Interior Secretary Gale Norton has announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will award $61.2 million in wildlife grants to state and territorial wildlife agencies. Minnesota will receive more than $1.2 million of these funds.
The State Wildlife Grant program is designed to assist states in the development and implementation of programs that benefit wildlife, including species not fished or hunted, and their habitats. The funds are made available through annual appropriations.
“ The grant program demonstrates our commitment to conservation partnerships with state wildlife agencies,” said Norton. “This program exemplifies our cooperative conservation approach by helping states to tailor their conservation efforts in a manner that best fits local conditions.”
To be eligible for State Wildlife Grant funds, each state must complete a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan or Strategy by October 1, 2005. States may use the funds for project planning or implementation activities. A state may receive no more than 5 percent or less than 1 percent of the available funds. The District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico receive .5 percent and Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands receive .25 percent. The apportionment is based on a formula that uses the state’s land area and population.
“ Because so many issues related to wildlife conservation are not contained by borders, states and the Service must work together to coordinate efforts to conserve endangered and threatened species, manage migrating birds and ensure that the foundations for wildlife management are good science and habitat,” said Service Director Steve Williams. “These grants continue to allow us to build a future for conservation together.”
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 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management 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 Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
