Digest of Federal Resource Laws of Interest to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Great Apes Conservation Act of 2000

(P.L. 106-411)

The law assists in the conservation of great apes by supporting and providing financial resources for the conservation programs of countries within the range of great apes. Under the law, Great apes include the chimpanzee, gorilla, bonobo, orangutan, and gibbon. The law authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, to award grants to entities that will promote the conservation of great apes in the wild. The authorization for appropriations is $5 million per year through 2005 with 3% or $80,000, whichever is greater, expended to administer the grants program. The law is modeled after the Asian and African Elephant Conservation Acts and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act.

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