FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR PRIVATE STEWARDSHIP GRANTS PROGRAM

FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR PRIVATE STEWARDSHIP GRANTS PROGRAM

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today it is seeking proposals for conservation projects on private lands through its Private Stewardship Grants Program. For FY 2006, approximately $6.5 million is available through this grant program to support on-the-ground conservation efforts on private lands. Proposals must be submitted to the Regional Offices of the Service by January 23, 2006.

This program provides Federal grants on a competitive basis to individuals and groups engaged in voluntary conservation efforts on private lands. Grant-funded projects benefit imperiled species such as federally listed endangered or threatened species as well as proposed, candidate, and other at-risk species. Landowners and their partners may submit proposals directly to the Service for funding to support those efforts.

In September 2005, the Service awarded 72 grants totaling more than $6.5 million to individuals and groups to undertake conservation projects for endangered, threatened, and other at-risk species on private lands in 38 states and one territory.

Last year, Alaska received Private Stewardship Grants totaling more than $250,000, and benefiting spectacled eiders, brown bears, and other species.

For more information regarding this grant opportunity and on how and where to submit proposals, please visit the Services Private Stewardship Grants Website at http://endangered.fws.gov/grants/private_stewardship.html. Alaska-specific grant information is available from Michael Roy at the number above or, by email, at michael_roy@fws.gov. The Private Stewardship Grants Program is identified in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance as number 15.632.

You may also contact: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Branch of State Grants, Endangered Species Program, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 420, Arlington, VA 22203 Phone: (703) 358-2061..

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, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management 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 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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For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

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visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov