September 22, 2004
202-208-5338
MEDIA ADVISORY
Secretary Norton
to Announce Grants to States
For Endangered Species Conservation
(Washington) ? Interior Secretary
Gale Norton will hold a press
teleconference on Thursday, September 23 to
announce more than $70 million
in grants to 28 states and one territory to
undertake endangered species
conservation projects. The grants will benefit
species ranging from grizzly
bears in Montana to Atlantic salmon in Maine.
"Conservation and recovery of threatened and
endangered species depend
on the federal and state governments working as
partners, hand in hand with
community partners and private landowners across
the country," Norton said.
"These grants empower states to protect, enhance
and restore important
habitat for plants and animals listed under the
Endangered Species Act as
well as assist landowners to undertake
conservation projects on their
private property."
The grants are being awarded under Section 6 of
the Endangered Species
Act. The Section 6 grant programs include the $8.6
million Habitat
Conservation Planning Assistance Grants Program,
the $49 million Habitat
Conservation Plan Land Acquisition Grants Program,
and the $13.5 million
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 states and territory receiving the grants
include: Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii,
Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky,
Maine, Michigan, Montana, Maryland, Nevada, North
Carolina, Nebraska, New
Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and the
Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands.
Who: Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior
Lynn Scarlett, Assistant Secretary of the
Interior for Policy,
Management and Budget
Steve Williams, Director, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service
What: Teleconference announcing grants to
states for endangered species
conservation
When: 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. PDT), Thursday,
September 23
Call-In: News Media only: 866-261-3331
