U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Proposals From States for 2005 Endangered Species Grants
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now seeking proposals from states and U.S. territories interested in acquiring land or conducting conservation planning for endangered species. Through the fiscal year 2005 appropriation from Congress, more than $70.5 million is available to fund planning activities and land acquisition for federally protected species.
“President Bush has made cooperative conservation the cornerstone of our efforts to protect and restore our nation’s wildlife and its habitat,” said Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton. “These grants will empower states and territories to protect vital habitat and work with local communities, private landowners and others to conserve threatened and endangered species.”
The grants, to be awarded in fiscal year 2005 from the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, are authorized under the Endangered Species Act. This fund provides grants to states and territories to support their participation in a wide array of voluntary conservation projects for listed species, as well as for species that are either proposed or candidates for listing. By law, the state or territory must have a current cooperative agreement with the Service and contribute 25% of the estimated program costs of approved projects, or 10% when two or more states or territories undertake a joint project. The grants are expected to be awarded in summer 2005.
"Conservation grants are among the Service’s most important Federal-State partnership building tools,” said agency Director Steve Williams. “They support State efforts to build and strengthen important cost-effective conservation partnerships with local groups and private landowners to benefit wildlife."
The Service is seeking proposals for the following three Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund categories:
Two examples from the fiscal year 2004 program include:
For more information about these grants contact: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Consultation, Habitat Conservation Planning, Recovery and State Grants, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 420, Arlington, VA 22203, 703-358-2106. Information also can be accessed at http://endangered.fws.gov/grants/.
The Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund is identified in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance as number 15.615.
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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