Stewardship grant deadline extended to Jan. 15

The Daily Press
Wisconsin

November 22nd, 2002

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a new deadline of January 15, 2003, for the submission of proposals for funding under the new Private Stewardship Grants Program. The previous deadline had been December 2, 2002. This program will provide a total of $10 million in federal grants to private landowners to implement conservation projects for endangered, threatened and other at-risk species.

On October 1, 2002, the Service issued a request for proposals and announced final implementation guidelines for the fiscal year 2002 Private Stewardship Grants Program. The extension gives applicants an additional 45 calendar days to become familiar with program requirements.

The Private Stewardship Grants Program provides assistance on a competitive basis to individuals and groups engaged in voluntary conservation efforts on private lands that benefit at-risk species including federally listed endangered or threatened or other at-risk species. Under this program, private landowners and groups working with private landowners are able to submit proposals directly to the Service for funding to support these efforts. The Service expects to announce the projects selected to receive grants by late winter, 2003.

The Service's Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin) has $942,981 available under the Private Stewardship Grants programs for landowners and their partners in those states. Applicants may submit their proposals to Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, One Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111-4056; attention Pete Fasbender (612-713-5343).

For more information on this and other Fish and Wildlife Service grant programs and on how and where to submit proposals, visit the Service's website at http://www.fws.gov and click on "grants." You may also contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Branch of Recovery and State Grants, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 420, Arlington, VA 22203, phone (703)358-2061.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principle Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological service field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

For more information about the US. Fish and Wildlife Service in the

Great Lakes - Big Rivers Region,