ContactsContact: Craig Rieben 703-358-2225
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today announced more than $6.2 million in grants will go to 38 Native American projects in 18 states to fund a wide range of conservation projects nationwide.
"Tribal Wildlife Grants are much more than a fiscal resource for tribes. The projects and partnerships supported by this program have enhanced our commitment to Native Americans and to the United States' shared wildlife resources," Secretary Kempthorne said.
More than $34 million has gone to Native American tribes through the Tribal Wildlife Grants program in the past six years, providing funding for 175 conservation projects administered by 133 participating Federally-recognized tribes. The grants provide technical and financial assistance for the development and implementation of efforts that benefit fish and wildlife resources and their habitat, including species that are not hunted or fished.
"The Tribal Wildlife Grants program has helped the Service to collaborate more effectively with Native American tribes in conserving and restoring the vast diversity of fish and wildlife habitat that they manage," added the Interior Department's Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Lyle Laverty.
The grants have enabled tribes to develop increased management capacity, improve and enhance relationships with partners including State agencies, address cultural and environmental priorities, and heighten interest of tribal students in fisheries, wildlife and related fields of study. Some grants have been awarded to enhance recovery efforts for threatened and endangered species.
The grants are provided exclusively to Federally-recognized Indian tribal governments and are made possible under the Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2002, and through a component of the State Wildlife Grant program.
During the current grant cycle, tribes submitted a total of 110 proposals that were scored by panels in each Service Region using uniform ranking criteria. A national scoring panel recommended 38 proposals for funding.
The grants cover a wide range of conservation projects, including:
- A grant for $49,791 for the Band of Pomo Indians in California for the Big Valley Rancheria Clear Lake Hitch Study Project. The Clear Lake Hitch is a culturally significant native fish in Clear Lake. This multi-tribal effort will seek to accelerate the recovery of this fish and to provide stock to other streams in the watershed.
- A grant of $62,604 to the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma will help manage the Tribe's Wildlife Conservation Area, which, among other things, includes the Grey Snow Eagle House (Bah Kho-Je Xla Chi), the first Federally-funded eagle rehabilitation facility in the United States. This facility cares for injured eagles that cannot return to the wild, rehabilitates eagles that are returned to the wild, and utilizes the eagles' natural molting process to provide eagle feathers for Native American religious and other ceremonies.
- A grant of $199,831 to the confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, located in Washington State, will help the tribe improve management of over-stressed meadow habitat on their 1.4 million acre Yakama reservation in southcentral Washington. Meadows and wetlands in the managed forest occupy just over 8,600 acres and include many ecologically and culturally important wildlife and plant species.
- The Lummi Nation of Washington State will receive a grant of $200,000 to support endangered species recovery work in the Nooksack River Basin. It will seek to restore degraded habitat identified as limiting the production of bull trout, steelhead, Chinook and other salmon.
- A grant to the Yurok Tribe of the Klamath River Reserve in northern California for $200,000 to study the feasibility of reintroducing California condors to the Yurok Ancestral Territory. The condor is listed as an endangered species by Federal and State agencies.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more
information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.
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(2008 Tribal Wildlife Grants)
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