Grants benefit elk, mule deer and pronghorn in 11 western states
Date: Thursday, April 30, 2020
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt announced over $4.4 million in grant funding for habitat conservation projects in 11 western states that conserve migration corridors and winter range for elk, mule deer and pronghorn, including $3.1 million from a public-private partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). These grants will generate an additional
, “Improving Habitat Quality in Western Big-Game Winter Range and Migration Corridors.” These recent grants bring the Department’s and other stakeholders’ support of big game species habitat conservation to nearly $36 million.A total of $1.3 million of the grant total is being awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife program to support 20 habitat conservation and improvement projects on private land. Private landowners play a vital role in conservation by providing quality habitat that supports migration corridors and winter range for big game species. Every funded project required the signature of the landowner/manager to ensure each project was voluntary and met mutual objectives.
Projects were funded across eight western states including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. All conservation projects are within state-defined priority migration corridors or winter range areas, and the range of activities included invasive species control and management, fencing removal or improvement, sagebrush-steppe restoration and fire rehabilitation.
A total of $3.1 million in grants are being awarded through the Improving Habitat Quality in Western Big Game and Migration Corridors Program (Western Big Game Migration Program), a public-private partnership between NFWF and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, ConocoPhillips and BNSF Railways. These funds go to state and local organizations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The projects supported by the 15 grants announced today will enhance and improve habitats on winter ranges, stopover areas and migration corridors used by big game species, both on federal lands and private lands whose owners volunteer to participate in conservation efforts. These projects fund state-identified migratory bottlenecks and places that must be secured and improved to ensure healthy populations of these iconic animals.
Projects receiving grants and matching contributions include:
This is the second round of grants funded through this partnership. The first round of grants announced in May 2019 awarded $2.1 million across nine projects, leveraging more than $8.6 million in matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of more than $10.7 million. The projects collectively will:
A complete list of the $23.4 million in 2020 grants and matching contributions made through NFWF’s Improving Habitat Quality in Western Big Game Winter Range and Migration Corridors Program is available here.
A complete list of the $1.3 million made through the FWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife program is available here.
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