Improving Fish and Wildlife Management through State Wildlife Action Plans Your state and tribal fish and wildlife agencies have been receiving State Wildlife Grants since 2001 to promote the proactive management of all species of wildlife. Created by the U.S. Congress in 2001, the State Wildlife Grants program represents our nation's core effort for keeping wildlife species intact. Congress found the traditional sources of state fish and wildlife agency funding -- licenses, permit fees and fines, and traditional federal aid to game species -- are simply not enough to provide for sound scientific management of all species. Supplemental funding of your state fish and wildlife agency from the annual federal budget is essential to preserving the health of all species.
To see an overview of the State Wildlife Grants Program click here. Supporting the expansion of State Wildlife Grants is one of several funding improvement strategies promoted by a national coalition called Teaming With Wildlife. Teaming With Wildlife is a coalition of more than 3,000 state wildlife agencies, organizations and businesses throughout the U.S. dedicated to sound wildlife management under the leadership of the International Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies. TRCP is a partner organization in the Teaming With Wildlife coalition, and is an active member of the Teaming With Wildlife National Steering Committee. State Wildlife Action PlansIn the last 30 years, hunters and anglers in the field began to notice declines in both game and non-game species. What’s more, sportsmen observed how a decline in one species often directly leads to a subsequent unanticipated decline in another species that somehow relied on the first.This downward spiral not only fuels itself, it usually gains speed over time. Some of the declining species even become listed under the Endangered Species Act, and at this point state wildlife managers relinquish management control to the federal wildlife authority, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The State Wildlife Grants are effective tools for reversing species declines. These grants pay for proactive State Wildlife Action Plans that will benefit all wildlife species by preventing both game and non-game species from being listed on the federal Endangered Species List. The State Wildlife Action Plans play a vitally important role in helping our state fish and wildlife departments improve habitats and on-the-ground management strategies across large landscapes to help wildlife before an animal becomes so rare that it is expensive or impossible to save it. And at the same time, they help the species that we pursue while hunting and fishing. To view a table of State Contacts, click here. State Wildlife Action Plans were submitted to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for approval in October 2005, and implementation of approved plans will begin in 2006. They will require sufficient federal funding every year to undertake the specific projects called for in the plans. Interior Secretary Gale Norton in November 2005 announced that wildlife agencies from all 50 states and six U.S. territories have submitted Wildlife Action Plans for approval by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, representing a critical step toward the establishment of a nationwide blueprint for conserving imperiled species. What's Going On In Your StateTo see your own state’s successful State Wildlife Grant projects, click here. The national appropriation for State Wildlife Grants in 2006 is $68.5 million. Click here to view your state’s allocation from State Wildlife Grants. TRCP’s Contributions to this Important Wildlife Management and Funding Initiative TRCP has produced videos, brochures and table-top displays for sportsmen’s organizations that explain State Wildlife Grants and State Wildlife Action Plans to hunters and anglers. They tell hunters and anglers why they should support State Wildlife Grants and what they can do to support the implementation of their own State Wildlife Action Plan. To view a .pdf of our State Wildlife Grants brochure, click here. (Must have Adobe Reader to view.) To receive copies of our State Wildlife Grants brochures or videos, or to see about scheduling a presentation on State Wildlife Grants to your organization, agency or business, please contact Bill Geer. What Can Hunters and Anglers Do To Help?Organizations: Hunting and angling organizations can also support their State Wildlife Action Plan and support State Wildlife Grant funding by joining and endorsing the Teaming With Wildlife National Coalition. Click here to join today. Individuals: As an individual hunter and angler, you can support your State Wildlife Action Plan in a few different ways. Click here to learn more.
For more information contact Bill Geer, TRCP's State Wildlife Funding Initiative Manager. |