Fish and Wildlife Service Issues Call for Proposals to Tribes for Grants to Conserve Species on Tribal Lands

Fish and Wildlife Service Issues Call for Proposals to Tribes for Grants to Conserve Species on Tribal Lands

The Interior Departments U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today issued a request for proposals from federally recognized tribes to conserve and recover endangered, threatened and at-risk species and other wildlife on tribal lands under the Tribal Wildlife Grants (TWG) and Tribal Landowner Incentive Programs (TLIP).

"Native American lands are a critical component in the national mosaic of fish and wildlife habitat and I am proud of what we are able to do in Indian Country," Service Director H. Dale Hall said. "Through these two grants programs, we are building important partnerships with tribes that empower them to conserve tribal land and recover their wildlife resources."

President Bush developed the two programs, which are similar to the Landowner Incentive and State Wildlife grants programs, to conserve and restore the habitat of threatened, endangered and at risk species on private lands. The programs were modeled after a successful program implemented by President Bush in Texas when he was governor. This will be the fourth year that these grant programs have been available to Indian tribal governments.

Grants in the two programs are awarded through a competitive process. TWG, in fiscal year 2006, has $5,971,000 available for grants that will benefit wildlife and wildlife habitat, including species that are not hunted or fished. Although matching funds will be considered as an indicator of Tribal commitment to a project, they are not required for these grants. The maximum award under this program is $250,000.

In fiscal year 2006, $2,388,600 is available through TLIP for federally recognized Indian tribes to address protection, restoration, and management of habitat to benefit species at risk, including federally listed endangered or threatened species, as well as proposed or candidate species. Up to 75 percent of the costs associated with each project funded under this program may be covered by Federal funds. The maximum award under this program is $150,000.

Indian Tribes have a controlling interest in more than 52 million acres of Tribal trust lands across the nation, with an additional 40 million acres held by Alaskan Native Corporations. Much of this land is relatively undisturbed, providing a significant amount of rare and important fish and wildlife habitat.

TWG and TLIP have funded projects ranging from comprehensive surveys of plant and vertebrate fish and wildlife on reservation lands to habitat and fish restoration and development of new resource management techniques. Some of the at-risk species benefiting from these projects include lake sturgeon, sage grouse, antelope, black footed ferret, and the eastern cougar.

The request for proposals was published in the 1November 2, 2005 Federal Register and grant applications must be postmarked by January 31, 2006 (ninety-day RFP)].

For grant application kits, please visit http://www.fws.gov/grants/tribal.html or contact Patrick Durham, Office of the Native American Liaison (202) 208 4133.

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 Services 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 populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal government 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.

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