Alaska Tribes Invited to Submit Proposals for Fish and Wildlife Projects

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting proposals from federally recognized tribes for projects to conserve fish and wildlife resources under the fiscal year 2008 Tribal Wildlife Grants Program. Proposals and grant applications must be postmarked by Oct. 1, 2007. The agency anticipates that approximately $6 million will be available nationally in the form of grants to benefit fish, wildlife, and their habitat, including species that are not hunted or fished. Tribes in Alaska have received more than $4.6 million dollars in such grants since 2003.

The maximum award for any one project under this program is $200,000. Although matching funds will be considered as an indicator of tribal commitment to a project, they are not required for these grants.

Alaska Tribes have used grants to fund a wide variety of projects; including habitat restoration, fish and wildlife population surveys, conservation planning, and research. "Tribal wildlife grants are important tools that our tribal partners can use to benefit fish and wildlife populations," said Thomas O. Melius, Alaska Regional Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

For more information, or to obtain a copy of the grant application kit, please visit http://www.fws.gov/grants/tribal.html or contact Sue Detwiler, tribal grant coordinator, at (907) 786-3868.

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 97-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 548 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 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.