Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced that private landowners and conservation entities in 39 states are receiving more than $7 million to undertake conservation projects on their land for endangered, threatened and other at-risk species thanks to the Administration's innovative cost-share Private Stewardship Grants program. Three grants were awarded in New Mexico for a total of $212,010.
Administered by the Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, each of the 97 grants awarded today require at least a 10 percent match in non-federal dollars or in-kind contributions.
"This is the second round of grants awarded under the PSG program and judging from the successful results coming in from conservation projects funded in the first round last year, we can report that the President's idea of providing financial support to local citizen conservationists is an unqualified success," Secretary Norton said. "The most effective conservation projects are those conceived and carried-out by the people who live and work on the land.?
The Private Stewardship Grants 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. Under this program, private landowners as well as groups working with private landowners are able to submit proposals directly to the Service for funding to support these efforts. President Bush has requested funding of $10 million for this program in 2005. In 2003, 113 grants totaling more than $9.4 million were awarded to private individuals and groups in 43 states"COLOR: #00c1c2.
"Private Stewardship grants encourage private landowners in their voluntary efforts to implement tailor made conservation strategies for listed, proposed, candidate, or other at-risk species found on their land," said Service Director Steve Williams.
The New Mexico grants are:
- Grasslans Charitable Foundation will receive $153,300 for grassland habitat management and playa lake conservation on the high plains of eastern New Mexico in Roosevelt County, New Mexico. Working in cooperation with seven landowners, approximately 16,000 acres of short- and midgrass prairie and playa lake habitat will be restored or enhanced. Species that will benefit are also those that are most at risk -- lesser prairie chickens, sand dune lizard, mountain plover, black-tailed prairie dogs, and other rare grassland species.
- The Monticello Community Ditch Association will receive $18,10 to restore 40 acres of riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian habitat along Alamosa Creek in Socorro County by removing non-native invasive plants (saltcedar) to protect habitat for the endangered Alamosa springsnail, ovate vertigo (snail), and threatened Chiricahua leopard frog. Alamosa Creek warm springs support the only known population of Alamosa springnail in the world.
- Turner Endangered Species Fund will receive $40,600 for wild pre-conditioning of black-footed Ferrets on Vermejo Park Ranch in Colfax County. Captive black-footed ferrets will be released into established prairie dog towns on the Vermejo Park Ranch. Staff from Turner Endangered Species Fund will quantify ferret dispersal and mortality, evaluate usefulness of small acreage of prairie dogs for preparing captive-born ferrets for life in the wild, and estimate effect of ferret predation on prairie dogs. The research results will help to establish a foundation for a reintroduction project that aims to restore a self-sustaining population of ferrets that contributes to federal recovery criteria.
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. The 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.?
"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 private citizens to do what the federal government cannot do alone ? conserve habitat for imperiled species on private and tribal lands.?
For a complete list of Private Partnership Stewardship grant awards, please visit:
