The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and five territories are now eligible to take part in the new Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program.
The Secretary of the Interior is in the process of distributing $50 million in grant money through the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program to states and territories for programs that benefit wildlife conservation, wildlife conservation education and wildlife-associated recreation projects. The Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program is a new grants program established by Congress through Title IX of the Commerce, Justice and State Appropriations Act.
"The great thing about this program is the diversity of projects we are able to fund," said Marshall Jones, acting Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "from field guides, trails and wildlife viewing platforms to restoring habitat for species."
For states and territories to be eligible for participation in the program, each needed to first present a wildlife conservation plan to the Service, which included a commitment by the state or territory to begin the implementation of a wildlife conservation strategy within 5 years that is based on their greatest conservation needs. All fifty states, the District of Columbia and five territories submitted plans to qualify for this grant program. A committee composed of members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA) and state wildlife agencies reviewed the plans and worked with the states and territories to provide any supplemental information necessary to qualify for the program.
The Service sees the program as an expansion of the highly successful and popular Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program that will provide additional funds to the states to conduct much needed work in wildlife conservation. The amount of money each state and territory receives once a proposal has been submitted and accepted is based on a formula that incorporates its land mass and population size in relation to the remaining states and territories.
A chart showing each states apportionment under the wildlife conservation grants program for fiscal year 2001 is available by calling 202-208-5634.
"We are appreciative of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their cooperation in working expeditiously to provide this critically needed funding. Now the states, the District of Columbia, and the territories are armed with additional resources to confront the present days troubling trend of wildlife declines, and to ensure that future generations can enjoy healthy fish and wildlife populations for years to come," said R. Max Peterson, executive vice president of IAFWA.
Fourteen states or territories are already putting this grant money to work. Some examples of their efforts include bat surveys in Louisiana, mapping of black-tailed prairie dog colonies in North Dakota, an amphibian and reptile field guide in Oklahoma, and the development of a watchable wildlife program for visitors to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah.
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 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 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.
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