F&G Awarded $144,475 Through State Wildlife Grants Program

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game received news last week that it has been awarded 2 grants totaling $144,475 through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Competitive State Wildlife Grants program. The first grant for $100,000 was awarded through the "State Wildlife Action Plan Enhancement Fund," and will enable the Department to further enhance its revision of the Idaho State Wildlife Action Plan in several specific ways. The Department will use the funding to increase the use and accessibility of the Plan by creating a Web interface where users can quickly and accurately obtain the information they need to make informed natural resource management decisions. Part of the grant will also be used to identify areas important to wildlife for ecological connectivity as well as develop crucial habitat data layers for at least 14 species to assist with land-use planning. The second grant for $44,475 is Idaho's share of a $499,839 multistate competitive State Wildlife Grant with 8 western states and Bat Conservation International. Funding will be used to build the capacity of the project partners to implement the North American Bat Monitoring Program. Currently, no coordinated national effort exists to monitor and track bat populations in North America, despite many threats facing them, from climate change to habitat loss, energy development to white-nose syndrome. For more information about each of the grant projects, visit http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/SWG/SWG_Funding.htm State Wildlife Grant-funded projects implement strategies and actions to conserve species identified in approved state wildlife action plans. Funding for the grants comes from Fiscal Year 2014 appropriations.