In July, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it will award grants to help conserve fish and wildlife in the State of Washington and 19 other states.
Under the HCP Land Acquisition Grants Program, the State of Washington, will receive $2 million to acquire 2,400 acres in Asotin County, including one mile of the Lower Grande Ronde River and three miles of tributaries that support federally listed bull trout as well as steelhead, interior redband trout, Pacific lamprey and many other aquatic species.
The acquisition is part of a larger, multi-phased landscape-level project that will eventually protect 13,000 acres of habitat lands and 15 miles of streams. The project is bordered on the north by Forest Service lands and on the south and east by Bureau of Land Management lands.
Issued through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (authorized by Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act), the competitive grants enable states to work with private landowners, conservation groups and other government agencies to initiate conservation planning efforts and acquire and protect habitat that benefits threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and plants.
A complete list of the 2013 grant awards under these programs is available online at:
www.fws.gov/endangered/grants/index.html
source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service