Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grants Fund Projects

Contact: Gayle Valentine Executive Director, Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation, 334-2648 Conservation, habitat, and educational efforts received a big boost when the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation Board awarded its spring grants totaling more than $20,000. At its May 2002 meeting in Jerome, Idaho, the board approved funding for five projects located throughout Idaho. Visitors to the Pocatello Zoo will soon know a lot more about the red fox! A $5,000 grant will pay for hands on materials and displays designed to stimulate interest in the red fox and its habitat. The exhibit, which will be seen by approximately 30,000 visitors annually, will also discuss good stewardship and emphasize the importance of habitat preservation and restoration. Restoration of a native Idaho trout is underway at Fall Creek. A $5,000 grant to Trout Unlimited will go toward habitat restoration for the Yellowstone cutthroat. A three-mile stretch of the creek will be fenced and planted with willow to stabilize the bank and prevent erosion. This project, in the Caribou-Targee National Forest of eastern Idaho, is part of Trout Unlimited's Home Rivers Initiative. Migrating birds have discovered fall is a great season in Boise! The Idaho Bird Observatory received a $5,000 grant to fund the fall migration project on the Boise Ridge. The National Audubon Society designated the Boise Ridge an important area because of its significance to North American migrating birds. The project focuses on the banding and counting of songbirds, raptors and forest owls. "Hey, what's in that nest?" is a question soon to be answered along the Henrys Fork River in eastern Idaho. A $2,000 grant will fund a wildlife viewing sign to identify nesting osprey on the Del Rio Bridge. The sign is an Eagle Scout project of Joel Hanson from St. Anthony. Osprey have nested atop the bridge for decades and currently use a nesting platform installed by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. The new sign will explain the life history of the osprey, their feeding habits and the purpose of the nesting platform. Summer camp is an experience that's out of reach financially for many Idaho kids. A $3,100 grant will provide scholarships for 24 Idaho students to attend the Outdoor and Natural Resource Education Summer Camp at Camp Wittman. The kids will receive environmental and outdoor education as well as instruction in archery and field games. Scholarships are awarded by the Boys & Girls Club of the Lewis Clark Valley and are based on need. This camp can be a life-changing experience for children who would not otherwise have an opportunity to experience the natural world. The Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1990 to protect and sustain Idaho's fishing, hunting and wildlife heritage. Board members represent each region of the state.