U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 

Partnerships With States


Tools for Helping Communities and Landowners


Conserve Species Habitat


Because more than half of all species


currently listed as endangered or


threatened spend at least part of their


life cycle on privately owned lands, the


U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service


recognizes that success in conserving


species will ultimately depend on


working cooperatively with landowners,


communities, and tribes to foster


voluntary stewardship efforts on


private lands. States play a key role in


catalyzing these efforts.


A variety of tools are available under


the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to


help States and landowners plan and


implement projects to conserve species.


The Cooperative Endangered Species


Conservation Fund (section 6 of the


ESA) has been available for several years


to provide grants to States and


Territories to participate in a wide array


of voluntary conservation projects for


candidate, proposed and listed species. An


additional grant program, the Private


Stewardship Program,is being funded in


FY 2004 to assist landownersin


managing their lands in ways that benefit


species and their habitats.


The Service will award approximately


$86.5 Million in Federal funding in FY


2004 under the following five types of


grants:


Private Stewardship Grant 

Program ($7.4 M) 

provides grants and other assistance on a


competitive basis to individuals and


groups engaged in local, private, and


voluntary conservation efforts that


benefit federally listed, proposed, or


candidate species, or other at-risk-


species. A diverse panel of


representatives from State and Federal


government, conservation organizations,


agriculture and development interests,


and the science community will assess


applications and make recommendations


The Habitat Conservation Planning Land Acquisition program is helping to


acquire habitat for endangered species such as the Quino checkerspot butterfly.


The habitat purchased will bolster the Multiple Species Conservation Program, a


cooperative effort that includes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the State of


California, local jurisdictions, the building industry, and environmental groups


within southwest San Diego County. Photo by B. Moose Peterson/WRP


to the Secretaryof the Interior,who will


award the grants to proposals submitted


by March 31, 2004.


Cooperative Endangered Species 

Conservation Fund ($79 M) 

provides funding to States and


Territories for species and habitat


conservation actions on non-Federal


lands. States and Territories must


contribute a minimum non-Federal


match of 25% of the estimated program


costs of approved projects, or 10% when


two or more States or Territories


implement a joint project. A State or


Territory must currently have, or enter


into a cooperative agreement with the


Service to receive grants. Most States


and Territories have entered into these


agreements for both plant and animal


species.


Four grant programs are available


through the Cooperative Endangered


Species Conservation Fund (Section 6 of


the Endangered Species Act):

Conservation Grants ($7.4 M)

provide financial assistance to States and

Territories to implement conservation

projects for listed species and species at

risk. Funded activities include habitat

restoration, species status surveys,

public education and outreach, captive

propagation and reintroduction, nesting

surveys, genetic studies, and

development of management plans.

Habitat Conservation Planning

Assistance Grants ($8.6 M)

provide funds to States and Territories to

support the development of Habitat

Conservation Plans (HCPs), through

support of baseline surveys and

inventories, document preparation,

outreach, and similar planning activities.

HCP Land Acquisition Grants ($49.3 M)

provide funding to States and Territories

to acquire land associated with approved

HCPs. Grants do not fund the mitigation

required of an HCP permittee; instead,

they support conservation actions by the

State or local governments that

complement mitigation.

Recovery Land Acquisition Grants

($13.5 M)

provide funds to States and Territories

for acquisition of habitat for endangered

and threatened species in support of

approved recovery plans. Acquisition of

habitat to secure long term protection is

often an essential element of a

comprehensive recovery effort for a

listed species.

For more information on how to apply for

Federal grants to assist States,

Territories, and landowners in

conserving species on non-Federal

lands, please contact the Assistant

Regional Director at your Regional

Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, or contact:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Division of Consultation, Habitat

Conservation Planning, Recovery and

State Grants

4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 420

Arlington, VA 22203

703-358-2061

Regional Contact Information

Region One — Pacific

Eastside Federal Complex

911 N.E. 11th Avenue

Portland OR 97232-4181

503/231 6118

http://pacific.fws.gov

Jurisdiction: California, Hawaii, Idaho,

Nevada, Oregon, Washington, American

Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern

Mariana Islands, Guam and the Pacific

Trust Territories

Region Two — Southwest

P.O. Box 1306

Albuquerque, NM 87102

505/248 6282

http://southwest.fws.gov

Jurisdiction: Arizona, New Mexico,

Oklahoma, and Texas

Region Three — Great Lakes, Big

Rivers

Bishop Henry Federal Building

One Federal Drive

Ft. Snelling, MN 55111-4056

612/713 5301

http://midwest.fws.gov

Jurisdiction: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,

Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and

Wisconsin

Region Four — Southeast

1875 Century Boulevard

Suite 200

Atlanta, GA 30345

404/679 7086

http://southeast.fws.gov

Jurisdiction: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,

Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,

North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,

Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Region Five — Northeast

300 W estgate Center Drive

Hadley, MA 01035-9589

413/253 8200

http://northeast.fws.gov

Jurisdiction: Connecticut, Delaware,

Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont,

Virginia, and West Virginia

Region Six — Mountain Prairie

134 Union Boulevard

Lakewood, CO 80228

303/236 7920

http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov

Jurisdiction: Colorado, Kansas, Montana,

Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota,

Utah, and Wyoming

Region Seven — Alaska

1011 E. Tudor Road

Anchorage, AK 99503

907/786 3542

http://alaska.fws.gov

Jurisdiction: Alaska

Section 6 funding has helped protect fragile ecosystems and the creatures that live

there, such as the threatened Bog turtle. Photo by Bern W. Tryon

March 2004