Alaska Native Organizations Receive Almost $1 Million for Wildlife Conservation

CG TimesThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is awarding 53 grants, totaling nearly $9 million, to help 48 federally recognized Indian tribes conserve and recover endangered, threatened and at-risk species and other wildlife on tribal lands in 22 states.

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CG TimesThe Service is awarding these grants under the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program and Tribal Wildlife Grant Program. These are similar to other cost-share grant programs recently developed by the department to assist states, local communities, private landowners and other partners in their wildlife conservation projects. Four of the Tribal Wildlife Grants, totaling almost $1 million, will support conservation programs undertaken by Alaska Native organizations.

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CG Times"Alaska Natives were our state's first conservationists," said the Service's Alaska Regional Director Rowan Gould, ?and they continue to have a vital stake in the future of our natural resources. The Service is proud to support their wildlife and habitat conservation efforts.?

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CG TimesOf the national total of $9 million, the Service is providing about $3 million to federally-recognized Indian tribes to help fund 25 projects under the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program. Contributions from tribes and other partners raise the total value of these projects to $4.4 million. The grants were chosen through a competitive process to address protection, restoration and management of habitat to benefit at-risk species, including federally listed endangered or threatened species and proposed or candidate species. The maximum award under this program is $150,000 with a required minimum 25-percent match from non-federal funds.

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CG TimesAbout $6 million will help fund 28 projects under Tribal Wildlife Grant Program. Contributions from tribes and other partners increase the total value of these projects to $7.8 million. These grants are awarded to federally-recognized Indian tribes to benefit fish, wildlife and their habitat including non-game species. Although matching funds are not required for these grants, they are considered to be an indicator of a tribe's commitment. The maximum grant award under this program is $250,000.

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CG TimesThe following Tribal Wildlife Grants were awarded in Alaska today:

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• Moose Creek Fish Passage Restoration Project - Chickaloon Native Village--This project will restore access to a section of Moose Creek in southcentral Alaska, allowing migrating salmon to bypass several man-made waterfalls that resulted from mining and transporting coal during the 1920s. This project will restore approximately 20 miles of spawning and rearing habitat.

• Western Arctic Caribou Herd Working Group - Native Village of Noatak--This project transfers the responsibility for organizing and managing the Western Arctic Caribou Working Group from the State to the local people and communities that are most affected by changes in the herd's status. Funds will be used to continue the cooperative management and conservation of the herd.

• Traditional Use Area Conservation Plan for the Nushagak River Watershed Area - Curyung Tribal Council--This project will document traditional use areas of the Nushagak River watershed to better guide future development and other activities in the area. It provides for the input of local people and communities in formulating strategies for coping with a rapidly changing area and assuring the conservation of its natural resources.

• Karta River Sockeye Assessment--Tribal members in Kasaan believe that the sockeye population in the Karta Ruver is declining, but empirical data on run size and smolt out-migration are lacking. The Organized Village of Kasaan will undertake a project to estimate sockeye escapement, estimate the abundance of sockeye smolt emigrating from the system, and document the level of subsistence harvest.

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CG TimesFor additional information on the Service's tribal grants programs, visit: http://www.grants.fws.gov. A listing of all of the grants awarded under these two programs in 2004 can be found at . In addition, the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for Tribal Landowner Incentive Grants is 15.639; the catalog number for Tribal Wildlife Grants is 15.638.

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 resource 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 that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.