As part of a continuing effort to work in partnership with landowners, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is distributing 48 grants worth $5 million to projects in 28 states and Puerto Rico to help citizens conduct endangered species conservation activities on private property.
"From bog turtles in New Jersey to prairie chickens in Texas to waterfowl in Alaska, private citizens are making a difference for threatened and endangered species," says Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior. "I look forward to building upon these relationships with private landowners to protect imperiled species."
The grants are part of the Endangered Species Act Landowner Incentive Program, an initiative established three years ago by Congress to provide financial assistance and incentives to private property owners who are willing to conserve listed species, as well as species that are proposed for listing. To date, the Service has made more than 100 grants worth $15 million. To qualify for this program, landowners or other non-Federal partners must contribute at least 10 percent of the cost of the project in either cash or in-kind services such as labor or supplies.
"Much of the habitat for threatened and endangered species occurs on private land," says Marshall Jones, Acting Director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. "That is why we need the direct involvement and support of private landowners to assist in our conservation and recovery efforts. These grants will help landowners who voluntarily come to the rescue of our nation
