APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR PRIVATE LAND GRANT PROGRAM

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State Wildlife Grant Private Land Program provides technical and financial assistance to enhance wildlife habitat on private land; deadline June 30

PRATT — The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) has announced that applications for participation in the State Wildlife Grant (SWG) Private Land Program are now being accepted. SWG grants are funded in part by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Interior (program CFDA # 15.634), and administered in Kansas by KDWP.

This is the fourth signup for this project, and KDWP may distribute $98,615 (from an original $400,000 of SWG funds), plus an additional $49,307 in non-federal funds to private landowners interested in implementing habitat projects. With the addition of private funding for the project, it is anticipated that nearly $200,000 will be available for funding during this application period. Those landowners receiving funding will be required to match a minimum of 25 percent of total project costs. This match can either be a cash contribution from a non-federal source or contributions of labor, materials, and equipment use. Applications will be accepted until June 30.

Previously, the program has awarded $301,385 of SWG funds to 33 private landowners. Projects funded include removing invasive woody plants from native mixed-grass prairie, prescribed burning, conversion of cool season grass to native grass, installation of alternate watering facilities to help with native short-grass prairie management, and construction of perimeter fencing on expiring CRP fields to help maintain those fields in native grass. These projects will improve more than 11,192 acres of habitat for Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Kansas.

To be eligible, applications must address issues and strategies identified in the Kansas Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan. Applications will be scored based on established criteria to ensure all applicants are considered fairly and that the best projects are selected. Higher priority consideration will be given to proposals that specifically address restoration and enhancement activities that contribute to 1) development or maintenance of large grassland blocks capable of supporting area-sensitive wildlife species, 2) restoration or maintenance of areas supporting high densities of playa lakes surrounded by grasslands, and 3) restoration or enhancement of streams and associated riparian buffers.

Interested landowners should contact any KDWP regional office or private lands biologist for application materials or to schedule a consultation concerning a proposed project. For information regarding program administration, write Roger Wolfe, KDWP Region 2 Office, 300 SW Wanamaker Road, Topeka, Kansas 66606 or phone 785-273-6740. Persons with special communication needs may utilize the Kansas Relay Center, 1-800-766-3777.

Summer Jobs in America’s Great Outdoors

Image via WikipediaThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the country’s 553
national wildlife refuges, hopes to hire more than 2,000 young people this
year, as it did in 2010. Apply now for a job this summer on a national
wildlife refuge or other public land. A commitment to youth hiring is part
of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative.

Go to the Refuge System web site to find 2011 youth job opportunities in
the National Wildlife Refuge System. Scroll down and click on “Student
Employment Opportunities” to learn about jobs through program partners
such as the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and AmeriCorps. You can
apply directly for some openings on partner web sites. For other
opportunities on refuges, such as those through the Youth Conservation
Corps (YCC), contact your local refuge (use the “Find Your Refuge” feature
on the Refuge System homepage).

Learn about other 2011 conservation job opportunities with the Department
of the Interior (DOI) at a new web site, http://www.youthgo.gov/ and e
xplore the Department of the Interior's Youth in the Great Outdoors
program. Listings are for both permanent and temporary jobs. DOI manages
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and several
other technical bureaus.

Youth jobs on national wildlife refuges can change lives and career
pathways. They also stimulate learning and personal growth, say those with
firsthand experience:

       Tylar Greene, from the Bronx, felt “culture shock” on arriving for
an internship in summer 2010 at Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge in
New Hampshire, she recounts in a video. But she loved the work and the
moral support she got from refuge staff.


       Lexxs Sutton, a 2010 YCCer who helped build a boardwalk, maintain
trails and pull invasive plants at William L. Finley National Wildlife
Refuge in Oregon, called the work hard. Even so, she says, “I learned a
lot, and it was probably the most fun job I will ever have.”
       
       For further evidence of challenging and fun youth jobs on refuges,
see a video made by a 2010 YCC crew at Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge in
Alaska.

      See photos of young people at work on national wildlife refuges. Read
about youth hiring in the Northeast.

      Youth job candidates are considered without regard to race, color,
religion, sex or national origin. Most internships include a stipend, and
others are volunteer positions.

      The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others
to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats
for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader
and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our
scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources,
dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more
information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit
www.fws.gov.












Fishing, Hunting, and Camping Information

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Input on Developing Wind Energy Habitat Conservation Plan

Image via WikipediaThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will host an open house Tuesday, December 7, 2010, to gather comments and answer questions about development of a Habitat Conservation Plan for the proposed High Prairie Wind Energy Facility near the town of Queen City in Schulyer County.  The open house will be from 5 pm to 7 pm at the Days Inn in Kirksville.

Representatives from the Service and from High Prairie Wind Energy, a subsidiary of Wind Capital Group, will be on hand at the open house to answer questions about the planning effort and to hear ideas and opinions about potential impacts of the project on the Indiana bat, the little brown bat and the northern bat.  The Indiana bat is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and all three species occur at the site.

High Prairie is working with the Service to develop a Habitat Conservation Plan to address possible effects from the project on the Indiana bat.  The plan will describe project features, natural resources, and measures High Prairie Wind Energy will implement to protect and conserve bats.

A Habitat Conservation Plan developed by High Prairie and approved by the Service would include measures for long-term conservation of Indiana bats and other bat species and will be used by High Prairie to apply for a Service permit to exempt an otherwise lawful activity (construction and operation of a wind energy facility) from the prohibition of take under the Endangered Species Act.   Take, under the Act, means harming, harassing, or killing endangered or threatened species.

As part of the Service's review of the plan, and High Prairie’s request for an incidental take permit, the Service will prepare an Environmental Assessment evaluating effects of the project.

The Service encourages participation in the open house to solicit information on issues, concerns, or other information that should be considered in the Environmental Assessment.  The forum will also serve as an opportunity to identify or provide information on historic or cultural resources that should be considered in the assessment.

High Prairie’s proposed project will consist of wind turbine generators, transformers at the base of each turbine, access roads, a project operations and maintenance building, and other infrastructure.  All project facilities and infrastructure will be placed on private land.

The Indiana bat was listed as endangered in 1967, under the precursor to the current Endangered Species Act, because of large population declines believed to be from disturbance of caves where bats hibernate during the winter.  The Indiana bat is found across much of the eastern and central United States.   From late fall through winter Indiana bats in Missouri hibernate in caves in the Ozarks and Ozark Border Natural Divisions.  During the spring and summer, Indiana bats use living, injured (e.g. split trunks and broken limbs from lightning strikes or wind), dead or dying trees for roosting throughout the state.  Indiana bats forage for flying insects (particularly moths) in and around floodplain, riparian and upland forests.

For more information on the Indiana bat and habitat conservation plans, visit the Service’s website at www.fws.gov/endangered

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.