In the United States, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission approved 15 wetland conservation projects in 15 states at its September 15 meeting in Washington D.C., committing more than $13 million in matching grants to private and public organizations involved in habitat conservation and restoration. The commission also approved an additional $9.7 million for 11 projects in Canada and four projects in Mexico, projects that will protect habitat for migratory birds that spend part of their year in the U.S.
The $13 million in grants for United States projects will be matched by more than $58 million raised by project partners. The projects will protect and enhance more than 186,000 acres of wetlands in areas that are experiencing steep declines in wetland habitat. Canadian projects will be matched by $12.8 million in other funds, and the $611,000 in grants for Mexican projects by more than $700,000 from project partners.
Since the Acts inception in 1989, Act-funded projects have been supported by more than 900 partners from federal, state and local agencies; private organizations, including conservation groups, small businesses, and farmers and ranchers; and private citizens.
"These joint ventures truly represent the future of wetland conservation. Were proud to use the North American Wetlands Conservation Act to provide matching grants to these valuable projects, grants that bring together diverse groups and individuals to ensure local support," said Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark, who noted that every grant dollar spent on these projects in the U.S. will be matched by at least three dollars raised from other sources.
The wetland acquisition, restoration and enhancement projects approved by the commission will be funded through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, which provides matching grants to private and public organizations and to individuals to carry out wetland conservation projects. Grants under the act are financed by the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund, made up of appropriations; fines, penalties, and forfeitures under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; and interest accrued on the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Fund administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission meets three times each year to review proposals for refuge acquisitions and wetlands conservation projects. Members of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission are the Secretary of the Interior, who serves as chairman; Senators John Breaux and Thad Cochran; two members of the U.S. House of Representatives John Dingell and Curt Weldon; the Secretary of Agriculture; and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
United States projects include:
Arkansas- Pintails, mallards and many other species of waterfowl will benefit from the acquisition of 3,445 acres of forested wetland in the Seven Devils Swamp Wildlife Management Area, in an area of Arkansas that has experienced catastrophic rates of wetland loss. NAWCA grant money totaling $1 million will be used to purchase 840 acres of wetlands, while more than $3.1 million in additional leveraged funding from project partners will be used to purchase the remaining acreage. The parcel lies in the heart of the Lower Mississippi Joint Venture, providing wintering habitat for more than 20 species of waterfowl.
California-This project will restore and enhance more than 22,400 acres of wetland habitat in Californias Central Valley, which winters 60 percent of the Pacific Flyways population of northern pintails and provides crucial winter habitat for other waterfowl. The project, which will receive nearly $984,000 in NAWCA grants matched by nearly $4.6 million in partner contributions, will reconstruct and rehabilitate the antiquated water delivery system on the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, providing reliable sources of high-quality water for year-round wetland management. In addition, some agricultural land will be restored to functioning wetlands.
California/Oregon-A partnership with conservation organizations, federal and state agencies will protect, restore and enhance nearly 24,000 acres of emergent wetlands and associated uplands in the Klamath Basin in California and Oregon. Most of the project, which will receive more than $785,000 in NAWCA grant money to complement almost $3.6 million in matching partner contributions, will restore habitat on Lower Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges. Restoration activities will include levee construction, land contouring and water delivery design and construction to improve wetland habitat in the area. Aerial surveys have shown that the project area now supports over 4 million staging waterfowl, including 900,000 mallards and 2 million pintails.
Illinois- In partnership with federal and state agencies and conservation groups, the Nature Conservancy will acquire more than 2,800 acres along the Cache River in southern Illinois with $740,000 in NAWCA grant money, matched by nearly $4.5 million in partner contributions. The project will restore 1,900 acres of wetlands on this parcel and enhance 113 acres of existing wetlands through a water control structure structure
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Learn more about structure provided by the Corps of Engineers. Purchase of the property will link existing state wetland areas, creating a 14,000-acre block of continuous riverine wetland habitat. More important, the project area will be the future site of an attempt to reconnect the upper and lower Cache Rivers, which were artificially separated by a water control project in the early 1900s, causing silt to degrade wetlands in the area.
Iowa- Through outright acquisition and permanent easements, this project will result in the acquisition of approximately 7,600 acres of new lands, using a $600,000 NAWCA grant and more than $12.6 million in matching partner contributions. Additional funds will be used to purchase farmlands under existing restrictive easements and restore them to wetlands and associated uplands. The Service has committed up to $1 million per year to buy out properties enrolled under 30-year easements. The project will restore prairie pothole basins and associated uplands in north-central Iowa, critically important to nesting waterfowl in Iowa and to waterfowl migrating along the Central Flyway.
Louisiana- By acquiring more than 2,500 acres of coastal wetlands in the Lake Pontchartrain basin, this project will help protect valuable migratory bird habitat from development pressures in the New Orleans metropolitan area. The project will be funded by a $1 million NAWCA grant, matched by $2.8 million in matching partner contributions. The acquisition is the first step in what the Service hopes will be a protected, contiguous wetland complex encircling the eastern half of Lake Pontchartrain. All acquired lands will be managed as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Maryland-Through a combination of perpetual easements from private landowners, land acquisition and habitat restoration and enhancement, the Service and its partners will protect, restore and create more than 2,800 acres of wetland habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. More than 350 acres currently under cultivation will be restored as wetland habitat for wintering and migratory waterfowl, while acreage will be added to adjacent Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and the State of Marylands Fishing Bay/LeCompte Wildlife Management Area. The project will be funded by a $700,000 NAWCA grant, matched by nearly $2.2 million in partner contributions.
Michigan- More than 2,800 acres of coastal wetlands and associated uplands in the Lake Superior and St. Marys River watersheds in Michigans Upper Peninsula will be protected, enhanced and restored through a partnership with state and federal agencies, Indian communities, landowners and conservation organizations. The acquisition, funded by a $1 million NAWCA grant and over $2.7 million in partner contributions, will permanently protect more than 7,800 feet of Lake Superior shoreline from development, essential to the recovery of the endangered piping plover. The area supports large populations of wintering and staging waterfowl populations.
Missouri-This project will increase the amount of quality wetland habitat available in the Osage River basin of west-central Missouri, an important migration and wintering area for migratory waterfowl and wetland- and forest-dependant birds. Almost $1 million from NAWCA, matched by almost $3.7 million in partner contributions, will go to acquire a 5,600-acre tract of floodplains of the Four Rivers Conservation Area. Once composed of expansive bottomland forest and wetland habitat, the land is now mainly in agricultural use. Long-range goals include the restoration of approximately 3,000 acres of managed marshland, reforestation of approximately 2,650 acres of bottomland hardwood forest and restoration and revegetation of more than 600 acres of adjacent prairie uplands and wetlands. More than 250 bird species have been recorded in the area, approximately one-third of which are neotropical migrants.
New Hampshire-The third stage of an ambitious project to protect southern New Hampshires Great Bay estuary and its tributaries, this project will acquire and otherwise protect 1,975 acres of estuarine and freshwater wetlands in the estuary, an important wintering and resting area for migratory waterfowl, and the largest black duck wintering area in New Hampshire. The project will be funded by a $944,000 NAWCA grant,matched by over $2.2 million in partner contributions.
New Jersey- This project builds upon ongoing federal and state efforts to protect the Delaware Bay estuary, acquiring more than 4,600 acres of estuarine wetlands, one of the largest unprotected habitats for key migratory birds in the estuary. The acquisition project, funded by a $1 million NAWCA grant and more than $2 million in partner contributions, will protect nesting habitat for the bald eagle and waterfowl like the mallard and canvasback duck.
North Dakota-Funded by a $760,000 NAWCA grant and nearly $1.9 million in partner contributions, this project will acquire, enhance and restore more than 29,000 acres of wetlands and associated uplands in northeastern North Dakota. These wetlands provide critically important migration and breeding habitat for many waterfowl and wetland dependant species. The adjoining uplands provide nesting habitat for birds, while minimizing the influx of pesticides and sediments into nearby wetlands.
Texas-This project will benefit resident and migratory waterfowl, shorebird and wading bird populations in the Gulf Coast region of Texas by restoring 6,950 acres of wetlands on private and public lands. The project, funded by a $560,000 NAWCA grant and nearly $1.9 million in partner contributions, will establish reliable wetland habitat in a region where wetland availability varies greatly. The project will provide landowners with water control equipment and installation that will enable them to flood agricultural fields in the fall, providing valuable habitat for migrating waterfowl, and breeding habitat for waterfowl in the spring.
Vermont-NAWCA funds will directly result in the protection of 3,100 acres of the Ferdinand Bog System in northern Vermont, one of the top black duck breeding areas in New England. The $1 million grant, matched by over $7.2 million in partner contributions, would be used to create a new 22,000-acre Wildlife Management Area for the State of Vermont that most of the Paul Stream watershed, an area of pristine and remote wetlands. Additional acquisitions and easements bring the total acreage protected from development to more than 55,000 acres.
Washington- Under this project, a variety of habitat types will be acquired, restored and created, in the first phase of a 5-year project to protect, restore and enhance more than 10,000 acres of critical habitat for migratory and resident wildlife in the northern Puget Sound region of Washington. The first phase involves acquisition of 230 acres, a critical habitat bridge between the Padilla and Samish Bays. The properties support one of the highest wintering population densities of falcons and other raptors in North America. The project is funded by a $965,000 NAWCA grant, matched by more than $3.2 million in partner contributions.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93- million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fish and wildlife management assistance offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.


