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Secretary
Norton Announces More Than $70 Million in Grants to Support Land Acquisition
and Conservation Planning for Endangered Species
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2004
Contacts:
Patricia Fisher, 202-208-5634
Don Morgan, 703-358-2061
Interior Secretary Gale
Norton today announced more than $70 million in grants to 28 states
and one territory to support conservation planning and acquisition
of vital habitat for threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and
plant species. The grants will benefit species ranging from the Delmarva
fox squirrel in the East to peninsular bighorn sheep in the West.
“The strength of
our partnership with the states is clearly one of the keys to the
Bush Administration’s success in conserving and recovering threatened
and endangered species throughout this country,” Norton said.
“Today’s grant awards support state efforts to build and
strengthen important cost-effective conservation partnerships with
local groups and private landowners to benefit wildlife.”
Funded through the Cooperative
Endangered Species Conservation Fund and authorized by Section 6 of
the Endangered Species Act, the grants will enable states to work
with private landowners, conservation groups and other agencies to
initiate conservation planning efforts and acquire and protect habitat
to support the conservation of threatened and endangered species.
The Cooperative Endangered
Species Fund this year provides $49 million through the Habitat Conservation
Plan Land Acquisition Grants Program, $8.6 million through the Habitat
Conservation Planning Assistance Grants Program and $13.5 million
through the Recovery Land Acquisition Grants Program. The three programs
were established to help reduce potential conflicts between the conservation
of threatened and endangered species and land development and use.
"These grant programs are some of the many tools we have to help
landowners conserve valuable wildlife habitats in the day-to-day management
of their lands," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Steve
Williams said. "They help landowners finance the creative solutions
to land use and conservation issues that ultimately lead to the recovery
of endangered and threatened species."
Under the Habitat Conservation
Plan Land Acquisition Program, the Service provides grants to states
or territories for land acquisitions associated with approved Habitat
Conservation Plans. Grants do not fund any mitigation required of
an HCP permittee, but are instead intended to support acquisitions
by the state or local governments that complement actions associated
with the HCP.
A Habitat Conservation
Plan is an agreement between a landowner and the Service that allows
the landowner to incidentally take a threatened or endangered species
in the course of otherwise lawful activities when the landowner agrees
to conservation measures to minimize and mitigate the impact of the
taking. A Habitat Conservation Plan may also be developed by a county
or state to cover certain activities of all landowners within their
jurisdiction and may address multiple species. There are more than
357 Habitat Conservation Plans currently in effect, covering 458 separate
species on approximately 39 million acres, with some 407 additional
plans under development, covering approximately 100 million acres.
Among recipients of today's
Habitat Conservation Land Acquisition grants is Scotland County, North
Carolina with a $1.9 million grant to acquire and manage land that
will aid in the recovery of the North Carolina Sandhills West population
of the federally-endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. In addition to
the woodpecker, the acquisition will enable North Carolina to increase
the intensity of restoration and management of the longleaf pine habitat
in the area.
The Habitat Conservation
Planning Assistance Program provides grants to states and territories
to support the development of Habitat Conservation Plans, through
funding of baseline surveys and inventories, document preparation,
outreach and similar planning activities.
Of today’s grants,
more than $380,000 will fund Colorado’s efforts in developing
a Habitat Conservation Plan to conserve the southwestern willow flycatcher
in the San Luis Valley in Alamosa, Conejos, Mineral, Rio Grande and
Saguache counties. The Plan will cover about two million acres and
150 stream miles. Not only will it benefit the flycatcher, but also
the bald eagle and the yellow-billed cuckoo.
The Recovery Land Acquisition Grants Program provides funds to states
and territories to acquire habitat for endangered and threatened species
in approved recovery plans. Acquisition of habitat to secure long-term
protection is often an essential element of a comprehensive recovery
effort for a listed species.
One of these grants will
provide $500,000 for acquisition of lands near the Machias River in
Hancock and Washington Counties in Maine. The acquisition of the 47
miles of lakeshore and 13 miles of stream frontage will benefit Atlantic
salmon rearing and spawning habitat as well as a bald eagle nesting
site.
For more information on
the 2004 grant awards for these programs (Catalog of Domestic Federal
Assistance Number 15.615), see the Fish and Wildlife Service’s
Endangered Species Grants home page at <http://endangered.fws.gov/grants/section6/index.html>.
The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal 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 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national
fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 81 ecological services
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.
Habitat Conservation
Plan Land Acquisition Grants in the Southeast by State:
North Carolina
•
North Carolina Sandhills, Red Cockaded Woodpecker
(Scotland County, NC) $1,901,250. The objective of this project is
to acquire and manage land that will contribute to the recovery of
the North Carolina Sandhills West population of the federally-endangered
red-cockaded woodpecker. Acquisition of the Rich Tract will provide
protection of a critical corridor between two disjunct blocks of the
North Carolina Gamelands, and acquisition of the Carrington Tract
will add 725 contiguous acres to Block F of the Gamelands, protecting
foraging habitat currently used by red-cockaded woodpeckers on Block
F. Purchase of these two tracts will help ensure that encroachment
of incompatible development around these blocks does not adversely
affect the State’s ability to manage its lands for the benefit
of both listed and unlisted species. Further, this action will enable
the State to increase the intensity of restoration and management
of the longleaf pine habitat in this area, particularly with the use
of prescribed fire. The project will contribute substantially to fulfilling
the recovery strategies developed for the Sandhills population of
the red-cockaded woodpecker. Recovery of this population is a high
priority for the North Carolina Sandhills Conservation Partnership,
which is composed of six parties including the United States Army.
Habitat Conservation
Planning Assistance Grants by Southeastern State:
Georgia:
•
Development of an HCP for Imperiled Aquatic Species of the
Etowah River Basin Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Dawson, Forsyth,
Fulton, Lumpkin, Paulding, and Pickens Counties, Georgia) $392,608.
The proposed project will complete the planning process for the comprehensive
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Etowah River Basin in Georgia, ultimately
resulting in an incidental take permit. The overall goal of the HCP
effort is for each local government to implement growth management
and local preservation efforts that ensure the future conservation
of aquatic imperiled species in this basin. The incidental take permit
will provide county and municipal governments (regulatory agencies)
the authority to authorize projects that provide for the conservation
of numerous aquatic species in the Etowah Basin while allowing environmentally-acceptable
development to proceed. This is the fourth and final stage of planning
for this HCP. Specific objectives for this year include: Working with
the 20 local governments to implement ordinances and policies that
minimize the impact of development on aquatic biota; Working with
local governments to revise comprehensive plans to reduce development
pressures in sensitive areas; Assisting local governments in putting
policies in place for acquisition and protection of sensitive watersheds;
Establishing a coordinating body for monitoring, enforcing and funding
the implementation of the Etowah HCP; Conducting scientific and economic
analyses for supporting the adaptive management aspect of the HCP;
Crafting the Environmental Assessment for the Etowah HCP; Completing
a draft of the HCP, the incidental take permit and the adaptive management
plan; and holding meetings with stakeholder groups and the public
and working with the media to facilitate better understanding of HCP
implementation.
Multi-State – Tennessee and Kentucky:
•
Development of a Habitat Conservation Plan for the Northern
Cumberlands Region (Tennessee and Kentucky) $272,500. The
project will result in the initiation of planning for a comprehensive
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Northern Cumberlands Area, including
the Tennessee and Cumberland River watersheds, that will lead ultimately
to an incidental take permit. The permit will allow the States of
Tennessee and Kentucky, working with partners, to implement conservation
measures to minimize and mitigate impacts to rare and imperiled species
while allowing authorized activities such as timber harvest and coal
mining to occur. The HCP will focus on both terrestrial and aquatic
species. This area is renowned for its biodiversity and supports many
rare plant communities and some of the best remaining habitats for
a number of endangered freshwater mussels. The HCP will build upon
The Nature Conservancy’s eco-regional planning effort for the
Northern Cumberlands. The information from this effort will provide
a strong foundation from which to initiate the planning for the HCP.
Fifty-nine rare and imperiled species are documented for the project
area, and of these, 22 are listed as federally-endangered or threatened.
The Plan will focus on a minimum of 15 species including 8 federally
endangered freshwater mussels (Cumberland elktoe, Cumberlandian combshell,
Oyster mussel, Tan riffleshell, Catspaw, Fine-rayed pigtoe, Alabama
lamp mussel, and Little-wing pearlymussel), endangered plants including
Purple bean and Cumberland sandwort as well as two bird species, the
Cerulean warbler and Golden-winged warbler. Initial planning efforts
include establishment of a Steering Committee and an HCP Development
Team; completion of a literature review of land use impacts on the
imperiled species for those species where knowledge gaps exist; research
on impacts of land management activities on imperiled species; GIS
analyses to define the priority habitats for the HCP; and, development
of an outreach program to engage additional partners, landowners and
stakeholders in the HCP process.
Recovery Land Acquisition Grants by Southeastern State:
Georgia:
•
Acquisition of the Patterson Tract on Holly Creek
(Murray County, GA) $950,563. Holly Creek is a tributary to the Conasauga
River which is considered globally significant to the conservation
of freshwater diversity. Approximately 80 native fish (including three
federally listed fish) and 40 native mussel species (nine federally
listed mussels) occur in the watershed. Although no federally listed
species have yet been documented in the project area, the federally
listed endangered blue shiner, southern pigtoe, coosa moccasinshell,
and the federally listed threatened fine-lined pocketbook and Alabama
moccasinshell are known to occur in the creeks adjacent to the property.
The purchase of this tract will contribute to a larger effort to enhance
water quality and protection of the Conasauga River watershed by securing
land which includes important riparian buffers in the headwaters and
by enhancing water quality by guarding against increased siltation.
•
Pettiford Creek, Ahearn Tract Land Acquisition (Carteret
County, North Carolina) $270,000. The Ahearn Tract (adjacent to recently
purchased conservation areas and near Croatan National Forest) is
under immediate threat of development. The purchase of this property
will complete protection of a 900 acre area bounded on three sides
by Croatan National Forest and 2.4 miles of frontage along Pettiford
Creek. The purchase will benefit red-cockaded woodpeckers directly
by protecting foraging habitat and active clusters on the tract and
indirectly through its use as a buffer to existing populations on
Croatan National Forest. Biologists believe the site has a high probability
of supporting rough-leaved loosestrife, which could benefit from protection
and management (such as prescribed burning) on-site. The property
also supports a number of rare and candidate species including Bachman’s
sparrow, Carolina goldenrod, Venus flytrap, and southern hognose snake.
•
Bonneau Ferry Tract (Berkeley County, South Carolina)
$1,646,671. The property is part of a larger three-phase project located
along the Cooper River. The Cooper River is the primary freshwater
migration route for manatees in South Carolina. The Cooper River also
supports habitat for the endangered shortnose sturgeon. These species
will benefit directly by protection of water quality in the river.
Habitat for the shortnose sturgeon may be included in the purchase.
Additionally, the larger property and adjacent properties already
under protection support bald eagle, foraging and roosting sites for
wood stork, and a number of other rare species (including swallow-tailed
kite). The purchase of this tract will contribute to the overall acquisition
of 10.5 miles of river frontage along Cooper River.
•
Bellamy Cave Purchase (Montgomery County, Tennessee) $65,500.
Bellamy Cave is identified in the Gray Bat Recovery Plan as a priority
one site for this species. This cave provides both winter and summer
habitat for gray bats with a colony of approximately 91,000 bats in
winter and a maternity colony of 35,000 bats in summer. Gray bats
are sensitive to human disturbance and the size of this colony makes
this cave a high priority. The State will purchase this property to
ensure protection and long-term management for this species and others
such as the small-footed bat, southern cavefish, and, potentially,
Indiana bat.
•
Land Acquisition of the Lane Farm in Middle Tennessee
(Wilson County, Tennessee) $285,750. Acquisition of this property
will provide protection for one of the five existing populations of
Tennessee coneflower and permit active management and enhancement
of a population of leafy prairie-clover. Additionally, the property
supports limestone cedar glades, an extremely rare community which
provides habitat for many narrowly distributed plant species, including
seven state listed plants. The property also contains a small mixed
grass barren. In the state of Tennessee, nearly all such barrens have
been lost to conversion for agricultural and commercial or residential
development.
•
An ecoregion approach to recovery of the Ozark big-eared bat
and three other federally listed karst dependent species:
Phase I (Benton, Marion, Newton and Washington Counties, Arkansas,
also includes lands in Oklahoma) $584,237. The funds will purchase
tracts in both Oklahoma and Arkansas adjacent to several protected
areas that provide foraging habitat or habitat adjacent to foraging
habitat for Ozark big-eared bat, gray bat, Indiana bat, and Ozark
cavefish. The project will result in the protection of entire cave
systems and their watersheds in the Ozark Karst Ecosystem. Acquisition
of land adjacent to the Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge (Oklahoma)
will support recovery task 1 in the Ozark big-eared bat Recovery Plan.
Acquisition of land near to Slippery Hollow and Garrett Hollow Natural
Areas will provide protection of essential surface foraging habitat
and movement corridors for the same species. Acquisition of land near
to Cave Springs Natural Area will help better protect the recharge
zone of a cave which supports over half the world’s population
of Ozark cavefish. This property also provides habitat for gray bats.
Lands purchased near Edgeman Cave will protect Indiana bat hibernacula.
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