Dave Allen, Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Pacific Region, highlighted more than $2.2 million in grants announced today to private landowners, conservation organizations and Native American Tribes in Oregon, Washington and Idaho for conservation projects to benefit endangered, threatened and at-risk species and other wildlife.
The grants, announced today by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, will help conserve the habitat of a wide range of species from coho salmon and steelhead trout to Washington ground squirrels and white-tailed deer. 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 Bushs 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.
Overall, $16 million in grants is being awarded in 42 states. A state-by-state list is available at www.doi.gov.
In the Pacific Northwest, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is awarding $839,810 in grants 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.
Private Stewardship Grant awarded in Idaho:
Esche Diversion Fish Passage and Thomas Fork Habitat Restoration Project - (Trout Unlimited) - Bear Lake County, Idaho ($170,000).This grant will provide upstream and downstream fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.
Learn more about fish passage for spawning Bonneville cutthroat trout and their offspring during seasonal irrigation diversions along the Thomas Fork River. It also will help finance repairs to degraded riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian and aquatic habitats along the Thomas Fork River and help decrease agricultural inputs of fine sediment and nutrients into the Thomas Fork and Bear Rivers.
Private Stewardship Grants awarded in Oregon:
Powder River Off-Stream Watering and River Restoration Project - (Baker Valley Soil & Water Conservation District) - Baker County, Oregon ($164,370). This grant will increase water quality and quantity for fish habitat by constructing 12 grade-control structures and eliminating four water-control diversion structures to improve fish passage, decrease nutrient and bacteria loading, enhance the riparian area and potentially increase stream flow during low-flow periods to benefit threatened bull trout and redband trout, a sensitive species.
Crane Creek Restoration Project, Phase 1 - ( Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust) - Klamath County, Oregon ($81,330). This grant will restore the natural Crane Creek channel to maximize fish and wildlife benefits and return natural hydrologic function to the stream. Crane Creek is part of the proposed critical habitat area for bull trout. This improved habitat will also support endangered shortnose suckers and Lost River suckers, as well as the yellow rail and the Oregon spotted frog.
East Fork Williams Creek Salmonid Habitat Restoration Project - (Williams Watershed Council) - Williams and Josephine Counties, Oregon ($19,073). This grant will enhance and improve aquatic and riparian habitat in key salmon and steelhead spawning and rearing areas. Large wood placement and random boulder clusters will be placed to improve gravel retention for spawning, enhance channel complexity and pool structure structure
Something temporarily or permanently constructed, built, or placed; and constructed of natural or manufactured parts including, but not limited to, a building, shed, cabin, porch, bridge, walkway, stair steps, sign, landing, platform, dock, rack, fence, telecommunication device, antennae, fish cleaning table, satellite dish/mount, or well head.
Learn more about structure for juvenile survival and provide high-water refuge and organic material to the aquatic system.
Douglas County Oak Restoration Project - ( McKenzie River Trust) - Douglas County, Oregon ($53,000). This grant will restore 200 acres of oak woodlands, mixed conifer and riparian forest habitats for the benefit of numerous and diverse wildlife and plant species including Columbia white-tailed deer.
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Project through Private Stewardship of Shrub-steppe and Grassland Habitats in the Columbia Basin in Oregon - (The Nature Conservancy) - Gilliam and Morrow Counties, Oregon ($22,287). This grant will restore native grasses, forbes, and shrubs in the grassland and shrub-steppe habitats in this portion of the Columbia Basin. The area to be treated is 20 acres of the 22,642-acre Boardman Conservation Area. Species that will benefit from this restoration effort include Washington ground squirrel, ferruginous hawk, loggerhead shrike, western burrowing owl and long-billed curlew.
Sycan River Restoration Project - (Private individual) - Klamath County, Oregon ($125,000). This grant will improve instream habitat for the endangered Lost River sucker and shortnose sucker and redband trout, a sensitive species, by reconnecting springs to the Sycan River, improving spawning substrate, increasing woody structure in the river, increasing stream length and improving riparian cover. The grant will also be used to improve habitat for the federally threatened bald eagle by restoring habitat for their prey base. An active nest is located within a mile of this site.
Private Stewardship Grants awarded in Washington:
Tarboo Watershed Riparian and Wetland Restoration Project - (Northwest Watershed Institute) - East Jefferson County, Washington ($108,000). This grant will restore a total of 31 acres of riparian and associated wetlands at three high priority sites in the Tarboo Watershed, located in the North Hood Canal region of Washington. The three sites are located on properties owned by five landowners. The restored areas will improve rearing and spawning habitats for coho salmon and steelhead and cutthroat trout and also benefit other wildlife species.
Taneum Creek Restoration Project, Phase III - (Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group) - Kittitas County,Washington ($25,750). This grant will establish woody riparian plants along the shoreline and improve flood plain connectivity, giving Chinook and coho salmon and bull trout better access to the upper Taneum Creek watershed. Project proponents will install root wads in select locations where it can provide bank protection, channel stability and habitat complexity for fish, and construct rock bars (deflectors) with embedded native vegetation at other locations.
Ahtanum Creek Stream Restoration Project -(City of Yakima) - Yakima County, Washington ($71,000). This grant will enhance flood plain connectivity, restore 3,421 feet of streambank riparian habitat and improve spawning/rearing habitat for coho salmon, migratory/rearing habitat for steelhead and bull trout and general habitat for bald eagles on Ahtanum Creek.
Under the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program (TLIP), the Service is awarding $750,481 for six grants in Idaho and Washington. This grant program was also begun by President Bush last year. 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.
Nationwide, the Service is awarding $3 million in grants under the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program to federally-recognized Indian Tribes to help fund 25 projects. Contributions from Tribes and other partners raise the total value of these projects to $4.4 million.
In Idaho, a TLIP grant was awarded to:
Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee ($149,999). Rare Plant Surveys on Nez Perce Tribe Fee and Trust Lands in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. This grant will allow the Tribe to conduct surveys for three rare plant species inhabiting grassland and dry forest habitats on lands owned and managed by the Tribe. Evaluation of these populations of plants will help biologists address threats and mitigate impacts from land uses in long term.
In Washington, five TLIP grants were awarded:
Lummi Indian Business Council ($150,000). Acme-Saxon Phase I Habitat Restoration Project. This grant will fund the re-creation of two of 10 historic scale logjams in the South Fork River, improving habitat for resident and anadromous fish. Additionally, a 7-acre riparian conifer forest buffer to the South Fork will be enhanced, contributing to a previous 110-acre restoration effort adjacent to this project.
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community ($142,000). Fornsby Creek / Smokehouse Flood plain Tidal Wetland Restoration Project. This project will replace impassible tide gates for salmon with self-regulating ones and restore tidal influence to channels to improve fresh/saltwater mixing zones for juvenile salmonids. Additionally, 1.3 miles of channel habitat will be restored and 40 acres of permanent conservation easements will be purchased on agricultural lands.
Colville Business Council ($147,202). Shrub-Steppe Habitat Conservation and Sustainability Project. This grant will help finance a program to inventory, map and analyze shrub-steppe habitat for the sustainability and conservation of sagebrush sagebrush
The western United States’ sagebrush country encompasses over 175 million acres of public and private lands. The sagebrush landscape provides many benefits to our rural economies and communities, and it serves as crucial habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including the iconic greater sage-grouse and over 350 other species.
Learn more about sagebrush , bunch grass and riparian communities on the Colville Reservation.
Yakama Indian Nation ($149,280). Shrub-Steppe Assessment and Management Project. This grant will enable the Tribe to conduct vegetation sampling for supporting four culturally and biologically significant species and construct grazing enclosures to monitor grazing effects by native ungulates, livestock and wild horses.
Upper Skagit Tribal Council ($12,000). Skagit River Groundwater Channel Feasibility Investigation. This project will help identify off-channel habitat restoration sites for spawning and rearing needs critical to salmon species in the Skagit River watershed.
Under the Tribal Wildlife Grants Program (TWG), the Service also is awarding $692,563 for three projects in Oregon and Washington. 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. Nationwide, the Service is awarding $6 million for 28 conservation grants to Native American Tribes under the Tribal Wildlife Grants program.
In Oregon, a TWG grant was awarded to:
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs ($239,237). Lower Deschutes River Adult Pacific Lamprey Radio Telemetry Study. This project will help address major uncertainties surrounding the life-history of Pacific Lamprey and allow the Tribe to identify critical habitat needs for updating its Integrated Resource Management Plan.
In Washington, two TWG grants were awarded:
Yakama Indian Nation ($249,826). Second-Year Survey and Groundwork Program for a Yakama Reservation Wildlife Management Plan. This grant will provide funding for the second phase of the Tribes? Wildlife Plan Groundwork Program, which began in 2004 (funded by 2003 Tribal Wildlife Grant dollars from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). The focus will be on enhancing the long-term comprehensive Forest and Range Wildlife Management Plan and for better addressing direction and guidance for management of wildlife species and their habitats on the Reservation.
Muckleshoot Tribal Council ($203,500). Managing Elk and Deer for Sustainable Harvest in a Habitat-limited & Predator-rich Landscape. This grant will enable the Tribe to conduct specific habitat enhancement projects in two adjacent watersheds that are important historical hunting areas for the Tribe.
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 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.
