" CG TimesAkwesasne" CG Times, " CG TimesN.Y." CG Times - Interior Secretary Gale Norton today announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will award a $25,500 Tribal Landowner Incentive Program grant to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe for the purchase of a conservation easement conservation easement
A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a government agency or qualified conservation organization that restricts the type and amount of development that may take place on a property in the future. Conservation easements aim to protect habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife by limiting residential, industrial or commercial development. Contracts may prohibit alteration of the natural topography, conversion of native grassland to cropland, drainage of wetland and establishment of game farms. Easement land remains in private ownership.
Learn more about conservation easement on 51 acres of privately owned property on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. The easement would protect wetland habitat and plant and animal species significant to the Tribe. The Tribe will contribute in-kind services valued at $8,500 to the project.
CG Times
CG TimesThe grant is one of 28 awarded nationally to federally recognized Tribes totaling $6 million as part of the Service's Tribal Wildlife Grant Program. The Service awarded an additional $3 million to help fund projects under the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program. The two programs, initiated by the Bush Administration in 2003, are similar to other Interior Department cost-share programs to assist states, local communities, private landowners and other partners in undertaking wildlife conservation projects.
CG Times
"For most of known history, Indian cultures, religious beliefs and customs have centered on their relationship with fish and wildlife resources," Secretary Norton said today. "Im very pleased to build stronger conservation partnerships with the tribes by providing funding to help them undertake innovative conservation projects designed to conserve our shared wildlife heritage."
CG Times
"The number of grant requests coming from Indian Country was truly gratifying, far exceeding available funding," said Fish and Wildlife Service Director Steve Williams. "Still, for the first time, we are gaining a solid understanding of tribal wildlife management priorities and we hope this will make us better partners for tribes of all sizes that want to build capacity for wildlife management."
The announcement followed the signing of an executive order by President Bush highlighting federal agencies? efforts to work in partnership with states, tribes, local communities, conservation organizations, private citizens and others to accomplish the nation's conservation goals.
CG Times
CG TimesFor additional information on the Service's tribal grants programs, visit: http://www.grants.fws.gov.
CG Times
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. " CG TimesPlease visit our website at: /www.fws.gov.
CG Times
" CG TimesFWS
