Deputy Secretary of the Interior Steve Griles today highlighted more than $400,000 in grants to private landowners, conservation organizations and Native American tribes in Wisconsin to undertake conservation projects to benefit endangered, threatened, and at-risk species and other wildlife.
The grants, which are among $16 million in cost-share conservation grants announced today by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, will help conserve the habitat of a wide range of species from the Karner blue butterfly to native prairie plants.
The announcement came shortly after President Bush signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to work with states, tribes, local communities, conservation groups, private landowners and other partners in cooperative conservation projects.
“ President Bush believes the most effective action we can take to conserve wildlife and its habitat is to empower the people who live and work on the land,” said Griles, during a press conference in Madison. “His executive order will ensure federal agencies make building partnerships in states and communities across the country our highest priority.”
President Bush’s executive order instructs federal departments and agencies such as the Interior Department to ensure that they carry out their statutory obligations in a “manner that promotes cooperative conservation, with an emphasis on appropriate inclusion of local participation in federal decision making.”
Norton announced the grants through three programs begun by President Bush – the Private Stewardship Grant program, the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program, and the Tribal Wildlife Grant Program.
“With today’s executive order, President Bush has made working in voluntary partnership with states, local communities, tribes, private landowners and others the gold standard for our conservation efforts,” Norton said. “The grants we are announcing today meet that standard by empowering tribes and private citizens to do what the federal government cannot do alone – conserve habitat for imperiled species on private and tribal lands.”
Overall, $16 million in grants are being awarded in 42 states. A state-by-state list is available at http://www.doi.gov.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is awarding three grants in Wisconsin under the Private Stewardship Grant program begun by President Bush last year. This 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. Grant recipients must provide at least 10 percent of the total project cost either in non-federal dollars or in-kind contributions.
These grants are:
Karner Blue Butterfly and Associated Declining Species of Savanna Barrens - (application by Sand County Foundation) – Multiple Counties, Wisconsin - ($152,727) – Working in partnership with nearly 30 landowners, 1,400 acres of habitat will be enhanced and restored through invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.
Learn more about invasive species control, prescribed fire, tree canopy reductions, and native prairie seeding. The private lands identified are in areas where recovery and conservation of the species are likely to be achieved. The areas have been identified in the recovery units in the Karner blue butterfly Recovery Plan and as Significant Population Areas and Areas of Conservation Emphasis in the Statewide Habitat Conservation Plan.Protecting State Threatened and Endangered Species in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area Barrens - (application by The Blue Mounds Area Project) – Iowa County, Wisconsin - ($30,000) – To preserve, restore, and enhance habitat for 15 at-risk species on 900 acres of privately owned properties in southwestern Wisconsin. The Blue Mounds Area project will provide expertise in setting up and contracting management practices that will enhance the habitat for these species. Wisconsin state-listed species targeted include American beak grain, nodding rattlesnake root, fire pink, prairie Indian plantain, and cream gentian.
Kinnickinnic River Canyon Project - (application by Kinnickinnic River Land Trust) – St. Croix County, Wisconsin - ($60,000) – Invasive tree and shrub cover will be removed to retain or establish a native prairie habitat or oak savanna. Prairie will be planted at selected sites using local genotype seed. Prescribed burns will be conducted at various times throughout the growing season to facilitate native vegetative growth. Species identified to benefit from stewardship include prairie bushclover, Hill’s thistle, prairie fame-flower, and timber rattlesnake.
The Service is awarding one grant in Wisconsin under the Tribal Wildlife Grants program. 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 grant is:
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa $126,025
Lac du Flambeau Lake Sturgeon Restoration Project on the Lac du Flambeau Chain of Lakes and Bear River
Nationwide, the Service is awarding $6 million for 28 conservation grants to Native American tribes under the Tribal Wildlife Grants program.
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, 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 and Native American tribal 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.
