On March 2, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission approved $15.8 million for habitat conservation to benefit migratory birds, including $2 million for projects in Wisconsin and Illinois, through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA). The $15.8 million included the 500th NAWCA project approved by the Commission.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will receive a $1 million NAWCA grant, which will be matched by partner funds of more than $3.5 million, for the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge Partnership Project, Phase II, which will conserve 1,098 acres of wetlands along the Illinois River within the approved boundary of the Emiquon NWR.
The Commission, which is chaired by Interior Secretary Gale Norton and staffed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, also awarded Ducks Unlimited, Inc., and its partners a $1 million grant for the Wisconsin Northwest Pothole Habitat Initiative Project, Phase IV, which will conserve 3,155 acres in northwest Wisconsin. The partners in that project have secured $2.8 million in matching funds.
“ These projects will restore more than 4,000 acres of valuable habitat for wildlife, ensuring that migratory birds and other wetland-dependent species will have places to feed, breed and rest,” said Robyn Thorson, Regional Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region. “But even more impressive is the extraordinary commitment by so many dedicated partners. For every one federal dollar of these grants, partners have contributed three dollars. This evidences the success of this public-private partnership program.”
In Fulton County, Ill., the $1 million NAWCA grant will help bring the Emiquon Partnership closer to its goal of acquiring, restoring and enhancing what was once one of the most biologically diverse and productive wetland complexes in the Midwest. The newly-acquired lands will be restored to seasonal wetlands, prairie and bottomland forests. Partners will plant 20,000 trees, moist-soil plants, prairie forbs and grass plugs, and install or rehabilitate a number of water control structures.
The lands acquired during this project will become part of Emiquon NWR, one of 10 national wildlife refuges in Illinois. Like more than 400 of the 542 national wildlife refuges nationwide, Emiquon is open to the public, providing recreational opportunities such as hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and environmental education.
Partners in this project include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Emiquon Audubon Society, Mason State Tree Nursery, The Nature Conservancy, the Illinois Natural History Survey and the Farm Service Administration.
In nine northwestern Wisconsin counties, partners will restore more than 3,000 acres of wetlands and associated uplands which are important habitat for waterfowl and other grassland birds. Restoration efforts will focus on reestablishing native prairie associated with project wetlands.
Partners in this project include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Deer Lake Conservancy, Kinnickinnic River Land Trust, Star Prairie Fish and Game Association, Star Prairie Land Preservation Trust and Pheasants Forever.
This round of NAWCA grants will fund 17 projects in the United States to protect or restore more than 270,000 acres of wetlands and associated upland habitats in 13 states. Project partners added matching funds totaling $75.9 million. The other U.S.-based NAWCA grant projects are in Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, New Jersey and North Carolina.
Throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada, the NAWCA Standard Grant Program has invested nearly $600 million, and partners have contributed nearly $1.7 billion, to restore and protect more than 20 million acres of wetlands and associated uplands.
The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission also approved more than $482,000 for three NAWCA projects in four Mexican states. Partners added more than $583,000 to those projects.
Funding for the NAWCA grants program comes from Congressional appropriations; funds collected from fines, penalties, and forfeitures under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; interest accrued to the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act; and excise taxes paid on small engine fuels through the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act.
At this same meeting, the Commission also approved more than $289,000 in Migratory Bird Conservation Fund dollars to acquire more than 370 acres of important migratory bird and wetland habitat for Cape May National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, and Lake Ophelia and Red River refuges in Louisiana.
Significant funding for the acquisition of wetland habitat for the National Wildlife Refuge System comes from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, which is supported by revenue collected from Federal Duck Stamp sales, import duties collected on arms and ammunition, right-of-way payments to the Refuge System, and receipts from national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge entry fees. All acquisitions were previously approved by the affected states.
The Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 established the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission to approve land to be purchased for the National Wildlife Refuge System with monies from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.
The Commission meets three times a year to approve funding proposals. Permanent Commission members are Interior Secretary Gale Norton; U.S. Senators Thad Cochran of Mississippi and John Breaux of Louisiana; U.S. Representatives John Dingell of Michigan and Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania; Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman; and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt.
For more information on the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, see http://realty.fws.gov/mbcc.html. For more information on NAWCA, see http://birdhabitat.fws.gov/NAWCA/grants.htm.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 542 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 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, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
