Secretary Salazar Announces Funding for Wetlands Acquisitions and Grants for Bird Habitat Conservation
Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge gets funding
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced this week that the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) has approved more than $3.5 million in land acquisitions at three National Wildlife Refuges. The projects are supported by the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, which includes proceeds from the sales of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, otherwise known as the Federal Duck Stamp. These approvals will add an estimated 1,300 acres of vital waterfowl habitat to the National Wildlife Refuge System.
"Wetlands provide many ecological, economic, and social benefits, such as habitat for fish, wildlife, and a variety of plants. They serve as nurseries for saltwater and freshwater fishes and shellfish of commercial and recreational importance," said Secretary Salazar. "We value our nation's Great Outdoors, and these additions to the National Wildlife Refuge System will help keep our wetlands safe and provide Americans astounding wildlife viewing opportunities."
The following acquisitions were approved:
Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge
Washington and Yamhill Counties, Oregon - Acquisition of 32 acres in fee title for $275,000. Various creeks seasonally flood this agricultural tract, making it extremely attractive to wintering and migrating waterfowl. The Service plans to restore habitat and manage the land for waterfowl, especially tundra swans, at the Wapato Lake unit of the Refuge.
Tulare Basin Wildlife Management Area
Kern and Tulare Counties, California - Acquisition of an easement of 656 acres for $1,425,700. These three perpetual conservation easements will add to the growing chain of easements in this area. These wetlands attract many waterfowl species, including northern pintails, northern shovelers, gadwalls, and green-winged teal.
Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge
Lauderdale and Tipton Counties, Tennessee - Acquisition of 625 acres for $1,880,000. The tract lies in the Hatchie River Basin, which contains a mix of bottomland hardwoods, grasslands, and flood-prone agricultural land. The Service plans to restore this tract to its former forested state and manage it for waterfowl and other migratory birds.
The Commission also approved more than $29 million (pending FY2011 funding) in federal grants under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) for projects that will help to protect, restore and enhance more than 85,000 acres of wetlands and associated habitats across the United States and Mexico. If Congress approves FY2011 funding, these grants will support 26 projects in 17 states under NAWCA's U.S. Standard Grants Program.
Projects include:
Living Floodplains of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington, Phase III
This project represents Ducks Unlimited's ongoing commitment to wetland conservation in both the Willamette Valley and Lower Columbia River eco-regions. These floodplain wetlands provide fall/spring staging, and wintering habitat for multiple waterfowl species. Partners aim to permanently protect 400 acres, restore 145 acres and enhance 180 acres of freshwater wetlands and associated uplands.
Coastal Marin Wetlands Restoration Project II, California - Marin County, California
This project aims to protect - through acquisition and restoration - estuarine, riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian and floodplain areas, with a goal of eliminating habitat fragmentation and establishing a network of healthy wetlands and adjacent habitats in Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Partners will restore natural processes and transitional habitat to increase resilience to environmental change; augment forage for migratory birds; restore riparian corridors to benefit neotropical migrants, waterfowl, and endangered fish; and revitalize habitats for resident and wintering wildlife, including colonial waterbirds and threatened and endangered species. More than 400 species of wildlife use habitats within the project area for wintering, migration, and/or breeding habitat.
More information on the grants is at http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NAWCA/Standard/US/2011_March.shtm
Partners in the 26 projects nationally will contribute an additional $70.5 million in matching funds. Grants are funded by annual Congressional appropriations; penalties and forfeitures levied under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; interest accrued on funds under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act; and excise taxes paid on small engine fuels through the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Fund. For more information on these grant programs information is available on the web at:
http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/SFR/SFR.htm
http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/WR/WR.htm
The Commission also approved more than $3 million in NAWCA grants for nine projects in Mexico. These projects involve habitat acquisition, restoration, enhancement and creation.
Final funding for all NAWCA projects will be dependent on the final Fiscal Year 2011 budget. In the absence of funding at the President's request for FY2011, many of these projects will not be accomplished and conservation benefits will be lost.
Established by law in 1929, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission has approved the acquisition of more than 43,000 acres of quality waterfowl habitat at national wildlife refuges and in the northern Midwests Prairie Pothole Region, all using MBCF dollars.
Since 1929, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission has met several times each year to consider MBCF land purchases and, starting in 1989, to approve NAWCA grant proposals.
Commission members include:
Chairman - Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior
Thad Cochran, Senator from Mississippi
Mark Pryor, Senator from Arkansas
John D. Dingell, Congressman from Michigan
Robert J. Wittman, Congressman from Virginia
Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
Lisa Jackson, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
Secretary - A. Eric Alvarez, Chief, Division of Realty, Fish and Wildlife Service
For more information about the Commission visit http://www.fws.gov/refuges/realty/mbcc.html.
Passed in 1989, NAWCA provides matching grants to organizations and individuals who have developed partnerships to carry out wetlands conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Act was passed in part to support activities under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, an international agreement that provides a strategy for the long-term protection of wetlands and associated upland habitats needed by waterfowl and other migratory birds in North America. More information about NAWCA grant programs and projects approved today is available on the Web at: http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NAWCA/Standard/index.shtm.
Under NAWCA, some 4,440 partners involved in more than 2,000 projects have received more than $1.08 billion in grants. They have contributed another $2.24 billion in matching funds to affect 25.9 million acres of habitat and $1.2 billion in non-matching funds to affect 234,790 acres of habitat.
Additional information about the history of the ongoing efforts to conserve North Americas wetlands and waterfowl can be found at FLYways.us. The website provides waterfowl enthusiasts, biologists and agency administrators with the most up-to-date waterfowl habitat and waterfowl population information.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced this week that the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) has approved more than $3.5 million in land acquisitions at three National Wildlife Refuges. The projects are supported by the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, which includes proceeds from the sales of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, otherwise known as the Federal Duck Stamp. These approvals will add an estimated 1,300 acres of vital waterfowl habitat to the National Wildlife Refuge System.
"Wetlands provide many ecological, economic, and social benefits, such as habitat for fish, wildlife, and a variety of plants. They serve as nurseries for saltwater and freshwater fishes and shellfish of commercial and recreational importance," said Secretary Salazar. "We value our nation's Great Outdoors, and these additions to the National Wildlife Refuge System will help keep our wetlands safe and provide Americans astounding wildlife viewing opportunities."
The following acquisitions were approved:
Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge
Washington and Yamhill Counties, Oregon - Acquisition of 32 acres in fee title for $275,000. Various creeks seasonally flood this agricultural tract, making it extremely attractive to wintering and migrating waterfowl. The Service plans to restore habitat and manage the land for waterfowl, especially tundra swans, at the Wapato Lake unit of the Refuge.
Tulare Basin Wildlife Management Area
Kern and Tulare Counties, California - Acquisition of an easement of 656 acres for $1,425,700. These three perpetual conservation easements will add to the growing chain of easements in this area. These wetlands attract many waterfowl species, including northern pintails, northern shovelers, gadwalls, and green-winged teal.
Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge
Lauderdale and Tipton Counties, Tennessee - Acquisition of 625 acres for $1,880,000. The tract lies in the Hatchie River Basin, which contains a mix of bottomland hardwoods, grasslands, and flood-prone agricultural land. The Service plans to restore this tract to its former forested state and manage it for waterfowl and other migratory birds.
The Commission also approved more than $29 million (pending FY2011 funding) in federal grants under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) for projects that will help to protect, restore and enhance more than 85,000 acres of wetlands and associated habitats across the United States and Mexico. If Congress approves FY2011 funding, these grants will support 26 projects in 17 states under NAWCA's U.S. Standard Grants Program.
Projects include:
Living Floodplains of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington, Phase III
This project represents Ducks Unlimited's ongoing commitment to wetland conservation in both the Willamette Valley and Lower Columbia River eco-regions. These floodplain wetlands provide fall/spring staging, and wintering habitat for multiple waterfowl species. Partners aim to permanently protect 400 acres, restore 145 acres and enhance 180 acres of freshwater wetlands and associated uplands.
Coastal Marin Wetlands Restoration Project II, California - Marin County, California
This project aims to protect - through acquisition and restoration - estuarine, riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian and floodplain areas, with a goal of eliminating habitat fragmentation and establishing a network of healthy wetlands and adjacent habitats in Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Partners will restore natural processes and transitional habitat to increase resilience to environmental change; augment forage for migratory birds; restore riparian corridors to benefit neotropical migrants, waterfowl, and endangered fish; and revitalize habitats for resident and wintering wildlife, including colonial waterbirds and threatened and endangered species. More than 400 species of wildlife use habitats within the project area for wintering, migration, and/or breeding habitat.
More information on the grants is at http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NAWCA/Standard/US/2011_March.shtm
Partners in the 26 projects nationally will contribute an additional $70.5 million in matching funds. Grants are funded by annual Congressional appropriations; penalties and forfeitures levied under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; interest accrued on funds under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act; and excise taxes paid on small engine fuels through the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Fund. For more information on these grant programs information is available on the web at:
http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/SFR/SFR.htm
http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/WR/WR.htm
The Commission also approved more than $3 million in NAWCA grants for nine projects in Mexico. These projects involve habitat acquisition, restoration, enhancement and creation.
Final funding for all NAWCA projects will be dependent on the final Fiscal Year 2011 budget. In the absence of funding at the President's request for FY2011, many of these projects will not be accomplished and conservation benefits will be lost.
Established by law in 1929, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission has approved the acquisition of more than 43,000 acres of quality waterfowl habitat at national wildlife refuges and in the northern Midwests Prairie Pothole Region, all using MBCF dollars.
Since 1929, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission has met several times each year to consider MBCF land purchases and, starting in 1989, to approve NAWCA grant proposals.
Commission members include:
Chairman - Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior
Thad Cochran, Senator from Mississippi
Mark Pryor, Senator from Arkansas
John D. Dingell, Congressman from Michigan
Robert J. Wittman, Congressman from Virginia
Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
Lisa Jackson, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
Secretary - A. Eric Alvarez, Chief, Division of Realty, Fish and Wildlife Service
For more information about the Commission visit http://www.fws.gov/refuges/realty/mbcc.html.
Passed in 1989, NAWCA provides matching grants to organizations and individuals who have developed partnerships to carry out wetlands conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Act was passed in part to support activities under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, an international agreement that provides a strategy for the long-term protection of wetlands and associated upland habitats needed by waterfowl and other migratory birds in North America. More information about NAWCA grant programs and projects approved today is available on the Web at: http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NAWCA/Standard/index.shtm.
Under NAWCA, some 4,440 partners involved in more than 2,000 projects have received more than $1.08 billion in grants. They have contributed another $2.24 billion in matching funds to affect 25.9 million acres of habitat and $1.2 billion in non-matching funds to affect 234,790 acres of habitat.
Additional information about the history of the ongoing efforts to conserve North Americas wetlands and waterfowl can be found at FLYways.us. The website provides waterfowl enthusiasts, biologists and agency administrators with the most up-to-date waterfowl habitat and waterfowl population information.
