Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced more than $7 million in grants will go to 42 Native American projects in 16 states to fund a wide range of conservation projects nationwide; including nearly $600,000 to Northeast Tribes.
“Tribal Wildlife Grants are much more than a fiscal resource for Tribes. The projects and partnerships supported by this program have enhanced our commitment to Native Americans and to the United States’ shared wildlife resources,” Salazar said.
This year, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs (Maine), the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe (New York) and the Seneca Nation of Indians (New York) will receive Tribal Wildlife Grants in the Northeast.
“Since its inception, the Tribal Wildlife Grants program in the Northeast has provided nearly $4.3 million to Native American tribes in conserving and restoring fish and wildlife habitat that they manage,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Regional Director Marvin Moriarty.
The grants have enabled tribes to develop increased management capacity, improve and enhance relationships with partners including State agencies, address cultural and environmental priorities, and heighten interest of tribal students in fisheries, wildlife and related fields of study. Some grants have been awarded to enhance recovery efforts for threatened and endangered species.
More than $50 million has gone to Native American tribes through the Tribal Wildlife Grants program in the past eight years, providing funding for 400 conservation projects administered by 162 participating Federally-recognized tribes across the country. The grants provide technical and financial assistance for the development and implementation of projects that benefit fish and wildlife resources and their habitat, including non-game species.The grants are provided exclusively to Federally-recognized Indian tribal governments and are made possible under the Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2002 through the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program.
During the current grant cycle, tribes submitted a total of 137 proposals that were scored by panels in each Service Region using uniform ranking criteria. A national scoring panel recommended 42 proposals for funding.
-FWS-
2010 Tribal Wildlife Grants Awards
MAINE
Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians ($200,000)
Brook Trout Conservation Project
The project will assist the Aroostook Band of Micmacs to conserve and enhance brook trout populations on Tribal trust lands through the establishment of a Tribal brook trout fish hatchery.
Additionally, the Micmacs will develop a brook trout educational program for Tribal youth and other local youth. The purpose of the educational program will be to raise public awareness with regard to the importance of brook trout and the current ecological and anthropogenic stressors that are affecting wild brook trout populations.
NEW YORK
St. Regis Mohawk Tribe ($193,191)
Akwesasne Wildlife Management Plan
The project will establish the foundational elements for the development of a Tribal Wildlife Management Plan for the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. The Tribal Wildlife Management Plan will enable the Tribe to manage wildlife resources on the reservation through a combination of regulations, habitat restoration and enhancement. The project will also increase the capacity of the Tribe to develop its own wildlife management program; first, through the creation of a Wildlife Management Plan, and second, by recruitment of a Mohawk wildlife management technician intern to work on this project.
Seneca Nation ($199,762)
Walleye Conservation Program
The project will develop a “green” (i.e., solar powered) walleye fry rearing facility and the construction of two, one-half acre rearing ponds capable of producing 33,000 1 ½ -2 inch walleye fingerlings. The walleye fingerlings will be released in the river systems on Seneca Nation territories for Tribal harvest, and to provide a source of local stock for neighboring publics. Partners support will involve expertise from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lower Great Lakes Fisheries Resource Office, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Services by assisting the Seneca Nation in construction design for the two rearing ponds, as well as providing technical assistance to Tribal personnel regarding walleye rearing facility operations.
