Nterior Doles Out $17 Million For Coastal Wetlands
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)has awarded $17 million in grants to 10 states to conserve, restore and protect coastal wetlands. The grants, which are awarded through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant program, provide funding for 20 projects.
The states receiving the grants are: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
The Fish and Wildlife Service makes yearly matching grants to coastal states and U.S. territories for projects involving the acquisition, restoration or enhancement of coastal wetlands for the benefit of wildlife and habitat.
The grants will be supplemented by more than $42 million from state and private partners.
Partners in this year’s Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grants projects include state natural resources agencies, Native American tribes and trusts, county and local governments, private landowners, and conservation groups such as Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited and The Nature Conservancy.
To date, the Service has awarded more than $139 million in grants to 25 states and one U.S. territory under the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program.
The federal agency reports that when the 2004 grants projects are complete, they will have protected and restored more than 19,000 acres.
Some 167,000 acres will have been protected or restored since the wetlands grant program began in 1990.
Provided by theEnvironmental News Service.