ELLISTON, Mont., July 28, 2006—U.S. Department of Agriculture
Under Secretary Mark Rey today announced the awarding of $4.1 million to fund 27
projects in 20 states to manage and control invasive plants, animals or insects
that adversely affect private and tribal grazing lands.
“These grants will develop and strengthen partnerships among private landowners,
organizations and state and local governments to prevent the spread of invasive
species on our nation’s valuable grazing lands,” Rey said. “Farmers and ranchers
take great care of the land and by working together we can maintain this
national treasure.”
Rey announced the grants in Powell County, Mont. The Powell County Weed Board, a
grant recipient, received more than $120,000 to help about 300 producers combat
18 invasive weeds in that county and parts of Missoula and Lewis and Clark
counties within the Blackfoot Watershed.
Funding for the 27 grants was provided from USDA’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service’s Conservation Technical Assistance Program through the
Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI). GLCI is a partnership of
individuals and organizations whose objective is to maintain and improve the
management, productivity and health of the nation’s privately owned grazing
land.
This is the first year USDA has offered these grants. USDA received 89
applications from 25 states totaling more than $20 million in requests.
Twenty-seven grants, ranging from $50,000 to $300,000, were awarded to fund
projects in 20 states.
Selected through national competition, the approved grants will fund one to
three-year projects to control and manage invasive species. The grantees—state
and local governments, tribes and non-governmental organizations—must provide at
least 50 percent of the project cost with non-federal funds and/or in-kind
contributions.
Approved projects will inventory, map, contain or eradicate invasive species
affecting grazing lands on a local, watershed, state or regional basis. In
another example, the Stillwater County Weed District in Montana will use
integrated pest management—including biological, chemical and cultural
techniques—to combat invasive weeds on 9,000 acres of grazing lands. Ninety-five
landowners will benefit from this project.
Limited resource farmers and ranchers and federally-recognized Native American
tribes also benefit from the grants. USDA will fund projects in eight
states—Florida, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and
Washington—totaling $1.4 million to help limited resource farmers and ranchers
and tribes control and manage invasive species. For example, the Confederated
Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation in Washington will develop and implement
an Integrated Weed Management Plan for the reservation’s entire 1.2 million
acres. The Seminole Tribe in Florida plans to track invasive species through a
database linked to a geographic information system. The West Virginia State
Conservation Agency and other partners will help 400 farmers, including many
limited resource farmers, control multiflora rose and autumn olive, noxious
weeds that infest their grazing lands.
A state listing of the GLCI grants (pdf) can be found at
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/glci/GLCI-tom.pdf.
Additional information about the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative can be
found at
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/glci.
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