The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced nearly $19 million in competitive funding for 37 States and Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Island fish and wildlife agencies under the Bush Administration's innovative Landowner Incentive Program (LIP). The program supports cooperative efforts with private landowners interested in conserving natural habitat for species at risk, including Federally listed endangered or threatened species and proposed or candidate species.
Seven Midwestern states Ð Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin -- will share more than $2.6 million in LIP grants for conservation programs for at-risk species.
"Conservation, especially conservation of imperiled species, must be a partnership between the American people and their government," said Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. "By providing these grants, we empower citizens to restore habitat on their land and take other steps to protect and recover endangered, threatened and at-risk species."
LIP, funded through competitive grants with money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, establishes or supplements existing landowner incentive programs that provide technical or financial assistance to private landowners. All grants need to be matched by at least 25 percent from a non-Federal source.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will receive $180,000 and match $60,000 to implement monitoring protocols developed and approved through the Iowa Wildlife Action Plan. It is important that monitoring approaches are expanded and refined by gathering baseline data and standardizing protocols.