the
species, etc. The Regional Director makes the final decision regarding which
projects to fund and in what amount for the Traditional Grants, the Safe Harbor
Agreements, and the Candidate Conservation Agreements. The Regional Director
forwards proposals to be funded through national competition to the Washington
D.C. office for consideration and selection for HCP Planning and Species Recovery
Land Acquisition programs.
WSFRP Contacts:
Heather Hollis (heather_hollis@fws.gov) 503-231-2372
