The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of Interior, administers federal assistance grants to states to enhance their sport fish and wildlife programs. The review, conducted by the Department of Interiors Inspector General, examined a 2000 audit of Minnesota DNRs compliance with federal rules on $43.6 million in grants provided them during state fiscal years 1998 and 1999.
"The Minnesota DNR did extremely well during this review process and is one of the best agencies in the nation at ensuring that federal dollars provided through grants for fish and wildlife projects are used solely for those purposes," said Bill Hartwig, Midwest regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Hartwig said the review showed the agency had "zero questioned dollars," which indicates the agency has the proper fiscal and programmatic systems in place to comply with federal rules. "It also shows the state is 100 percent accountable for how it spends federal assistance dollars and dollars generated by the sale of hunting and fishing licenses," said Hartwig.
Examples of state projects funded through federal aid grants include:
Waterfowl migration reports and aerial surveys from area wildlife managers and conservation officers.
Collection of deer registration data to improve estimates of deer harvest age and population structure.
Habitat development and improvement on 1,300 state wildlife management areas that encompass 1.1 million acres.
Chronic wasting disease information and research.
Assessing fish populations in Minnesotas lakes and streams
Raising and stocking walleye, muskellunge and trout
Protecting fish and wildlife habitat by reviewing permits for aquatic plant control as well as proposed construction on riverbanks and lakeshores.
"We are very pleased with the results of this audit," said DNR Commissioner Allen Garber. "Our people have done excellent work in making sure that federal dollars earmarked for fish and wildlife conservation are used for that purpose. This audit provided an opportunity to show how accountable we are as a state agency and how dedicated our employees are to making sure that funding for Minnesotas natural resources is used in the correct manner."
Federal laws require states receiving sport fish and wildlife grants to spend those grants only on projects that benefit those resources. The laws also specify that state license revenues cannot be used for any purpose other than the administration of the states fish and game agencies. The findings were issued in a report by the Department of Interiors Inspector Generals Office in November. Federal law requires audits of federal assistance grants to states for sport fish and wildlife restoration once every five years. The next review of the Minnesota DNR has not yet been scheduled.
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 http://midwest.fws.gov
