The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is once again offering grants to support local cooperative conservation projects in coastal areas, including the Great Lakes. About $230,000 will be available this fall in the Great Lakes region, and the Service is urging interested groups to apply for funding. Deadline for application is October 31, 2002.
This is the third year the Service has offered grants for conservation projects aimed at restoring and conserving Great Lakes coastal areas and habitats. In the past two years, funding through the Services coastal program has benefited coastal ecosystems along the Great Lakes by conserving fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats in coastal lands and waters; restored or protected more than 900 acres of coastal habitat; protected and restored more than 11 miles of streamside habitat; and removed three fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.
Learn more about fish passage barriers in Great Lakes tributaries, reopening 8 miles of stream to migrating fish.
"We hope that agencies and groups that are involved in coastal conservation programs in the Great Lakes area will take advantage of this funding," said Craig Czarnecki, the Services Regional Coastal Program Manager. "This is an excellent opportunity to get federal dollars for local, on-the-ground conservation efforts that benefit the Great Lakes."
Czarnecki said that in order to fund a variety of partners in a number of different coastal environments, it is recommended that requests for coastal conservation grants are capped at $20,000. "This will enable us to distribute funding among a range of projects and habitats," he said.
To receive information and an application for Service coastal conservation funds, contact Czarnecki at 517-351-2555 or Mark Dryer, also a Service Coastal Program Manager, at 715-682-6185. Completed applications must be received by both managers by September 30, 2002. Grant money is available for a wide variety of practices, including education and planning, that result in restoration, conservation, or management of Great Lakes coastline habitats for fish and wildlife. Emphasis will be placed on projects that produce "on-the-ground" results for coastal ecosystem habitat, are "off-the-shelf" projects that require minimal start-up time, and that are leveraged with other funds.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540 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.
For further information about programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, visit our website at " facehttp://midwest.fws.gov
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