The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced nearly $35 million in grants to 20 states to help advance their collaborative efforts to conserve America’s rarest species. Among the states receiving grants are Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, which shared more than $1.5 million. The cooperative grants will provide vital support to state wildlife agencies and conservation organizations to improve the health of the land and water that supports these species and scores of communities across the nation.
Issued through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (authorized by Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act), these competitive grants enable states to work with private landowners, conservation groups and other government agencies to initiate conservation planning efforts and acquire and protect habitat that benefits threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and plants.
“Future generations are counting on us to conserve the wild things and wild places that are not only a vital part of our national identity, but also our economic security and our way of life,” said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. “The Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund grants are catalysts for partnerships and voluntary conservation efforts at the local level, an essential component of successful endangered species recovery.”
“Private landowners and natural resource managers are the linchpin for the conservation of many of our most threatened species,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe. “By fostering partnerships between federal, state and local governments, private organizations, and individuals, we can pool our resources to develop creative solutions that will drive critical conservation and recovery efforts. These grants are one of many tools available under the Endangered Species Act and we look forward to providing continued guidance and support for these programs.”
The grant funding is provided through programs established to help advance creative partnerships for the recovery of imperiled species. This year, the fund will allocate approximately $7.4 million in grants through the Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance Grants Program; nearly $18 million through the Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition Grants Program, and $9.5 million through the Recovery Land Acquisition Grants Program.
“We can wait for fish and wildlife species to decline to the point where we can’t do anything but react with expensive, last-ditch efforts, or we can take proactive steps to conserve wildlife and their habitats before it is too late,” said Dan Forster, President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Director of the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division. “These grants will enable state fish and wildlife agencies to carry out important on-the-ground conservation actions with our partners to advance the stewardship of our nation’s fish and wildlife resources.”
A complete list of the 2014 grant awards under these programs (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 15.615) is available online at: www.fws.gov/endangered/grants/index.html.
Habitat conservation plans are agreements between a landowner and the Service that allow a landowner to undertake otherwise lawful activities on their property, even if they may impact listed species. In return, the landowner agrees to conservation measures designed to minimize and mitigate the impact of those actions. HCPs may also be developed by a county or state to cover certain activities of all landowners within their jurisdiction and may address multiple species.
Under the HCP Land Acquisition Grants Program, the Service provides grants to states or territories for land acquisitions that complement the conservation objectives of approved HCPs.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources received $460,000 to purchase 1,533 acres of land in the Glacial Lake Wisconsin Recovery Unit for the Karner Blue Butterfly. This acquisition will protect the area from development and allow management for the Karner blue butterfly and other species within the barrens ecosystem.
The HCP Planning Assistance Grants Program provides grants to states and territories to support the development of HCPs through funding of baseline surveys and inventories, document preparation, outreach and similar planning activities.
For example, the Departments of Natural Resources in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin will use a $750,000 grant to develop an HCP for several species of cave-dwelling bats, including the endangered Indiana bat, proposed northern long-eared bat, and the little brown bat and tri-colored bats, all species currently severely threatened by white-nose syndrome.
The Recovery Land Acquisition Grants Program provides funds to states and territories to acquire habitat for endangered and threatened species with approved recovery plans. Habitat acquisition to secure long term protection is often an essential element of a comprehensive recovery effort for a listed species.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will use $252,000 in grant monies to acquire 223 acres of existing and restorable maternity habitat for the endangered Indiana bat. The expected benefits include permanent protection, expansion, and management of essential summer habitat for the Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat, and establishment of a forested commuting corridor.
In Michigan, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy will use $180,000 in grant funds to purchase three parcels of land to protect and recover the endangered Mitchell’s satyr butterfly and the eastern massasauga rattlesnake, a candidate for listing. Land acquisition will occur within the Spring Brook Fen Complex in Kalamazoo County and the Coldwater Fen Complex in Branch County, home to the second largest population of Mitchell’s satyr butterflies.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources received $40,500 to purchase an 11.2-acre parcel of land within the Red Banks Alvar State Natural Area that harbors a significant population of the threatened dwarf lake iris and its habitat. The parcel is in an area undergoing rapid residential growth, resulting in conditions unfavorable to the iris.
The Endangered Species Act provides a critical safety net for America’s native fish, wildlife, and plants. The Service is working to actively engage conservation partners and the public in the search for improved and innovative ways to conserve and recover imperiled species. To learn more about endangered species in the Midwest, visit www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered.
