MEDIA RELEASE

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced the nationwide distribution of more than $5.7 million to states under the 2012 Competitive State Wildlife Grant Program.

Of this amount, nearly $3 million will be disbursed to Washington, Idaho and Hawaii to help prevent “Species of Special Concern” from becoming threatened, endangered, or extinct.

These Congressionally authorized funds will be matched by $2.7 million dollars from state partners and nongovernmental organizations to build partnerships, engage community support and collaborate to accomplish a shared conservation mission within and across state boundaries.

“These awards will provide for critical conservation programs essential to managing Species of Special Concern, and will supplement funds provided in 2012 under the non-competitive State Wildlife Grant Program,” said Robyn Thorson, Director of the Service’s Pacific Region.

The following grants were awarded to state agencies in the Service’s Pacific Region:

* The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will receive $974,664 to conserve species in the Pacific Northwest’s prairie and oak habitats and improve the populations of 21 rare or declining species associated with prairie-oak habitats of the Willamette Valley and Puget Trough regions of Oregon and Washington. Biologists will inventory populations of Oregon vesper sparrow and Mazama pocket gopher and conduct viability assessments of reintroduced populations of western bluebirds in Washington.

* The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) will receive $950,000 to continue a comprehensive survey of 20 species of greatest conservation need in Idaho, Washington and British Columbia. This award will assist IDFG in providing baseline data to accurately assess the status of these species due to our changing climate and will take the innovative approach of co-locating climate monitoring stations to survey plots that will provide the needed information.

* The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources will receive $976,759 to recover the palila, a rapidly declining native bird in the honeycreepeer family. Fencing, predator control, seed collection and weed control will be undertaken across 5,263 acres of critical habitat on the upper slopes of Mauna Kea volcano on the island of Hawaii.

For more information on State Wildlife Grants visit: http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/subpages/grantprograms/swg/SWG.htm