Interior Secretary Gale Norton today announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is awarding nearly $8.1 million to help 45 federally recognized Indian tribes manage, conserve and protect fish and wildlife resources on tribal lands in 18 states.
In the Service’s Midwest Region, seven tribes will receive grants totaling $1.3 million for eight projects.
The tribes—in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin--and their nonfederal partners contributed an additional $483,000 toward these projects.
“ Native American tribes are excellent stewards and partners in fish and wildlife conservation,” said the Service’s Midwest Regional Director, Robyn Thorson. “By matching these grants with other funds, tribes leverage greater dollars for wildlife and habitat projects.”
Thorson noted that applications for the Tribal Grant programs from tribes in the Midwest Region were up 25 percent this year.
The Service is awarding the grants under two programs: the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program and Tribal Wildlife Grant Program. The Tribal Landowner Incentive Program assists federally recognized Indian tribes to protect, restore and manage habitat for species at-risk, including federally listed endangered or threatened species, as well as proposed or candidate species on tribal lands. The Service is providing about $2.1 million to fund 17 Tribal Landowner Incentive Program projects across the nation.
Midwestern tribes in were awarded $309,221 in grant funds for three Tribal Landowner Incentive Program projects.
About $6 million will fund 28 projects nationwide under the Tribal Wildlife Grant program. These grants are awarded to federally recognized Indian tribes to benefit fish, wildlife and their habitat including species that are not hunted or fished.
In the Midwest, five projects received Tribal Wildlife Grant Program funds totaling more than $1 million.
Since 2003, the Service has put $23 million to work for tribal conservation efforts through both the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program and the Tribal Wildlife Grant Program.
“ From the Orca Inlet in Alaska to the cypress swamps of Florida, Indian tribes are helping us achieve our mission,” said acting FWS director Matt Hogan. “Thanks to these two special grant programs, we are strengthening our partnerships to promote species conservation and to protect healthy ecosystems for future generations.”
The 562 federally recognized Indian tribes have a controlling interest in more than 52 million acres of tribal trust lands and an additional 40 million acres held by Alaska Native corporations. Much of this land is relatively undisturbed, providing a significant amount of rare and important fish and wildlife habitat.
Tribal Landowner Incentive Program grants in the Midwest for 2005:
Michigan
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians $17,800
Inventory and Protection of White Ash and Black Ash
Little River Band of Ottawa Indians $149,805
Comprehensive Management Plan for White-Tailed Deer
Minnesota
Grand Portage Band of Chippewa Indians $141,616
Identification of Suitable Habitat for Canada Lynx
Tribal Wildlife Grant Program grants in the Midwest for 2005:
Michigan
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians $250,000
Engineering and Feasibility Study of the Potential Removal of the Boardman River Dams
Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians $250,000
Gray Wolf Management Plan
Minnesota
Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians $241,788
Red Lake Wildlife Habitat Maintenance, Enhancement and Evaluation Project (Phase 2)
White Earth Band of Ojibwe $155,000
Lake Sturgeon Restoration Plan
Wisconsin
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa $134,234
Lake Sturgeon Restoration on the Lac Du Flambeau Chain of Lakes and Bear River
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 545 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.
