Indian tribes may submit proposals for two wildlife conservation grant programs through the end of January, according to D.J. Monette, Native American liaison for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Northeast Region. The Service annually awards funds from Tribal Wildlife Grants and Tribal Landowner Incentive Programs to federally recognized tribes to conserve and recover endangered, threatened and at-risk species, and other wildlife on tribal lands.
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; "Nearly $2.5 million in grants has been awarded to tribes in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York in the four years of the grant program," Monette said. "Tribes have contributed an additional $1.8 million in matching funds."
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; "With grants awarded earlier this year, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) in Massachusetts will purchase larval identification monitoring equipment for bay scallop restoration," Monette said.
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; >"The Holton Band of Maliseet Indians in Maine will continue wildlife habitat enhancement projects on tribal lands by planting mountain ash to restore river bank habitat; by controlling and eradicating invasive non-native plants like honeysuckle and garlic mustard; and by surveying for Canada lynx and other species including freshwater mussels.
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; "The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in Connecticut will investigate habitat use and behavior of snapping turtles and evaluate use of wildlife culverts by herpetiles and mammals."
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; Nationally, tribes received nearly $6 million in grants last fiscal year to benefit wildlife and wildlife habitat, according to Monette. The amount of funding for the grant programs this fiscal year is contingent upon congressional appropriation.
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; For more information about the grant programs and for grant applications kits, see http://www.fws.gov/northeast/nativeamerican or contact D.J. Monette at 413-253-8662.
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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.
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