Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will award nearly $17 million in grants to ten states to conserve, restore and protect coastal wetlands. States awarded grants for fiscal year 2004 under the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program are Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
The grants, which provide funding for 20 projects, will be awarded through the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant program and will be supplemented by more than $42 million from state and private partners. The Service makes yearly matching grants to coastal states and U.S. territories for projects involving the acquisition, restoration or enhancement of coastal wetlands. Projects are administered for long-term conservation benefits to wildlife and habitat.
"If conservation is going to succeed in the 21st century, it must be a partnership between the American people and the government," said Interior Secretary Gale Norton. "The National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant program has a proven track record of working with states, communities and private landowners to ensure our nations natural resources are passed on to future generations. This is the focus of the Administrations environmental policy.
Partners in this years Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grants projects include state natural resources agencies, Native American tribes and trusts, county and local governments, private landowners, and conservation groups such as Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited and The Nature Conservancy.
To date, the Service has awarded more than $139 million in grants to 25 states and one U.S. territory under the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. When the 2004 grants projects are complete, they will have protected and/or restored more than 19,000 acres; about 167,000 acres will have been protected or restored since the wetlands grant program began in 1990.
National Coastal Wetlands Conservation grants are awarded through a competitive process. The program is one of three conservation efforts funded by the 1990 Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act. Funding for the program is generated from excise taxes on fishing equipment and motorboat and small engine fuels. These taxes are deposited into the Sport Fish Restoration Account of the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund (commonly called Wallop-Breaux after its Congressional sponsors).
For more information about the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grants program contact the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 or Division of Federal Aid, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203; or check the programs Internet home page at http://www.fws.gov/cep/cwgcover.html.
