The Department of the Interior and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced $11.8 million for 10 projects in seven states that will help restore habitat connectivity and secure key migration corridors for wildlife in the American West. A total of $3 million in grants and $8.8 million in matching contributions will be invested to protect migratory species like elk, mule deer, and pronghorn and their habitats in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Wyoming.
"Healthy habitats and interconnected spaces to live and roam are key for the sustainability of species," said Secretary Deb Haaland. "The Biden-Harris administration is strengthening public-private partnerships and employing an all-of-government approach to ensure the conservation of fish and wildlife in the West and across America through the protection of key migration corridors and habitats."
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Martha Williams highlighted the announcement at the 89th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The grants are made possible through the Western Big Game Seasonal Habitat and Migration Corridors Fund, which is administered by NFWF in-part through annual appropriations funding from the BLM, FWS, and the Department of Agriculture. The funding supports Secretary's Order 3362, which seeks to enhance and improve the quality of big-game winter range and migration corridor habitat on federal lands. Today's funding builds on nearly $25 million in funding the Department and NFWF announced in 2021, 2022 and 2023. This work supports the President's America the Beautiful initiative, which aims to conserve, connect and restore 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.
Today's announcement supplements historic funding through President Biden's Investing in America agenda, which is supporting critical projects to restore habitats, strengthen landscape resilience, and put create good-paying jobs to restore America's lands and waters in partnership with Tribes, private landowners, hunting and conservation organizations, and state wildlife management agencies.
Last month, Secretary Haaland announced more than $157 million from President Biden's Investing in America agenda to restore our nation's lands and waters through locally led, landscape-scale restoration projects. The funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will support 206 ecosystem restoration projects in 48 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Territories and will advance the Department's ongoing work across several restoration and resilience programs.
Projects receiving grants and matching contributions are listed below:
ARIZONA
Managing Woody Invasives to Improve Habitat Quality on Perrin Ranch State Lands Grassland
Grantee: Arizona Elk Society
Grant Amount: $130,000
Matching Funds: $130,000
Total Project Amount: $260,000
Improve winter habitat quality for migrant and resident mule deer, elk and pronghorn. Project will restore a minimum of 650 acres of grasslands in Northern Arizona by managing the encroachment of woody invasives.
Restoring Beaver Creek Watershed to Improve Habitat Connectivity
Grantee: Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District
Grant Amount: $489,500
Matching Funds: $3,376,500
Total Project Amount: $3,866,000
Restore wildlife habitat and connectivity, reduce wildfire risk, protect water supplies, communities, infrastructure and improve forest resiliency. Project will restore approximately 3,920 acres by removing invading woody species from grasslands and former healthy woodlands that will allow native grass, browse, and forb species to return.
CALIFORNIA
Restoring Steven's Prairie to Enhance Elk Habitat and Establish New Herds
Grantee: Yurok Tribe
Grant Amount: $181,393
Matching Funds: $181,393
Total Project Amount: $362,786
Enhance meadow habitat for Roosevelt elk and provide a stopover site both for dispersing elk from saturated populations and for the establishment of new herds on Yurok lands. Project will survey and identify priority habitat in 160 acres; restore 80 acres of degraded prairie through removal of encroaching trees and invasive plants; establish a 25-acre fuel break along the perimeter of the restored site; and place 440 acres under various planning stages to improve management.
COLORADO
Enhancing Elk Habitat Through Vegetation Treatments in Hay Flats
Grantee: US Forest Service
Grant Amount: $200,000
Matching Funds: $199,896
Total Project Amount: $399,896
Enhance elk habitat through vegetation treatments in mountain shrub and aspen communities within the vicinity of Hay Flats. Project will improve 2.25 acres of fencing, treat 430 acres with mechanical methods would create a mosaic of snowberry regrowth and allow understory species to take hold, and treat 220 acres with mastication and hand felling to increase forage, cover, and movement opportunities for elk in spring production areas, summer and winter habitat, and movement corridors.
Protecting Migration Corridors via the Wolf Mountain VII Conservation Easement
Grantee: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Grant Amount: $100,000
Matching Funds: $1,977,882
Total Project Amount: $2,077,882
Conserve vital aspen woodlands, sagebrush, and riparian habitat, as well as a migration corridor and pathway for two of Colorado's largest migratory herds. Project will permanently protect approximately 1,630 acres of migration corridors for elk and winter range for mule deer, secure habitat connectivity through the valley bottom and highly developable lands near State Highway 40, protect five stream miles, and support a host of other wildlife, including greater sage grouse.
IDAHO
Modifying Fencing to Improve the Migration Route Across Highway 28
Grantee: The Mule Deer Foundation
Grant Amount: $317,922
Matching Funds: $300,000
Total Project Amount: $617,922
Support passage-success of migratory mule deer and elk, reduce animal-vehicle collisions, and simultaneously increase safety for motorists. Project will extend a wildlife funnel fence project on Highway 28 by reconnecting three miles of corridor, improve 10 miles of fencing, remove two miles of fencing, and increase the passage success rate to 95%.
MONTANA
Collaborating with Montana Grassland Partnership to Improve Big Game Migration
Grantee: Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, Inc.
Grant Amount: $275,000
Matching Funds: $275,000
Total Project Amount: $550,000
Support, connect, and contribute to the partnership of big game migration work being done under the umbrella of the Montana Grassland Partnership as part of the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) Conservation Committee. Project will work to improve nine miles of fencing, remove nine miles of unneeded fencing, restore 1,000 acres of grassland for added habitat and add a Conservation Director position with RSA to better serve the RSA project area and collaborate within the Montana Grassland Partnership.
OREGON
Protecting Migration Habitat via a Fee Title Transfer to the Warm Springs Indian Reservation
Grantee: Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation
Grant Amount: $199,998
Matching Funds: $716,350
Total Project Amount: $916,348
Protect migration corridors in high use areas in the Metolious winter range. Project will transfer 300-acre acquisition to the Confederated Tribe of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
Treating Invasives to Improve Migration Corridors for Elk and Nesting Habitat for Sage Grouse (OR)
Grantee: Crook County Soil and Water Conservation District
Grant Amount: $190,609
Matching Funds: $213,586
Total Project Amount: $404,195
Enhance understory conditions in sagebrush habitats, which will improve conditions for a host of species including sagebrush obligates and improve migration and seasonal habitat for a variety of wildlife species. Project will restore 415 acres of migration habitat for elk and mule deer as well as seasonal habitat for sage grouse through the removal of woody invasives.
WYOMING
Restoring Big Game Migration Corridors for Bates Hole, Dubois and Platte Valley Mule Deer Herds
Grantee: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Grant Amount: $961,250
Matching Funds: $961,250
Total Project Amount: $1,922,500
Improve forage resources and connectivity between seasonal ranges for mule deer and a wide variety of other wildlife. Project will implement 13,530 acres of invasive weed treatments, modify 46 miles of fences and restore 150 acres of habitat.
