Under the new Private Stewardship Grant program envisioned by President Bush when he was still Texas governor, the Interior Departments U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced 113 grants totaling more than $9.4 million to individuals and groups to undertake conservation projects on private lands in 43 states for endangered, threatened and other at-risk species.
An individual landowner in Missouri will receive a $21,000 grant to restore and manage wildlife habitat.
President Bush originally proposed the creation of the Private Stewardship Grant program during a speech in Lake Tahoe, Nevada in June 2000. The grants announced today, the first ever awarded under the program, will benefit species ranging from the whooping crane in Nebraska to the bald eagle in the state of Washington. Each grant must be matched by at least 10 percent of the total project cost either in non-federal dollars or in-kind contributions.
Conservation, and especially the conservation of imperiled species, must be a partnership between the American people and their government, said Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton. By making these grants, we are empowering citizens to restore habitat on their land and take other steps to protect and recover endangered, threatened and at-risk species.
Judging from the number of truly innovative grant proposals we reviewed, landowners across the U.S. are eager to work with us to conserve at-risk species, said Service Director Steve Williams. We anticipate this public/private partnership will result in significant conservation achievements for wildlife and wildlife habitat.
The Private Stewardship Grants Program provides federal grants on a competitive basis to individuals and groups engaged in voluntary conservation efforts on private lands that benefit federally listed endangered or threatened species, candidate species or other at-risk species. Under this program, private landowners as well as groups working with private landowners are able to submit proposals directly to the Service for funding to support these efforts. President Bush has requested funding of $10 million for this program in 2004.
The Private Stewardship Grant funded in Missouri is:
Private landowner: Endangered Gray and Indiana Bat Riparian and Hibernation Habitat Protection ($21,374)
This grant will help increase the populations of gray and Indiana bats by protecting, restoring and managing riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian corridors and upland forests, and preserving suitable foraging, roosting and hibernation habitats for these species. Management strategies include fencing out cattle, decreasing human disturbance and restoring plant biodiversity by eliminating non-native plant species, which will increase plant density and insect species populations needed by the endangered bats.
For a complete list of Private Partnership Stewardship grant awards, please visit: http://endangered.fws.gov/grants/private_stewardship.html.
