Document headings vary by document type but may contain
                    the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document
the number of the CFR title and the number of each part
                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly
                      related to
the agency docket number / agency internal file number
the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in
                      the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory
                      Actions See the
                    Document Drafting Handbook
                    for more details.
 Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS-HQ-WSFR-2018-N088; 91400-5110-0000; 91400-9410-0000]
 AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
 ACTION: Notice of receipt of priority list and publication of grant awards into the 
                        **Federal Register**
                        .
 SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 priority list of grant awards for the wildlife and sport fish conservation projects from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (Association). As required by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act of 2000, the Association submits a list of projects to us each year to consider for funding under the Multistate Conservation Grant Program. We have reviewed the list and recommended all for award to the Director. The Director approved the list of projects for award and we have awarded all projects from the list.
 ADDRESSES: John C. Stremple, Multistate Conservation Grants Program Coordinator; Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike; MS: WSFR; Falls Church, VA 22041-3808.
 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John C. Stremple, (703) 358-2156 (phone) or 
                        *John_Stremple@fws.gov*
                         (email).


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fish and Wildlife Programs Improvement and National Wildlife Refuge System Centennial Act of 2000 (Improvement Act, Pub. L. 106-408) amended the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 
                    *et seq.*) and the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration 
                    ( print page 42675)
                    Act (16 U.S.C. 777 
                    *et seq.*) and established the Multistate Conservation Grant Program. The Improvement Act authorizes us to award grants of up to $3 million annually from funds available under each of the restoration acts, for a total of up to $6 million annually. Projects can be funded from both funds, depending on the project activities. We may award grants to projects from a list of priority projects recommended to us by the Association. The Service Director, exercising the authority of the Secretary of the Interior, need not fund all projects on the list, but all projects funded must be on the list. The Improvement Act provides that funding for Multistate grants is available in the year it is appropriated and for the following year. Total funding available for new FY 2017 Multistate Conservation grants was $2,522,000. This total was made up of funding that was carried over from FY 2016, added to the funding that was previously sequestered, and subtracted committed funds ($3,261,027) for FY 2017. Those committed funds were directed into the three components of the 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (parts A and B). Grantees under this program may use funds for sport fisheries and wildlife management and research projects, boating access development, hunter safety and education, aquatic education, fish and wildlife habitat improvements, and other purposes consistent with the enabling legislation. To be eligible for funding, a project must benefit fish and/or wildlife conservation for at least 26 States, a majority of the States in any one Service Region, or one of the regional associations of State fish and wildlife agencies. We may award grants to a State, a group of States, or one or more nongovernmental organizations. For the purpose of carrying out the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, we may award grants to the Service, if requested by the Association, or to a State or a group of States. Also, the Association requires all project proposals to address its National Conservation Needs, which the Association announces annually at the same time it requests proposals. Further, applicants must provide certification that no activities conducted under a Multistate Conservation Grant will promote or encourage opposition to regulated hunting or trapping of wildlife, or to regulated angling or taking of fish. The Association committees and interested nongovernmental organizations that represent conservation organizations, sportsmen's and women's organizations, and industries that support or promote fishing, hunting, trapping, recreational shooting, bowhunting, or archery review and rank eligible project proposals. The Association's National Grants Committee recommends a final list of priority projects to the directors of the State fish and wildlife agencies for their approval by majority vote. By statute, the Association then transmits the final approved list to the Service for funding under the Multistate Conservation Grant program by October 1 of the fiscal year. For FY 2017, the Association sent us a list of 17 new projects, plus the three previously approved components of the 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation that they recommended for funding. The Director approved all projects on this list and all have been awarded. The list follows: Multistate Conservation Grant Program
[FY 2017 Projects]
ID
Title
Submitter
PR funding 1
DJ funding 2
Total 2017 grant1
State Fish & Wildlife Agency Technical Workgroup for the 2016 National Survey
AFWA
$51,040
$51,040
$102,0802
State Fish and Wildlife Agency Coordination and Communication
AFWA
80,241
80,241
160,4823
Coordination of Farm Bill Implementation
AFWA
76,510
76,510
153,0204
Multistate Conservation Grant Program Coordination
AFWA
42,000
42,000
84,0005
Management Assistance Team and the National Conservation Leadership Institute
AFWA
270,376.63
270,376.63
540,753.266
State Fish & Wildlife Agency Director Travel-Enabling Coordination and Planning of National Level Conservation Initiatives
AFWA
50,000
50,000
100,0007
Increasing Awareness and Knowledge of Fish and Wildlife Management Through Legal Education that Instructs on the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and the Public Trust
AFWA
50,000
50,000
100,0008
Preserve State Agencies' Authority to Manage Wildlife Resources and Promote Their Interest in the Implementation of International Treaties
AFWA
33,600
33,600
67,2009
Implementation of the National Hunting & Shooting Sports Action Plan
CAHSS
171,000
0
171,00010
Telling the State Story to Ensure Fish and Wildlife Agency Relevancy
AFWA
42,600
42,600
85,20011
Coordination of the Industry, Federal, and State Agency Coalition
AFWA
77,130
77,130
154,26012
2017 National WSFR—Federal Aid Coordinators Meeting
WMI
94,874
94,874
189,74813
Applying Wildlife Governance Principles to Enhance Leadership and Relevance of State Wildlife Agencies
WMI
49,680
49,680
99,36014
2017—Raising Awareness of the WSFR Program and Improving Industry Relations To Ensure the Long-term Stability of the Program
WMI
86,864.50
86,864.50
173,72915
Advancing the Objectives of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan through Regional and Collaborative Science and Priority Setting
AFWA/NFHB
0
143,711.87
143,711.8716
Quantifying and Communicating the Economic Significance of Hunting and Shooting Sports
NSSF
98,000
0
98,00017
Quantifying and Communicating the Economic Significance of Sportfishing
ASA
0
99,200
99,200NS
Coordination of the 2016 National Survey Efforts (part A)
FWS
131,560
131,560
263,120NS
National Level Results for the 2016 Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (Part A)
FWS/U.S. Census Bureau
884,824
884,824
1,769,648NS
2016 Fifty State Surveys Related to Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (Part B)
Rockville Intitute (Westat)
614,129.50
614,129.50
1,228,2592,904,429.63
2,878,341.50
5,782,771.131
                         PR Funding: Pitman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration funds.2
                         DJ Funding: Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration funds.AFWA: Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
                        ( print page 42676)ATA: Archery Trade Association.ASA: American Sportfishing Association.CAHSS: Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports.NFHB: National Fish Habitat Board.NS: 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife- Associated Recreation.NSSF: National Shooting Sports Foundation.WMI: Wildlife Management Institute.
 Dated: June 22, 2018. James W. Kurth, Deputy Director for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Exercising the Authority of the Director for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.


[FR Doc. 2018-18235 Filed 8-22-18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4333-15-P