COMMISSION APPROVES $25 MILLION FOR WETLANDS PROJECTS

COMMISSION APPROVES $25 MILLION FOR WETLANDS PROJECTS

Thirty eight separate wetland habitat projects in the United States, Canada and Mexico will receive $25 million in federal grants this fall through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (Act) and the efforts of conservation partnerships among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal and state agencies, private landowners and conservation organizations.

In the United States, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission approved 19 wetland conservation projects in 18 states at its quarterly meeting in Washington D.C., committing almost $15 million in matching grants to private and public organizations involved in habitat conservation and restoration. The commission also approved an additional $10 million for 19 projects in Mexico and Canada, projects that will protect habitat for migratory birds that spend part of their year in the U.S.

The 7 Mexico projects are located in 7 separate Mexican states and will go to habitat restoration, management and education efforts. Grant funds totaling nearly $1 million will be combined with $1.13 million in partner funds for the Mexican projects.

Mexico provides winter and stopover habitat for hundreds of species of waterfowl and migratory birds that breed, summer or migrate through the U.S. to Canada. Recognizing that migratory birds are a shared resource, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act funds grants in Mexico and Canada, in addition to the U.S.

The 12 Canadian projects occur in 10 provinces, with a total of more than $9 million in grant funds matched by more than $17 million in partner contributions. The projects will restore and protect thousands of acres of wetlands used by waterfowl and other migratory birds to breed and rear their young before wintering in, and migrating through, the U.S.

Since its passage in 1989, projects funded under the Act have been supported by more than 1000 partners from federal, state and local agencies; private organizations, including environmental groups, small businesses, and farmers and ranchers; and private citizens.

"These projects continue to demonstrate the effectiveness of partnerships, and of the Act that has brought so many people together to preserve and restore migratory bird habitat. In a very real way, these partnerships are making a difference for waterfowl and other migratory birds," said Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark.

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act provides matching grants to private and public organizations and to individuals to carry out wetland conservation projects. For every grant dollar spent on U.S. projects approved March 22, project partners will add four dollars raised from other sources. Grants funding comes from Congressional appropriations, moneys received from fines, penalties, and forfeitures under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918; and from interest accrued on the fund established under the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937. Amendments to the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950 directed that a portion of the funds collected from Federal fuel excise taxes on small gasoline engines be allocated for use under the Act for coastal ecosystem projects. Over the last four years of the program, an average of about $44 million has been available annually from all sources.

The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission meets three times each year to approve proposals for funding. Members of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission are Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, who serves as chairman; Senators John Breaux and Thad Cochran; Congressmen John Dingell and Curt Weldon; Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman; and the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner.

United States projects include:

Arkansas/Louisiana/Mississippi- A partnership among the Service and state wildlife agencies, private landowners and conservation organizations will preserve, restore and enhance 20,000 acres of wetlands in the Lower Mississippi Valley and the Gulf Coast plain. Partners will purchase or protect with perpetual conservation easements more than 2,000 acres of private land, while restoring or enhancing water flow to another 12,000 acres of wetlands. In addition, migratory bird habitat will be improved on 1,000 acres of bottomland hardwood forest, and nesting structures will be installed on 4,000 acres of wetlands. The project, funded by a grant of $450,000 and matched by $3.55 million in partner contributions, will benefit wood ducks and other waterfowl, as well as neotropical migrant songbirds and shorebirds.

California- Using nearly $1 million in Act grant funds matched by $2.3 million in partner contributions, partners will acquire, restore or enhance more than 2,800 acres of wetland and riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.

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habitat in Humboldt and Del None counties in the coastal lowlands of northwestern California. The bays, lagoons, estuaries and coastal wetlands of this area support the largest concentration of wintering waterfowl and shorebirds between San Francisco Bay and Coos Bay, Oregon. The coastal lowlands of northwest California also provide a crucial link in the coastal migration route for Pacific Flyway waterfowl and shorebirds. The project will acquire and permanently protect 718 acres of wetlands and associated uplands, while restoring 300 acres of tidal wetlands and enhancing 1,830 acres of freshwater wetlands, riparian lands and uplands. This will be accomplished by de- leveling agricultural fields, plugging drainage systems and otherwise restoring the lands wetland character.

California- A total of 1,300 acres of wetland habitat will be acquired on Lower Joice in the critically important Suisun Marsh of Californias Central Valley. The marsh encompasses 12 percent of all the remaining natural wetlands in California, and is vitally important for migrating and wintering waterfowl in the Pacific Flyway, especially pintails, mallards and shovelers. The project, funded by a $660,000 grant and nearly $2 million in partner contributions, will protect the from development and enhance existing wetland habitat, while also providing an ideal site for wetland demonstration and educational programs.

Georgia/North Carolina/South Carolina - This multi-state project will protect, restore and enhance 8,423 acres of wetlands and associated habitats to benefit breeding, migrating and wintering migratory birds. The project, funded by a $1 million grant matched by nearly $3.4 million in partner funds, will allow partners to acquire 6,386 acres of key migratory bird habitat, including bottomland hardwood habitat in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Another 608 acres of wetlands and uplands will be restored by planting seedlings to recover bottomland hardwood forest habitat, and establishing grassland habitat on two national wildlife refuges in North Carolina. Partners will also restore 48 acres of sand and shell nesting habitat for shorebirds and colonial nesting waterbirds, and enhance 1,429 acres of wetlands by improving water flow. The results will benefit dozens of species of waterfowl, shorebirds and colonial waterbirds.

Iowa- In partnership with state agencies, conservation groups and private citizens, partners will acquire, restore and enhance more than 3,700 acres of wetlands in the Upper Wapsi wetlands of Eastern Iowa. The work will be funded by a $600,000 grant, matched by more than $2.5 million in partner contributions. The Wapsipinicon River is a major waterfowl and shorebird migration route through eastern Iowa. The Watershed is a major production area for wood ducks, mallards, blue-winged teal and Canada geese. Approximately 929 acres of wetlands will be restored or enhanced, with associated uplands being developed to provide optimum waterfowl nesting cover and other wildlife habitat.

Louisiana- By restoring and enhancing nearly 69,000 acres of coastal wetlands, this project will help reverse the loss of wetland habitat in southern Louisiana, an area that provides winter habitat to nearly two thirds of all ducks, and more than one third of all Canada geese, in the Mississippi Flyway. In the past 70 years, more than 1,500 square miles of marsh, representing 80 percent of the total coastal wetland loss in the U.S., have been lost in Louisiana due to subsidence, erosion and saltwater intrusion. The project will restore or enhance more than 62,500 acres of marsh by constructing terraces, installing water control structures and refurbishing levees. Another 340 acres converted to agricultural production will be restored to moist soil habitat, and 8,000 acres will be enhanced as seasonal wetlands on agricultural lands primarily used to grow rice. The restored and enhanced habitat will provide high-quality habitat for wintering and migrating waterfowl.

Maine- Using a $1 million grant, matched by more than $3 million in contributions from several foundations and more than $25 million in additional public and private funding, partners have an unprecedented opportunity to protect fully 3 percent of the lands in the state of Maine, more than 754,000 acres in total. The NAWCA funds will directly result in the conservation of more than 72,000 wetland acres in some of the most significant wetland complexes in northern Maine. The acquisition of easements on this acreage is part of a much larger project that will ultimately protect 754,000 acres, the largest public/private conservation easement conservation easement
A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a government agency or qualified conservation organization that restricts the type and amount of development that may take place on a property in the future. Conservation easements aim to protect habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife by limiting residential, industrial or commercial development. Contracts may prohibit alteration of the natural topography, conversion of native grassland to cropland, drainage of wetland and establishment of game farms. Easement land remains in private ownership.

Learn more about conservation easement
in U.S. history. The entire project area will be protected against development and unsustainable logging, providing permanent habitat protection for more than 200 species of waterfowl, shorebirds, neotropical migrants and rare and endangered species.

Michigan - More than 3,200 acres of wetlands and associated uplands within the Saginaw Bay watershed in Michigan will be acquired or otherwise protected through easements, using a $1 million grant matched by $3.3 million in partner contributions. More than 40 percent of historic wetlands in the Saginaw Bay watershed have been lost. The land to be acquired provides premier breeding and migratory habitat for waterfowl, endangered and threatened species and other migratory birds. Land acquisition will help link key habitat areas for migratory birds and allow for restoration of wetland hydrology and vegetation, while also permitting management of surrounding uplands for nesting cover.

Minnesota- A grant of $1 million, along with $3.8 million in partner contributions, will be used for the preservation, restoration and enhancement of tallgrass prairies and associated wetlands in Minnesota. The grant will allow partners to accelerate their efforts to conserve this important habitat by acquiring title to more than 1,900 acres and implementing a perpetual easement on an additional 1,510 acres. Another 2,000 acres will be restored, and 2,243 acres enhanced. The project will attempt to stem and reverse the almost complete loss of prairie wetlands in the area by acquiring existing prairie wetlands and adjacent prairies, by restoring drained wetlands and by buffering wetlands and remnant prairies from further disturbance. Doing so will provide important benefits associated with prairie potholes, including increased breeding habitat for waterfowl, improved water quality and flood abatement.

Montana - This project will acquire and protect wetland resources within the Beaverhead, Ruby River and Big Hole Drainages, which are tributaries to the Jefferson River in western Montana. A total of more than 3,800 acres of wetlands and 12,975 acres of associated uplands will be acquired or protected through perpetual easements. The area contains the highest nest density in the west for trumpeter swans, and is one of two primary migration corridors for trumpeter swans. The area hosts up to 10,000 mallards during the winter, and the valley provides habitat for 100,000 ducks during fall migration. Permanent protection for the land and aggressive stewardship efforts help counter ongoing development threats in the area that diminish wetland and riparian habitats. The project will be funded by a $1 million grant, matched by nearly $5 million in partner contributions.

New York- This project is part of an effort by public and private partners to restore 10,000 acres of degraded coastal wetlands on Long over the next decade. As part of this phase, 126 acres will be acquired, and 2,500 acres of coastal salt marsh salt marsh
Salt marshes are found in tidal areas near the coast, where freshwater mixes with saltwater.

Learn more about salt marsh
restored. The project is funded by a $295,000 grant and $5.2 million in partner contributions. Long has always been an important nesting, staging and wintering area for waterfowl and other migratory birds in the Atlantic Flyway. In an attempt to control mosquitos, most of the islands tidal wetlands were ditched and drained in the 1930s and 1940s. Restoration of these wetlands will contribute to the natural biological control of mosquito populations, thus reducing pesticide use. The restored wetlands will also reduce erosion, improve water quality and increase habitat for fish and shellfish.

North Dakota- Using a $405,000 grant and $1.3 million in partner contributions, this project will acquire, protect or enhance nearly 60,000 acres of prairie wetlands and associated uplands in north central North Dakota. The focus of the project area lies within the Souris Lake plain, an unfragmented wetland/grassland complex of about 1 million acres. As part of the project, 6,355 acres of uplands will be protected through conservation easements, along with nearly 1,300 acres of emergent wetlands. A total of nearly 13,000 acres will be either acquired or protected, while degraded wetlands on another 46,000 acres will be enhanced. The area provides important habitat for dozens of species of migratory birds.

North Dakota- More than 34,000 acres will be acquired, restored and enhanced in northwestern North Dakota under this project, financed by a $1 million grant and nearly $1.5 million in partner contributions. This funding will enable partners to purchase perpetual easements on nearly 20,000 acres, while acquiring leases on 3,600 acres and restoring and enhancing nearly 6,000 additional acres. Much of the remaining upland in this area is native prairie that sustains thousands of acres of intermingled wetlands. The area attracts large breeding populations of waterfowl, and partners will construct predator fences and nesting structures to increase nesting success where grassland nesting cover has deteriorated.

Oregon- This project will increase the amount of quality wetland habitat available in the Grande Ronde and Baker Valleys of western Oregon and Washington. The historic Tule Lake, located in the south end of the Grande Ronde Valley and an important source of migration habitat for waterfowl, is the focus of two of the habitat acquisition and restoration elements of the project. The project will also acquire and restore important upstream habitat in the Grande Ronde floodplain. A grant of $530,000, along with nearly $4.8 million in partner contributions, will allow partners to acquire, restore and enhance a total of more than 4,600 acres of wetland and riparian habitat. The net result of the project will be to more than triple the amount of productive, protected emergent marsh habitat in the Grande Ronde and Baker Valleys, Thousands of waterfowl use the area as wintering habitat, while hundreds of thousands of other birds use it as a stopover point on their spring and fall migrations.

Oregon- This project will contribute to efforts to protect wetlands at the 32,000-acre Sycan Marsh in southern Oregon. The current project builds on previous habitat protection ventures by acquiring 5,939 acres of emergent and forested wetlands, while also restoring 1,600 acres of emergent wetlands and restoring an additional 1,000 acres of critical forest wetland and buffer habitat. Restoration work includes filling drainage ditches, restoring the Sycan River to its natural channels, and thinning overgrown forest stands to improve hydrologic functions, prevent catastrophic fires and sediment runoff. A grant of $500,000 will be added to more than $3 million in partner funds for the project. The marsh currently supports more than 50,000 ducks and geese during spring migration.

Oregon- Using a nearly $1 million grant and more than $4.3 million in partner contributions, this project will acquire or restore more than 2,000 acres of wetland habitat along the Willamette River in Oregon. The Willamette River is a significant watershed in the Pacific Flyway that drains over 11,000 square miles, almost an eighth of Oregon. Over 30 species of ducks, geese and swans and a large diversity of shorebirds and wading birds regularly use the wetlands in the valley. Despite losing 50 percent of its wetlands, the valley still provides habitat for more than 300,000 waterfowl during the wintering period. The valley is also under intense development pressure, with the states three largest cities - Salem/Springfield, Eugene and Portland - located there. The goal of the project is to acquire and protect traditional native wetland ecosystems within the area. More than 560 acres will be protected through conservation easements, purchase and donation. An additional nearly 1,500 acres of wetlands will be restored.

South Dakota- The wetlands and associated grasslands of the Lower Brule Sioux Reservation and adjacent lands in South Dakota are in jeopardy, with habitat disappearing at an alarming rate. This proposal is the first phase of a four-phase landscape project that will focus on acquisition, protection, creation and restoration of more than 30,000 acres of wetlands and associated uplands critical for waterfowl and other migratory birds. Using a $445,000 grant and $2.1 million in partner funds, this project will acquire and protect 3,764 acres of wetlands, while acquiring the lease on another 2,900 acres. An additional 1,500 acres of wetlands will be restored, and wetlands created on 231 acres, for a total of more than 8,400 acres. The project also includes a unique mix of partners that includes three organizations affiliated with a Native American tribe, two conservation organizations and four Federal agencies.

Texas- This project, funded by a $1 million grant and nearly $2 million in partner contributions, will protect, restore and enhance almost 2,700 acres of intertidal wetlands and associated adjacent upland prairie in coastal Texas. Most of the acreage lies on the Nueces River Delta, which remains a tremendously productive waterfowl area despite years of development. An additional 245 acres of wetlands will be improved at nearby Sunset Lake. Waterfowl and shorebirds use the lake, but lack of water flow often results in hypersalinity and fish kills. By improving water circulation and tidal inflow, partners hope to restore the lakes value to migrating and wintering waterfowl and other migratory birds.

Utah- With a $1 million grant and more than $3.4 million in partner contributions, more than 8,600 acres of wetlands and associated uplands vital to migratory birds will be acquired and restored in the Great Salt Lake Basin. Wetlands will be restored, streams rehabilitated, uplands enhanced and erosion control measures taken in an effort to improve habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds. It is estimated that more than 3 million waterfowl use the Great Salt Lake wetlands annually, including hundreds of thousands of mallards and pintails. The ecosystem is internationally recognized as a vital link for migratory birds in the Pacific and Central Flyways.

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 which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource 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.

- FWS -