Office of the Secretary |
Hugh Vickery (202) 501-4633
|
For Immediate Release: Feb. 25, 2004 |
Norton Briefs President Bush on Interior Department's
Cooperative Conservation Programs; Announces $25.8 Million in Grants to Assist Conservation Efforts for Imperiled Species on Private Lands |
The grants, part of the administration's
Landowner Incentive Program started last year, will support innovative
partnerships in 40 states and the Virgin Islands. State fish and wildlife
agencies, landowners or non-profit groups must put up at least 25 percent
of the cost of projects. With these grants, states will be able to provide
financial and technical assistance to interested landowners. "I was pleased to report
to the President that thanks to the unprecedented commitment to cooperative
conservation in his budget, the department has been able to empower
states, tribes, local communities, private landowners, and others to
undertake innovative conservation projects to restore our land and recover
its wildlife," Norton said. The Landowner Incentive Program
supports the administration's overall Cooperative Conservation Initiative,
which includes a number of conservation grant programs to assist states,
tribes, conservation organizations, private landowners and others in
conservation projects and programs. The program is based on the
highly successful Texas Landowner Incentive Program developed by then-Governor
Bush in 1997 to involve landowners in voluntary efforts to benefit rare
species in several Texas counties. The goal of this ongoing state program
is to help avoid the listing of at-risk species and assist in the recovery
of listed species. Landowners benefit through the continued use of their
lands. Overall, the President's
2005 budget includes $507.3 million for the Interior Department's cooperative
conservation programs, more than a 43 percent increase for these programs
since 2001. Within this total, the President's budget includes $129.5
million - a 25 percent increase -- for the Cooperative Conservation
Initiative. During 2003, CCI's first year, the initiative funded 256
projects in more than 40 states and Puerto Rico. "From restoring streams
and riparian areas to bringing back natural prairies, we are empowering
landowners to undertake conservation projects that they otherwise could
not afford while restoring habitat on private lands that are vital to
threatened, endangered and other imperiled species," Norton said.
"These funds help Interior extend a hand to work with the nation's
many citizen stewards, who often are the nation's most effective conservationists." LIP projects involve a variety
of conservation activities and management actions. They include removing
exotic plants, adapting grazing practices to enhance vital riparian
habitat, providing instream or streambank structural improvements to
benefit aquatic species, closing roads to protect habitat, and encouraging
conservation easements. Examples of the types of
activities supported by Landowner Incentive Program grants include the
following: " In Maine, a $1.3 million grant will support implementation of the state's ongoing, broad-scale habitat conservation planning effort, Beginning with Habitat. The funds will help landowners conserve habitats to benefit species at risk. It will also allow the state to provide technical and financial assistance to landowners for habitat protection and restoration. " In Nevada, a $364,500 grant will help the state establish a program to assist landowners in conserving imperiled species through sagebrush and riparian habitat management, conservation and restoration. A state-by-state list for
the Landowner Incentive Program grants follows. For more information
on the Landowner Incentive Program, please contact: U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Division of Federal Aid, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 140, Arlington,
VA 22203; phone (703) 358 2156 or visit the FWS Grants-at-a-Glance Web
site: grants.fws.gov/. |
U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE
SERVICE
GRANT AWARDS FOR THE LANDOWNER INCENTIVE PROGRAM
JANUARY 2004
STATE
|
TIER 1
|
TIER 2
|
TOTAL
|
ALABAMA |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
ALASKA |
$100,000 |
$100,000 |
|
ARIZONA
|
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
ARKANSAS |
$38,250 |
$1,261,750 |
$1,300,000 |
CALIFORNIA |
$180,000 |
$1,120,000 |
$1,300,000 |
COLORADO |
|
$1,300,000 |
$1,300,000 |
CONNECTICUT |
$180,000
|
$848,999 |
$1,028,999 |
DELAWARE |
$180,000 |
$900,000 |
$1,080,000 |
FLORIDA |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
GEORGIA |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
HAWAII |
$180,000 |
$1,120,000 |
$1,300,000 |
IDAHO |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
ILLINOIS |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
IOWA |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
KANSAS |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
KENTUCKY |
$862,000 |
$862,000 |
|
LOUISIANA |
$180,000 |
|
$180,000 |
MAINE |
$180,000 |
$1,120,000 |
$1,300,000 |
MARYLAND |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
MASSACHUSETTS |
$180,000 |
$900,000 |
$1,080,000 |
MISSISSIPPI |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
MISSOURI |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
MONTANA |
$177,797 |
$177,797 |
|
NEBRASKA |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
NEVADA |
$364,500 |
$364,500 |
|
NEW HAMPSHIRE |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
NEW JERSEY |
$180,000 |
$1,120,000 |
$1,300,000 |
NEW MEXICO |
$180,000 |
$1,120,000 |
$1,300,000 |
NEW YORK |
$180,000 |
$1,120,000 |
$1,300,000 |
NORTH CAROLINA |
$180,000 |
$354,500 |
$534,500 |
OKLAHOMA |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
OREGON |
$180,000 |
$1,120,000 |
$1,300,000 |
PENNSYLVANIA |
$180,000 |
$760,000 |
$940,000 |
RHODE ISLAND |
$75,000 |
$75,000 |
|
SOUTH DAKOTA |
$173,550 |
$173,550 |
|
TENNESSEE |
$180,000 |
$1,120,000 |
$1,300,000 |
UTAH |
$180,000 |
$1,120,000 |
$1,300,000 |
VERMONT |
$180,000 |
$971,250 |
$1,151,250 |
VIRGINIA |
$180,000 |
$180,000 |
|
WASHINGTON |
$180,000 |
$760,000 |
$940,000 |
VIRGIN ISLANDS |
$75,000 |
$75,000 |
|
TOTAL |
$6,399,597 |
$19,362,999 |
$25,762,596 |