Idaho Fish & Wildlife Foundation Grants Announced

Six conservation and education programs throughout Idaho were awarded 2006 Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation project funding at the January 2007 board meeting. Funding for the selected projects totals more than $20,000. Among the selected projects, the Four Mile Creek riparian restoration-with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Southwest Region volunteer program-received $2,000 to help improve the salmon and steelhead habitat along rivers and streams in the Little Salmon River watershed by planting 800 native shrubs and trees along a one-quarter- to one-third-mile stretch of Four Mile Creek. "All of the projects funded this year are in keeping with the foundation's mission to sustain our state's incredible outdoor legacy for future generations," Foundation Executive Director Gayle Valentine said. "They emphasize conservation education and that's a message we carry to every corner of Idaho." Other projects funded through the 2006 IFWF funding awards are: - Lower Teton River corridor wildlife habitat restoration-$5,000 to the Teton Region Land Trust to establish better nesting and brood-rearing habitat on the Lundquist conservation property in Teton Valley to help breeding wetland birds. - Trail Creek stream bank restoration-$2,500 to the Friends of the Teton River to help stabilize and maintain a channel for passage of Yellowstone cutthroat, plant vegetation and install erosion control along the banks. - Trail of Coeur d'Alene interpretive signs-$3,375 to the Fish and Game Panhandle Region for a series of interpretive signs to help more than 100,000 annual trail users identify and understand area wildlife. - Tommy Robinson Pond restoration-$5,000 to the Upper Clearwater Community Foundation to help re-establish the pond as a public fishery and wildlife habitat, including a permanent restroom, parking lot, picnic area, interpretive signage, fishing docks and paved handicapped pathways. - Squaw Creek culvert-$5,000 to the Idaho County Commission to replace an undersized and breeched culvert on Squaw Creek to give steelhead trout and spring-run Chinook access to more than 3 1/2 miles of spawning and early-rearing habitat, and other improvements, such as reshaping the creek channel, installing rip rap, and replacing trees removed during construction. The Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1990 to protect and sustain Idaho's fishing, hunting and wildlife heritage. For more information, please call 208-334-2648 or visit www.ifwf.org.