Interior Secretary Gale Norton today awarded more than $16 million in grants to 25 states to promote the conservation of threatened and endangered species.
"These grants are very much in line with my philosophy that states should be given more resources and greater flexibility to protect habitat and conserve threatened and endangered species," said Secretary Norton. "States will use these grants to strengthen and build vital and cost-effective conservation partnerships with local communities and willing private landowners - partnerships that are essential to helping species prosper and recover."
The grants will benefit threatened and endangered species in every region of the country, helping local partnerships acquire and protect crucial habitat and supporting the development of Habitat Conservation Plans that allow private landowners to use and develop their land while conserving listed species.
The grants will benefit dozens of threatened and endangered species, such as marbled murrelets and bull trout in the Pacific Northwest, the aplomado falcon in the Southwest, the Karner blue butterfly in the Midwest, the Florida scrub jay in the Southeast, Atlantic salmon in the Northeast, and the Preble
