Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne today announced more than $67 million in
grants to 27 states to support conservation planning and acquisition of
vital habitat for threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and plants.  The
grants, awarded through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation
Fund, will benefit species ranging from orchids to bull trout that are
found across the United States.

“These grants are incredibly important tools to conserve threatened and
endangered species,” said Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne. “Our
ability to successfully conserve habitat for imperiled species depends on
long-term partnerships and voluntary landowner participation. These grants
provide the means for States to work with landowners and communities to
conserve habitat and foster conservation stewardship efforts for future
generations.”

Authorized by Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act, the grants 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 $7.5 million
through the Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance Grants Program, $46
million through the Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition Grants
Program and $13.9 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.

The HCP Planning Assistance Program provides grants to States and
Territories to support the development of HCPs through funding of baseline
surveys and inventories, document preparation, outreach, and similar
planning activities. HCPs are agreements between a landowner and the
Service, allowing a landowner to undertake otherwise lawful activities on
their property that may result in the death, injury or harassment of a
listed species, when that landowner agrees to conservation measures
designed to minimize and mitigate the impact of those actions. HCPs may
also be developed by a county or state to cover certain activities of all
landowners within their own jurisdiction and may address multiple species.
There are more than 650 HCPs currently in effect covering 600 separate
species on approximately 41 million acres in the nation, including 10 HCPs
in Washington State, covering over 11.5 million acres.

Under the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) Land Acquisition Program, the
Service provides grants to States or Territories for land acquisition
associated with approved HCPs. The Recovery Land acquisition Grants Program
provides funds to states and territories to acquire habitat for endangered
and threatened species with approved recovery plans. Habitat acquisition to
secure long term protection is often an essential element of a
comprehensive recovery effort for a listed species.

The following grants have been awarded in Washington:

Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance

   Walla Walla Basin Bi-State HCP (Walla Walla and Columbia Counties, WA
   and Umatilla County, OR): $509,670.  This grant will fund the fifth year
   of an ongoing planning process, covering over 1 million acres in the
   Walla Walla Basin.  The HCP development process will result in benefits
   to bull trout and steelhead by addressing municipal and agricultural
   water issues in a forum with numerous State and local entities in Oregon
   and Washington.

   Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Area HCP
   (Statewide, all 39 counties, WA): $ 590,000.  This grant funds the
   second year of an HCP process for the State’s wildlife areas covering a
   total of approximately 830,000 acres.  The HCP will offer benefits to
   protected species and land users by providing certainty that land
   management activities meet Federal species protection requirements.
   Federally listed species expected to benefit include, but are not
   limited to: pygmy rabbit, woodland caribou, snowy plover, spotted owl,
   marbled murrelet, bull trout, Chinook salmon, steelhead, Oregon
   silverspot, golden paintbrush, and Kincaid’s lupine.  Additional species
   expected to benefit include greater sage-grouse, northern goshawk,
   burrowing owl, Oregon spotted frog, Larch Mountain salamander, coho
   salmon, Mardon skipper, Taylor’s checkerspot, and giant Columbia River
   limpet.

   Washington Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Resources HCP
   (Statewide, all 39 Counties, WA): $598,200.  This grant will fund the
   fourth year of a five-year planning process for the Washington DNR to
   develop a multi-species, programmatic HCP to ensure that authorized
   activities on State-owned aquatic lands promote sustainable ecosystems;
   minimize cumulative impacts; and increase protection, conservation, and
   recovery for approximately 20 species.  Federally listed species
   expected to benefit include, but are not limited to: the bald eagle;
   marbled murrelet; western snowy plover; bull trout; Chinook, coho, and
   chum salmon; sockeye salmon; and steelhead.  Other species that are
   expected to benefit include Columbia spotted frog, western pond turtle,
   western toad, northern leopard frog, common loon, coastal cutthroat, and
   pinto abalone.

   Washington State Hydraulic Project Approval HCP (Statewide, all 39
   counties, WA): $694,800.  Funding is for the second year of the HCP
   process for the State’s primary fish-protection regulatory program, the
   Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA) program.  Washington Department of Fish
   and Wildlife seeks an HCP as a means of continuing conservation of fish
   and shellfish species and habitat, while achieving long-term certainty
   that the HPA program meets Federal species protection requirements.
   Federally listed species that are expected to benefit include bull
   trout; steelhead; and Chinook, coho, and sockeye salmon.  Additional
   species expected to benefit include but are not limited to coastal
   cutthroat trout; green sturgeon; Pacific, river, and western brook
   lamprey; California floater, and giant Columbia River limpet.

HCP Land Acquisition

The following three grants will complement conservation currently provided
under the Plum Creek Central Cascades HCP.

   Methow Watershed, Phase 4 (Okanogan County, WA): $4,380,120.  This
   project will secure up to 2,360 acres and 3 miles of stream frontage.
   Protection of these low elevation mature conifer and riparian forest
   habitats will contribute to the State’s most successful acquisition
   effort with almost 15,000 acres already protected.  The Methow River
   Watershed supports a unique and diverse assemblage of fish and wildlife
   species and is one of the few places where northern spotted owls, bald
   eagles, grizzly bears, gray wolves, lynx, bull trout, and salmon can be
   protected together.  Partner: Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife

   Swamp Lake/Amabilis Mountain II (Kittitas County, WA): $2,350,470.  The
   objective of this project is to purchase and permanently protect 71
   acres of forested hillside on Amabilis Mountain and adjacent areas with
   waters that flow into Swamp Lake within the Yakima River Watershed.
   Protection of the property will support the HCP by providing
   conservation for grizzly bears, gray wolves, northern spotted owls, and
   numerous other species. Partners: Washington Dept. of Natural Resources,
   The Trust for Public Land

   Hyak-Gold Creek Corridor, Phase II (Kittitas County, WA): $3,940,000.
   This acquisition will secure 76 acres along Gold Creek to protect
   species covered under the Plum Creek HCP including bull trout, northern
   spotted owl, bald eagle, marbled murrelet, gray wolf, and Canada lynx.
   In addition, the acquisition will significantly contribute to habitat
   protection and improved ecological connectivity for 60 species of
   terrestrial vertebrates, including wolverine, marten, and Pacific giant
   salamander. Partners: Washington Dept. of Natural Resources, Cascade
   Land Conservancy.

The following two grants will complement conservation currently provided
under the DNR Forest Lands HCP.

   Hoh River Conservation Corridor, Phase IV (Jefferson County, WA):
   $6,371,250.  This project will acquire and protect 2,320 acres of
   riparian and upland forest habitat in the lower Hoh River Valley.  This
   acquisition adds to the 4,481 acres already acquired and protected.  The
   marbled murrelet, bull trout, northern spotted owl, and bald eagle will
   benefit as a result of the acquisition. Partners: Washington Dept. of
   Natural Resources, Western Rivers Conservancy, Hoh River Trust.

   Barr Creek Forest Protection (Skagit County, WA): $447,600.  This
   project will acquire 46 acres of low elevation mature forest and 1,000
   feet of high quality stream habitat.  The property supports roosting
   bald eagles and is within The Nature Conservancy’s Skagit River Bald
   Eagle Natural Area.  Barr Creek contains suitable habitat for bull trout
   and will also benefit northern spotted owls and marbled murrelets on
   adjacent State and Federal lands.  Acquisition of this property will
   close a gap in landscape level habitat protection and reduce habitat
   fragmentation. Partners: Washington Dept. of Natural Resources, Skagit
   Land Trust

Recovery Land Acquisition

Boistfort Valley Acquisition (Lewis County, WA): $256,157.  The objective
of this acquisition is to permanently protect a remnant prairie that
includes a portion of the northernmost known occurrence of the federally
listed threatened Kincaid’s lupine.  This plant occurs only in isolated
prairie remnants in the Puget Trough and the Willamette Valley, including
two areas in Washington State.  The acquisition will also provide an
opportunity to reintroduce Nelson’s checker-mallow, another rare plant
threatened with extinction.

For a complete list of the 2006 grant awards for these programs (Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance Number 15.615), see the Service’s Endangered
Species Grants home page at
http://endangered.fws.gov/grants/section6/index.html.

General grant information about these programs in Washington State can be
found at http://wdfw.wa.gov/grants/section6/