State efforts to protect species and habitats in greatest need of conservation received a boost today as ¬the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced over $45 million in funding provided through the State Wildlife Grant (SWG) program. Nearly $3 million is designated to support programs in California and Nevada.
“The State Wildlife Grant Program has made a significant impact by preventing the need to list species under the Endangered Species Act,” said Service Director Dan Ashe. “The program identifies the highest priorities in each state to effectively conserve and protect species on a large landscape scale.”
The SWG program awards grants for projects that implement strategies to conserve priority species contained in approved State Wildlife Action Plans. All 50 states and territorial wildlife agencies have such plans, which collectively provide a nationwide blueprint for actions to conserve rare species, such as the monarch butterfly, for future generations.
Conserving these species through direct actions such as reintroduction and habitat enhancement can help prevent listing under the Endangered Species Act. Proactively conserving and restoring valued species helps local communities, agencies and taxpayers avoid potentially greater conservation costs when species become rare.
“We appreciate the strong ties formed by state agencies and their partners to protect wildlife species and their habitats,” said Hannibal Bolton, the Service’s assistant director for Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration. “These partnerships are critical to the on-the-ground success of saving wildlife and job creation.”
The grants are distributed through an apportionment formula in accordance with the Appropriations Act. These funds are allocated to states and territories based on population and geographic area.
Grant funds must be used to address conservation needs, such as research, wildlife surveys, species and habitat management, and monitoring, identified within a State’s Wildlife Action Plan. These funds may also be used to update, revise or modify a state’s plan.
For more information and a list of state, commonwealth and territory funding allocations, visit http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/SWG/SWG.htm.
Learn more about State Wildlife Grant Program accomplishments here: http://tracs.fws.gov/public/.
