" CG TimesLynn Scarlett, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Policy, Management and Budget, today announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is awarding two grants, totaling $356,000, to the Passamaquoddy Tribe (Pleasant Point Reservation) and the Aroostook Band of Micmacs for natural resource conservation projects. The Tribes and other conservation partners will contribute an additional $343,000 for the projects.
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The Passamaquoddy Tribe (Pleasant Point Reservation) received a $105,896 Tribal Wildlife Grant to restore alewife, American eel and other native sea-run fish and their spawning and rearing habitats in the Little River and Boyden Lake by repairing a fish ladder and installing an eel passageway at the Passamaquoddy Water District dam in the Little River located in northeast Maine. The grant will be matched by $15,300 in cash and in-kind contributions from the Tribe, Maine Department of Marine Resources, Maine Rivers and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The Aroostook Band of Micmacs has been awarded a $250,000 Tribal Wildlife Grant for acquiring land to permanently protect natural resources of traditional importance to the Tribe. The Tribe will match the grant with $327,000 in cash. Project partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, Atlantic Salmon Federation, and the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
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" CG Times The two grants are among 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.
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"For most of known history, Indian cultures, religious beliefs and customs have centered on their relationship with fish and wildlife resources," Assistant Secretary Scarlett 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."
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"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."
Four Maine Tribes received a total of $780,000 from the two programs in 2003, the first year of the Department's Tribal grants program.
" CG Times For additional information on the Service's tribal grants programs, visit: http://www.grants.fws.gov. In addition, the CFDA number for Tribal Landowner Incentive grants is 15.638 and 15.639 for Tribal Wildlife grants.
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" CG Times This announcement will follow 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
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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.
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