Department Of Interior

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OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Contact:Hugh Vickery
For Immediate Release: July 11, 2003
202-501-4633


Secretary Norton to Announce Grants to States for Endangered Species Conservation

(Washington) - Interior Secretary Gale Norton will hold a press teleconference on Monday July 14th to announce $70 million in grants to 29 states to undertake endangered species conservation projects. The grants will benefit species ranging from the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker in the Southeast to the threatened spectacled eider in Alaska.
"If we are going to succeed in conserving and recovering endangered species, we must work hand in hand with our state partners," Norton said. "These grants will empower the states to protect and restore vital habitat, assist landowners in conserving species on their property, and undertake other projects to benefit plants and animals listed under the Endangered Species Act."
The grants are being awarded under Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act. The Section 6 grant programs include the $6.6 million Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance Grants Program, the $51.1 million Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition Grants Program, and the $12.7 million Recovery Land Acquisition Grants Program. The three programs were established to help reduce potential conflicts between the conservation of threatened and endangered species and land development and use.

Who: Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior
Craig Manson, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildilfe and Parks
Gary Frazer, Assistant Director, Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What: Teleconference announcing grants to states for endangered species conservation

When: 1 p.m., Monday July 14, 2003 EDT

Call-In: 888-296-1938 (The participants' code is 300928)


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