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| Division of Bird Habitat Conservation | |
A total of $26.1 million in funding was approved for the following 27 projects on September 9, 2008. Project partners are contributing $86 million in matching funds and $23.3 million in nonmatching funds to affect 165,681 acres of habitat. These projects are considered part of the Fiscal Year 2009/Window 1 grants cycle. Project Summary Table.
| ARKANSAS | |
| Project: Bayou Meto Basin Phase II. Location: 15 counties in eastern Arkansas. Congressional District: 1 and 4. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc . Contact: Brian Davis, bdavis2@ducks.org. Partners: Wetlands America Trust; Arkansas Game and Fish Commission; Six Shooter’s, LLC; Buffalo Bayou. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $999,900. Matching Funds: $2,033,881. Nonmatching Funds: None. Joint Venture Region: Lower Mississippi Valley. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 26. |
This project is the second of at least two that will restore and enhance the Bayou Meto Basin of the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. The specific objectives of this project are to protect 2,975 acres via donated conservation easements, restore 4,772 acres and enhance 4,900 acres of diverse wetland habitats. The project will benefit at least 19 species of waterfowl, as well as wetland-dependent shorebirds and forest bird species. |
| CALIFORNIA | |
| Project: Northern Tulare/San Joaquin Basins II. Location: Fresno and Merced counties. Congressional District: 18 and 20. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Mark Biddlecomb, (916) 852-2000, mbiddlecomb@ducks.org. Partners: California Wildlife Conservation Board; California Department of Fish and Game; Grassland Water District; private individuals. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $509,039. Matching Funds: $873,261. Nonmatching Funds: $59,228. Joint Venture Region: Central Valley. Flyway: Pacific. BCR: 32. |
This project is Phase 2 of a multi-phase initiative to conserve wetlands and associated habitats in the northern Tulare and San Joaquin basins of California’s Central Valley. Due to rapid urbanization and conversion for agricultural production, more than 95 percent of California’s original wetlands habitat have been lost. Ducks Unlimited, Inc., and its partners will conserve 5,055 acres of wetlands and 205 acres of riparian habitat on private and public land. In addition, partners will restore or enhance 1,334 acres of associated wildlife habitats consisting of native grasslands, scrublands and managed upland habitats. Habitat restoration, enhancement and protection will benefit waterfowl, shorebirds and other wetland-dependent birds throughout the year by conserving migrating, wintering and breeding habitat. |
| Project: San Luis NWRC – Private Lands I. Location: Merced and Stanislaus counties. Congressional District: 18. Grantee: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Contact: Kim Forrest, kim_forrest@fws.gov. Partners: California Resources Agency; Castle Duck Club, Inc.; Big Sandy Duck Club; Luna Ranch; Modesto Properties; 101 Duck Club; Mape’s Ranch; San Joaquin Wetlands Farms; Newman Land and Cattle. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $509,039. Matching Funds: $873,261. Nonmatching Funds: $59,228. Joint Venture Region: Central Valley. Flyway: Pacific. BCR: 32. |
This project encompasses the eighth phase of a multi-phase initiative to protect, restore and enhance wetlands and associated uplands in the area known as the Grasslands Wildlife Management area and the San Joaquin River acquisition boundary. The work will provide resting and foraging habitat for wintering migratory waterfowl and year-round habitat for other riparian and wetlands dependent birds and wildlife. The northern San Joaquin Valley--especially the wetlands in Merced and Stanislaus counties--is a critically important wintering area for Pacific Flyway migratory birds, with peak annual numbers of ducks and geese ranging from 800,000 to 1,000,000. However, the area is under intense development pressure due to population growth and changing agricultural practices. The habitats to be protected will provide nesting, foraging, migration and wintering habitat for a wide variety of migratory birds and wetlands dependent wildlife. |
| COLORADO | |
| Project: San Luis Valley Rio Grande Initiative. Location: Conejos County. Congressional District: 3. Grantee: Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust. Contact: Nancy Butler, right@fone.net. Partners: Willett Ranch; Great Outdoors Colorado Trust; Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project; CDOW Habitat Partnership Program; Rio Grande Water Conservation District; Ducks Unlimited; The Nature Conservancy; Colorado Conservation Trust; Orient Land Trust; Walters & Mullins; Brown Family Foundation; Bureau of Land Management. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,110,500. Nonmatching Funds: $15,000. Joint Venture Region: Intermountain West. Flyway: Central. BCR: 19. |
This project is part of the first phase of the San Luis Valley Rio Grande Initiative, a collaborative, community-based conservation effort to protect 25,000 acres of riparian corridor along the Rio Grande River at its headwaters in Colorado. This project will protect the largest private holding on the Rio Grande at its confluence with the Conejos River--3,200 acres of extensive and diverse wetlands habitat on the Willett Ranch--as well as enhance the water supply for 1,461 acres of the Willett Ranch and 590 acres on an adjacent Bureau of Land Management wetlands complex. The project will benefit waterfowl such as mallards, northern pintails, redheads, ring-necked ducks, American wigeon, lesser scaup and canvasbacks. Many species of wetland-dependent birds will also benefit, including American dipper, Wilson’s warbler, warbling vireo, American bittern, white-faced ibis and greater sandhill crane. |
| FLORIDA | |
| Project: North Florida Wetlands Conservation Project, Phase II. Location: Alachua County. Congressional District: 6. Grantee: Alachua County. Contact: Ramesh P. Buch, rpbuch@alachuacounty.us. Partners: Alachua Conservation Trust; Florida Communities Trust; two private individuals; Land Stewardship Endowment. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,000,000. Nonmatching Funds: None. Joint Venture Region: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 31. |
This project is part of a multi-phase effort to protect critical habitat for migratory birds and other wetland-dependent species in north-central Florida. Phase II adds 3,139 acres, bringing the preserved total to 6,467 acres of wetlands and adjacent uplands within five miles of the City of Gainesville. The project area hosts numerous migratory and resident waterfowl species, including priority species such as northern pintail, mottled duck, lesser scaup and black bellied whistling duck. Herons, egrets, ibis and other waterbirds and wading birds use the area year-round. The properties in the project area also host neotropical migrants. |
| IOWA | |
| Project: Iowa River Corridor Wetland Initiative. Location: Hardin, Marshall, Tama, Poweshiek, Iowa, Benton, Johnson, Washington, Muscatine and Louisa counties. Congressional District: 2, 3, and 4. Grantee: Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Contact: Todd Bishop, (515) 281-7127, todd.bishop@dnr.state.ia.us. Partners: Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation; Marshall County Conservation Board; Hardin County Conservation Board; Ducks Unlimited, Inc.; National Wild Turkey Federation-Marshall County; Pheasants Forever-Marshall County Chapter; two private individuals; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Natural Resources Conservation Service; Iowa Department of Transportation. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,948,904. Nonmatching Funds: $1,024,913. Joint Venture Region: Upper Mississippi River Great Lakes. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 22. |
This project will add to and enhance three large wetland complexes and three river floodplain corridor areas. The project area is an important part of a major migration corridor for waterfowl, including lesser scaup, and other wetland birds moving north from the central Mississippi River to the Prairie Pothole Region and other breeding grounds to the north and west. The area also supports breeding populations of a wide variety of migratory bird species. Tracts acquired and enhanced will be managed for wildlife habitats as public wildlife management areas and will be open to hunting and other non-conflicting uses such as hiking, bird watching, photography and education. |
| LOUISIANA | |
| Project: Louisiana Coastal Wetlands IV. Location: Cameron, Calcasieu and Vermilion parishes. Congressional District: 7. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Bob Dew, bdew@ducks.org. Partners: BP America; Louisiana Department of Natural Resources; Pennington Foundation; Miami Corporation; private individual. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,262,651. Nonmatching Funds: None. Joint Venture Region: Gulf Coast. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 37. |
Partners will restore wetland and associated upland habitat on public and private lands within the coastal marsh of the Chenier Plain Initiative Area. Restoration of 912 acres will be accomplished by building 70,000 linear feet of earthen terraces on three tracts in shallow, open-water areas formerly affected by interior marsh loss. Grant and partner funds will be used to fund construction of terraces and plant vegetation along the base of the terraces for erosion control. The project area contains migration and wintering habitat for high priority waterfowl species such as the northern pintail, lesser and greater scaup, mottled duck, redhead, and ring-necked duck. Numerous species of shorebirds use wetlands across the project area, as do herons, egrets, ibises, bitterns, roseate spoonbills, wood storks and rails. |
| MAINE | |
| Project: Cobscook Bay – Bold Coast Project Area. Location: Washington County. Congressional District: 2. Grantee: Maine Coast Heritage Trust. Contact: Marty Anderson, manderson@mcht.org. Partners: Quoddy Regional Land Trust; Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife; The Pew Charitable Trusts; private individual; The Nature Conservancy; Ducks Unlimited; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,023,010. Nonmatching Funds: $562,000. Joint Venture Region: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 14. |
This project will permanently protect at least 2,335 acres of high value wetland and adjacent upland buffer habitat in an area that has been recognized for decades for its exceptional habitat values for water-dependent birds and endangered species. The project area contains relatively undisturbed and exceptionally productive habitat for numerous waterfowl species, including 14 species of breeding waterfowl, 29 species of migrating ducks and geese, and 16 species of wintering sea ducks. As many as 150,000 shorebirds pass through Cobscook Bay annually, and 34 species of shorebirds have been documented in the project area. The area also supports small numbers of the nearly 1,300 harlequin ducks that winter in coastal Maine. The rare yellow rail and least bittern have been sighted within the project area. |
| Project: Kennebec River Estuary III. Location: Sagahodoc and Lincoln counties. Congressional District: 1. Grantee: Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Contact: Ken Elowe, ken.elowe@maine.gov. Partners: The Nature Conservancy; Lower Kennebec Regional Land Trust; Maine Coast Heritage Trust; Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,215,000. Nonmatching Funds: None. Joint Venture Region: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 14. |
The Kennebec Estuary, located in mid-coast Maine, is one of the largest East Coast tidal estuaries north of the Chesapeake Bay. The project area harbors one of the nation’s largest intact systems of saltwater, freshwater and brackish tidal marshes, providing critical breeding, migrating and wintering habitat for several endangered and threatened species, as well as shorebirds, waterfowl, wading birds and fish. This project will permanently protect at least 2,386 acres of wetlands and associated upland buffer habitat within the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture’s Merrymeeting Bay/Lower Kennebec River Focus Area. The Kennebec Estuary annually supports tens of thousands of ducks, geese, rails, wading birds, shorebirds and other wetland-dependent species during spring and fall migrations, and provides breeding habitat for many waterfowl and waterbirds and over-wintering habitat for significant numbers of waterfowl, including large populations of American black duck and common eider. |
| Project: Wabassus Lake Project. Location: Washington County. Congressional District: 2. Grantee: Downeast Lakes Land Trust. Contact: Mark Berry, mberrydllt@earthlink.net. Partners: Sam Shine Foundation; Timbervest, LLC; U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $640,000. Matching Funds: $1,280,000. Nonmatching Funds: $1,530,000. Joint Venture Region: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 14. |
The Wabassus Lake Project’s goal is to acquire and permanently protect a 6,644-acre property with important wildlife habitat values that represents a critical gap between prior conservation investments in the Machias River Project and the Downeast Lakes Forestry Partnership. It will permanently protect 550 acres of wetlands, nearly nine miles of undeveloped lakeshore that completes protection of three lakes, six miles of streams in the Machias and St. Croix River watersheds, vital upland buffers for all of these habitats, and habitat for migratory birds, endangered species and other wildlife. Project lands are within 27 miles of the relatively pristine coast of Downeast Maine. Protecting these acres will benefit birds such as American black ducks, wood ducks, ring-necked ducks, American woodcocks, sedge wrens and rusty blackbirds. |
| MASSACHUSETTS | |
| Project: Buzzards Bay Watershed: Cornell Farm, Massachusetts. Location: Bristol County. Congressional District: 4. Grantee: The Trustee of Reservations. Contact: Leslie McKinley, lmckinley@ttor.org. Partners: Westport Land Conservation Trust; The Coalition for Buzzards Bay; Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $689,600. Matching Funds: $4,500,000. Nonmatching Funds: None. Joint Venture Region: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 30. |
The Cornell Farm project seeks to safeguard and enhance vital habitat for migratory birds and other species on 323 acres in southeastern Massachusetts. The project will expand on the multi-partner, region-wide effort to protect critical natural resources throughout the Buzzards Bay watershed. The land encompassed by the project area is of high value for waterfowl, waterbirds, shorebirds and other wetland-dependent birds, and is threatened by residential development. The area provides important stopover habitat for a variety of shorebirds such as the short-billed dowitcher, red knot, dunlin and ruddy turnstone. Numerous songbirds nest and forage in the marshes and freshwater wetlands of the acquisition sites. |
| Project: The Great Marsh. Location: Essex County. Congressional District: 6. Grantee: Essex County Greenbelt Association. Contact: Tracie Hines, tracie@ecga.org. Partners: Town of Newbury; City of Newburyport; Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and the Environment; Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management; The Trustees of Reservations; Environmental Resource Management, Inc.; private individual; Town of Ipswich – Great Neck and Moody Islands; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services; Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation; Fields Pond Foundation; Gulf of Maine Council/NOAA. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $1,862,905. Nonmatching Funds: $2,005,387. Joint Venture Region: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 30. |
The overarching goal of The Great Marsh project is to secure and restore habitat for more than 70 species of waterfowl, waterbirds and shorebirds, as well as an additional 90 species of birds that use the diverse habitat types in this area. Among the species that will benefit are the American black duck, mallard, mottled duck, northern pintail and greater scaup. In all, more than 160 bird species will enjoy habitat benefits from this project. |
| MICHIGAN | |
| Project: Saginaw Bay to Lake Erie Coastal Habitat Project Phase II. Location: 21 counties in eastern Michigan. Congressional District: 1, 4, 5, and 7-15. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Contact: Russell Terry, rterry@ducks.org. Partners: DTE Energy; Fish Point Wildlife Association; Harsen’s Island Waterfowl Hunters Association; Michigan Department of Natural Resources; Monroe County; Pheasants Forever; Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy; Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network; St. Clair Flats Waterfowlers, Inc.; The Conservation Fund; U.S. Forest Service; Washtenaw Land Trust; Waterfowl USA – Southwestern Lake Erie Chapter; U.S. Forest Service. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,421,935. Nonmatching Funds: $627,900. Joint Venture Region: Upper Mississippi River Great Lakes. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 12. |
This project focuses on protecting, restoring and enhancing wetland and associated upland habitat in the Saginaw Bay area and south on Michigan’s major waterfowl migration corridor through the Lake St. Clair and western Lake Erie watersheds, including the Detroit River. It targets protection, restoration and enhancement of Great Lakes coastal marshes and associated shoreline habitats, expansion of state and federal wildlife areas, and restoration and enhancement of privately owned wetlands and nearby uplands important for waterfowl production. High priority waterfowl species benefiting include mallards, American black ducks, and greater and lesser scaup. Grassland dependent bird species such as the Henslow’s sparrow, bobolink, sedge wren and eastern meadowlark, will also benefit from native grassland restoration. |
| MINNESOTA | |
| Project: Glacial Ridge Prairie Landscape Initiative. Location: Polk County. Congressional District: 7. Grantee: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Contact: Dave Bennett, dave_bennett@fws.gov. Partners: The Conservation Fund; The Nature Conservancy; City of Crookston; Red Lake Watershed District; Minnesota Land Trust; Natural Resources Conservation Service. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $4,727,400. Nonmatching Funds: $12,071,619. Joint Venture Region: Prairie Pothole. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 11. |
This project will add 6,630 acres of wetlands, prairie remnants and cropland--which will be restored to grassland and wetland--to the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, and will enhance critical habitats on 303 additional acres. The project builds on the energy and accomplishments of an alliance of more than 30 organizations, elected officials and many individual volunteers who first developed the concept of a Glacial Ridge landscape preservation project in June 2000. The refuge was established in 2004. This grant will help to more than triple the size of the refuge and provide critical habitats for more than 300 wildlife species within the Red River Prairie ecosystem. In addition to being an integral part of the most productive waterfowl region in North America, the project area provides critical breeding and migration habitat for more than 200 other bird species. Glacial Ridge’s wetland and prairie are used by waterfowl, thousands of sandhill cranes, hundreds of greater prairie chickens and numerous other species. |
| Project: Upper Minnesota River Valley Phase II. Location: Traverse, Grant, Big Stone, Stevens, Lac Qui Parle, Chippewa, Yellow Medicine, Redwood and Renville counties. Congressional District: 7. Grantee: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Contact: Leslie Tannahill, leslie.tannahill@dnr.state.mn.us. Partners: Pheasants Forever; Ducks Unlimited; Minnesota Conservation Corps; private individual; Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota’s Resources. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,132,436. Nonmatching Funds: $242,000. Joint Venture Region: Prairie Pothole. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 11. |
This project will protect 260 acres of wetlands and 865 acres of adjacent uplands; restore four acres of wetlands; and enhance nearly 1,000 acres of wetlands. Grassland-dependent wildlife will benefit from the enhancement of 1,454 acres of grasslands. Northern pintail, mallard, American wigeon and other upland-nesting waterfowl will benefit from the protection of grasslands adjacent to wetlands. Upland sandpiper, marbled godwit, greater prairie chicken and grassland passerine birds will benefit as well. Other wetland birds, including shorebirds, herons, terns, American bittern, white pelicans and trumpeter swans will also benefit. |
| MISSISSIPPI | |
| Project: Mississippi Delta WMA Wetland Habitat Enhancements. Location: Bolivar, Issaquena, Quitman and Sharkey counties. Congressional District: 2. Grantee: Foundation for Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. Contact: Kevin Brunke, kevinb@mdwfp.state.ms.us. Partners: Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks; Wetlands America Trust; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $999,521. Matching Funds: $2,219,758. Nonmatching Funds: $64,728. Joint Venture Region: Lower Mississippi Valley. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 26. |
Partners will protect, enhance or restore nearly 4,400 acres of emergent and forested wetlands and associated habitats, helping to ensure consistent, high-quality habitats for waterfowl, shorebirds, rails, wading birds, and other wetland dependent wildlife in one of the most important wintering and migration areas for birds in North America. This project will provide breeding and brood-rearing habitat for wood ducks and hooded mergansers, as well as wintering and migration habitat for mallards, gadwalls, American wigeon, green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, shorebirds, wading birds and passerines. |
| Project: Theodore Roosevelt NWR Complex Wetlands Restoration and Enhancement. Location: Bolivar, Coahoma, Holmes, Humphreys, Leflore, Quitman, Tallahatchie and Yazoo counties. Congressional District: 2. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Chris Cole, ccole@ducks.org. Partners: Wetlands America Trust; Environmental Synergy, Inc.; Walker Foundation; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $881,234. Matching Funds: $2,248,157. Nonmatching Funds: $2,000. Joint Venture Region: Lower Mississippi Valley. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 26. |
This project is a continuation of long-term efforts to protect, restore and enhance important wetland habitats in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley that support diverse wildlife. Partners will enhance 675 acres and restore 910 acres of permanently protected federal lands; protect 1,512 acres on private lands through two donated conservation easements; and enhance 504 acres of private lands under 10-year management agreements. Enhancement and restoration activities will provide approximately 7 million duck-use-days of foraging capacity and important habitat for pair isolation, thermal refuge and roosting for 21 species of waterfowl. Additionally, migratory birds and at least 58 other species of wetland-dependent species of migratory birds will benefit directly. |
| MONTANA | |
| Project: Blackfoot Watershed II. Location: Lewis and Clark, Missoula, and Powell counties. Congressional District: 1. Grantee: Blackfoot Challenge. Contact: Gary Burnett, gary@blackfootchallenge.org. Partners: Montana Land Reliance; Five Valleys Land Trust; private individual; Iverson Ranch; Circle Bar Ranch; Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks; Big Blackfoot Chapter Trout Unlimited; Big Sky High School; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $4,944,553. Nonmatching Funds: $10,000. Joint Venture Region: Intermountain West. Flyway: Pacific. BCR: 10. |
The proposed Blackfoot Watershed II, part of a three-phase project, will protect some of the most biologically rich and threatened wetland and upland habitat in the Rocky Mountain West and contribute to a landscape-level effort by the Blackfoot Challenge to improve habitat quality and protection within the watershed. The 11,053-acre project aims to permanently protect 2,122 acres of a unique complex of glaciated wetlands and associated grasslands, restore a minimum of 910 acres of riparian and wetland habitats on private lands, and enhance 8,021 acres of native grassland and riparian habitat by fencing and/or planting native grass species and shrubs. Twenty-nine waterfowl species are expected to benefit, including mallard, lesser scaup and northern pintail. Other birds that will benefit include sandhill cranes, brewer’s sparrows, willow flycatchers, trumpeter swans and long-billed curlews. |
| Project: Rocky Mountain Front Protection Project II. Location: Lewis and Clark, Teton, Pondera, and Glacier counties. Congressional District: 1. Grantee: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Contact: Randy Gazda, randy_gazda@fws.gov. Partners: The Nature Conservancy; Ingersoll; The Conservation Fund; private individual; Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks; Choteau School District; Colorado International Transport, Inc.; Pheasants Forever. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,247,548. Nonmatching Funds: $1,511,120. Joint Venture Region: Prairie Pothole. Flyway: Pacific. BCR: 11. |
This project will permanently protect 11,588 acres via conservation easements, including 7.5 miles of riparian habitat and 697 acres of wetlands. It will also restore 42 acres of palustrine emergent wetlands, 16 acres of palustrine wetlands and 100 acres of grassland and wetland habitat. Waterfowl species that will benefit include northern pintail, lesser scaup, red-necked grebe and harlequin duck. Eleven shorebird species breed in the wetlands and undisturbed native prairies of the area. The third largest population of American white pelicans in Montana and a portion of the Rocky Mountain population of greater sandhill cranes breed in this area and use its river corridors during migration. The native prairie, located primarily on private ranchlands, is essential for grassland birds such as the northern harrier, ferruginous hawk and sharp-tailed grouse. |
| NORTH CAROLINA, VIRGINIA | |
| Project: Roanoke River Migratory Bird Initiative III. Location: Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties, North Carolina; City of Chesapeake, Virginia. Congressional District: NC 1, 3; VA 1. Grantee: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Contact: Bridgett Costanzo, bridgett_costanzo@fws.gov. Partners: North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission; North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund; North Carolina Clean Water Trust Fund; Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,378,712. Matching Funds: $2,374,454. Nonmatching Funds: $49,887. Joint Venture Region: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 27. |
This project is the third phase of the Roanoke River Migratory Bird Initiative, an effort to establish and improve bird habitat in the Albemarle Sound drainages of eastern Virginia and North Carolina. In 2005, NAWCA funds were used to install sheet piling and a water control structure in Myrtle Ditch to restore more than 3,000 acres on Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. The current project will install a similar but larger structure in the main South Martha Washington Ditch, and a second structure in a major lateral ditch, to restore 9,580 acres of wetlands just south of the 2005 project areas. This project will benefit large numbers of neotropical land birds, as well as black ducks, brown-headed nuthatches, Swainson’s warblers, Eastern wood peewees, prothonotary warblers and wood thrushes. Within the project site is a 500-acre area of old-growth pine that has been identified as a potential reintroduction site for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. |
| NORTH DAKOTA | |
| Project: Missouri Coteau Habitat Conservation Project VII. Location: 15 counties in the Missouri Coteau region of central North Dakota. Congressional District: 1. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Randy Renner, rrenner@ducks.org. Partners: Wal-Mart/National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; North Dakota Game and Fish Department; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $1,077,390. Nonmatching Funds: $102,200. Joint Venture Region: Prairie Pothole. Flyway: Central. BCR: 11. |
This is the seventh phase of an ongoing project designed to protect, restore, monitor and evaluate wetland and grassland communities using a landscape-level approach to planning. Most of the remaining grassland habitats in the Missouri Coteau are native prairie, which are critically important components of the prairie pothole ecosystem and are largely responsible for maintaining the functions and values of adjacent prairie wetlands. Once lost, the ecological functionality of native prairie habitats is nearly impossible to restore. Protection of native prairie surrounding these critically important prairie wetland habitats will provide essential nesting habitat for waterfowl and other species, and will minimize the influx of sediments, herbicides and pesticides into these wetlands. |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | |
| Project: ACE Basin: Edisto River Corridor Protection Project III. Location: Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties. Congressional District: 1 and 6. Grantee: National Audubon Society. Contact: Norman Brunswig, nbrunswig@audubon.org. Partners: Lowcountry Open Land Trust; The Nature Conservancy; Dorchester County; Charleston County Greenbelt Fund; South Carolina Conservation Bank; Pine Tree Conservation Society; Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $24,855,404. Nonmatching Funds: None. Joint Venture Region: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 27. |
This project is the third phase of a multi-year project to protect and restore freshwater, forested and estuarine wetlands and associated uplands in the Edisto River corridor. Phase III will protect 11 tracts totaling 3,118 acres--including 956 acres of wetlands and 2,162 acres of upland habitats--to benefit breeding, migrating and wintering birds. The project areas protect stopover habitat for migrating waterfowl and other wetland-associated bird species; wintering habitat for waterfowl such as the lesser scaup, wood duck, bufflehead, hooded merganser and American black duck; wintering habitat for high priority wetland associated species such as saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow and rusty blackbird; and breeding habitat for species such as little blue heron, swallow-tailed kite, prairie warbler and painted bunting. The project will also enhance public use for birding, canoeing, hunting, hiking and environmental education. |
| Project: Cooper River-West Branch Wetland Conservation and Enhancement Initiative: Salt Point. Location: Berkeley County. Congressional District: 6. Grantee: The Trust for Public Land. Contact: Raleigh West, raleigh.west@tpl.org. Partners: South Carolina Conservation Bank; Salt Point Timber, LLC; Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,000,000. Nonmatching Funds: None. Joint Venture Region: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 27. |
The primary short-term goals of this project are to protect 1,032 acres and two miles of frontage along the West Branch of the Cooper River and to enhance 415 acres of wetland habitat within this area for waterfowl, waterbirds, shorebirds, landbirds and other wildlife. The long-term objective is to propel the permanent conservation of more than 4,000 acres and six miles of dual river frontage along the West Branch of the Cooper River. In the past, priority waterfowl species such as lesser scaup, mallard, canvasback, ring - necked ducks and American coots have used these wetlands in high numbers. However, because of the inability to effectively manage water levels and use beneficial prescribed fire as a management tool, aquatic emergent vegetation has yielded to species such as giant cutgrass, which has little to no waterfowl forage value. Common wading birds, shorebirds and waterbirds that can be found using these habitat types include snowy egret, pied-billed grebe, yellow-crowned night heron and others. |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | |
| Project: Harvey Dunn Grassland Preservation Project II. Location: 44 Eastern Counties, South Dakota. Congressional District: 1. Grantee: Pheasants Forever. Contact: Ron Leathers, rleathers@pheasantsforever.org. Partners: South Dakota Game Fish and Parks; two private individuals; Ducks Unlimited,Inc.; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $1,001,730. Nonmatching Funds: $68,160. Joint Venture Region: Prairie Pothole. Flyway: Central. BCR: 11. |
The goal of this phase of the Harvey Dunn Grassland Preservation Project is to protect 2,393 acres of wetlands and grasslands. Protecting native prairie and restored grasslands surrounding these critically important prairie wetland habitats provides essential nesting habitat for waterfowl and other species. Most estimates indicate that less than 5 percent of North America’s tallgrass prairie remains, and the Dunn Project area contains several of these remaining tracts. The habitat preserved by this project will provide direct benefits to not only waterfowl, but also numerous species of shorebirds, wading birds, marsh birds, grassland songbirds and other wetland- and grassland-dependent species. Valuable breeding, migration and, for some resident species, wintering habitat, will be protected. |
| TENNESSEE | |
| Project: Lower Obion River, Phase V. Location: Lake County. Congressional District: 8. Grantee: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Contact: Tim Churchill, tim.churchill@state.tn.us. Partners: Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust Foundation. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $3,227,433. Nonmatching Funds: None. Joint Venture Region: Lower Mississippi Valley. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 26. |
Partners will acquire 1,017 acres of prior converted wetlands within the Lower Mississippi Valley of Tennessee as part of a 50,000-acre, multi-phase effort. Restoration activities during future phases of this project will help ensure diverse waterfowl food and cover within the Lower Obion River project area, while leaving open options for shorebird and waterbird management. This project is expected to benefit at least 19 waterfowl species, and at least 23 species of shorebirds have been reported using the area. Restored habitat will benefit forest interior species such as the red-headed woodpecker, wood thrush, prothonotary warbler and orchard oriole. The Lower Obion River Project Area is also an important area for public, wildlife-related recreation, including hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing. |
| TEXAS | |
| Project: Wetlands Restoration and Enhancement of Private and Public Lands, Texas Gulf Coast VI. Location: 28 counties in the Texas Gulf Coast region. Congressional District: 2, 9, 14, 15, 18, 22, 25, and 27-29. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Scott W. Manley, smanley@ducks.org . Partners: Wetlands America Trust; private individuals; Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; Futch Foundation; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $1,825,885. Nonmatching Funds: $100,000. Joint Venture Region: Gulf Coast. Flyway: Central. BCR: 37. |
This project represents a continuation of long-term efforts to protect, restore and enhance important wetland habitats in the Gulf Coast Prairies. Successful delivery of this project will help ensure that the Texas Gulf Coast continues to fulfill its historical role as one of the most important wintering and migration habitats in North America for continental populations of waterfowl, shorebirds and other wetland-dependent migratory birds. This project will provide breeding habitat for mottled ducks, black-bellied whistling ducks and fulvous whistling ducks, as well as wintering/migration habitat for northern pintails, mallards, gadwalls, American wigeon, green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, cackling Canada geese and other waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, and landbirds. |
| WASHINGTON | |
| Project: Black River Riparian and Wetland Conservation Initiative – Phase II. Location: Grays Harbor and Thurston counties. Congressional District: 3. Grantee: The Nature Conservancy. Contact: Eric Delvin, (360)570-0083, edelvin@tnc.org. Partners: Thurston County; Washington State Parks; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; Chehalis Tribe; South of the South Community Farmland Trust; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Natural Resource Conservation Service; Department of Defense. Approved: September 2008. Grant: $993,950. Matching Funds: $2,582,000. Nonmatching Funds: $1,490,000. Joint Venture Region: Pacific Coast. Flyway: Pacific. BCR: 5. |
This project represents Phase Two of an extensive, landscape-scale conservation strategy to protect and restore more than 5,000 acres of significant floodplain wetland habitats and associated uplands in the Black River watershed. The Black River is a tributary of the Chehalis River, the second largest watershed in Washington. The wetland habitats make up one of the largest undisturbed freshwater wetland systems remaining in Puget Sound. This project will allow partners to protect, restore and enhance 1,937 acres of wetlands and associated uplands spanning more than 15 miles of floodplain and wetland habitats. An additional 1,200 acres will be affected through non-matching funds. The project area supports a winter population of at least 15,000 ducks and geese. The protected areas will provide opportunities for environmental education, hiking, bird watching, biking, photography, sustainable agriculture and a variety of other activities. One of the properties will also contain a portion of a future “Rails to Trails” project, which will connect with the current trail system to form nearly fifty miles of trails in Thurston County. |
/birdhabitat/Grants/NAWCA/Standard/US/2008_Sept.shtm was last updated 09/10/08 13:19:01
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