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Office of the Secretary Embargoed Until 11 a.m Saturday May 13, 2006 |
Contact:
Hugh Vickery, DOI (202) 501-4633 or Nicholas Throckmorton, FWS, (202) 208-5634 |
Acting Secretary Scarlett Announces $3.9 Million in Grants
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(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- Acting Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett today celebrated International Migratory Bird Day by announcing more than $3.9 million in federal grants to support Neotropical migratory bird conservation. The Interior Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will provide the grants to 43 conservation partnerships in 34 U.S. states and 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries. Partners will contribute more than $17 million in matching funds to undertake projects that include researching, monitoring, and managing migratory bird populations. There are 341 species of Neotropical migratory birds that breed in the United States and Canada, and winter in Latin America. Examples of these birds include species of plovers, terns, hawks, cranes, warblers and sparrows. Many of these birds are in decline and 10 species are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. "Migratory bird conservation extends far beyond our borders and depends on partnerships with other nations as well as states, tribes, conservation organizations and many others here at home," Scarlett said. "Through these grants, the Interior Department is supporting cooperative conservation projects and research from Alaska to Argentina.” Scarlett made the announcement at an event marking International Migratory Bird Day at Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 2000 established a matching grants program to fund projects promoting the conservation of Neotropical migratory birds in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Appropriations began in 2002 and the money can be used to protect, research, monitor and manage birds' populations and habitats, as well as to conduct law enforcement and community outreach and education. By law, at least 75 percent of the money goes to projects in Latin America and Caribbean countries while the remaining 25 percent goes to projects in the United States. Projects in the United States include:
In Latin America and the Caribbean, more than $3 million in grant funds will go to support 29 partnerships conserving Neotropical migratory birds and their habitat in 17 countries.
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