Partners for Fish and Wildlife Providing technical and/or financial assistance for wildlife habitat restoration The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program is a proactive, voluntary program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that provides technical and financial assistance to private (non-federal) landowners to restore fish and wildlife habitats on their land. The program emphasizes the reestablishment of native vegetation and ecological communities for the benefit of fish and wildlife in concert with the needs and desires of private landowners. The Fish and Wildlife Service also enlists the help of a wide variety of other partners to help restore wildlife habitat on private lands. These partners include other federal agencies, tribes, state and local governments, conservation organizations, academic institutions, businesses and industries, school groups, and private individuals. Projects consist primarily of habitat restoration and enhancement. Activities include, but are not limited to: • Restoring wetland hydrology by plugging drainage ditches, breaking tile drainage systems, installing water control structures, dike construction, and reestablishing old connections with waterways • Planting native trees and shrubs in formerly forested wetlands and other habitats • Planting native grasslands and other vegetation • Installing fencing and off-stream livestock watering facilities to allow for restoration of stream and riparian areas • Removing exotic plants and animals that compete with native fish and wildlife and alter their natural habitats • Using prescribed burning as a method of removing exotic species and restoring natural disturbance regimes necessary for some species survival • Reconstructing in-stream aquatic habitat through bioengineering techniques The vast majority of existing and potential fish and wildlife habitat is on private, Tribal and other non-federal lands. The Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes the potential value of enlisting the active support of private landowners in restoring and maintaining wildlife habitat for future conservation 90

efforts in the United States. The Fish and Wildlife Service provides financial and technical assistance to private landowners through voluntary cooperative agreements. Under cooperative agreements, landowners agree to maintain restoration projects as specified in the agreement, but they retain full control of the land. Landowners and national, state, and local organizations can serve as partners with the Service in carrying out restoration work on private lands.

Project Examples Thousands of restoration projects have been supported by the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program since 1987, including: • In Montana, Middle Fork and South Fork Dearborn landowners collaborated with the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, the U.S. Forest Service, Montana State Lands, the Lewis and Clark Weed District, the Lewis and Clark Conservation District and The Nature Conservancy to enhance control efforts on noxious weeds. The project included 3 spray days covering about 300 acres and the release of a biological control agent, leafy spurge beetles, at 30 sites effecting 3459 acres. Habitat restored included both riparian and upland areas. • The Partners for Fish and Wildife Program in New York restored a 100 acre wetland in St. Lawrence County. The project involved construction of a low berm that plugged an agricultural ditch, restoring a 100 acre field to emergent marsh habitat. This high priority wetland restoration project is located in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan’s St. Lawrence Valley Focus Area. This project is one of a number of wetland restoration projects in close proximity, forming a large complex of restored wetland acres. Multiple partners contributed to the project, including Ducks Unlimited and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The project provides waterfowl and other migratory birds with migration staging, resting, nesting, foraging, and brood habitat, and it also provides habitat for reptiles, amphibians, and other wildife. Building Better Rural Places

• The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program worked with the Fish and Wildlife’s Coastal Program to assist J. F. Welder Heirs Cattle Company reclaim and conserve a total of 3,000 acres of native coastal prairie in Texas. This coastal prairie provides habitat for migratory grassland birds and potential habitat for the critically endangered Attwater’s prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri). The 24,000 acres of cattle ranch properties include some of the largest and best examples of native coastal prairie left on earth. The project includes reducing brush canopy coverage to 5 percent and improving brush distribution to provide optimum habitat for bobwhite populations and potential habitat for prairie chickens. The Fish and Wildlife Service is working with the cattle company to develop a grazing management system that will provide nesting and brood-rearing habitat for grassland birds, maintain the dominance of desirable native grasses and forms, and contribute to the longterm viability of the ranching operation.

Application and Financial Information Contact the appropriate regional office (see list in this entry). Your regional contact should be able to give you an idea of the appropriateness of your proposed project and probability of its support by Partners for Fish and Wildlife. The program aims for a 50 percent non-federal match for each project. Landowners and partner organizations provide this matching support.

Eligibility, Uses, and Restrictions Any private landowner with acreage that has the potential for restoration to its original habitat can apply for consideration in this program. Landowners voluntarily offer the land base for restoration for a fixed term (at least 10 years although many extend the term). The program emphasizes the restoration of formerly degraded wetlands, native grasslands, riparian areas, and other habitats to conditions as close to natural as feasible.

Mike McCollum, Coordinator Region 2 (AZ, NM, OK, TX) 711 Stadium Drive E; Suite 252 Arlington, TX 76011 (817) 277-1100 Greg Brown, Coordinator Region 3 (IL, IN, IO, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI) 1 Federal Drive, Federal Building Fort Snelling, MN 55111-4056 Phone: (612) 713-5475 Ronnie Haynes, Coordinator Region 4 (AL, AR, FL,GA, KY,LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, and the Caribbean – PR, VI) 1875 Century Blvd Atlanta, GA 30345 Phone: (404) 679-7138 Steve Hill, Coordinator Region 5 (CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV) 300 Westgate Center Drive Hadly, MA 01035-9589 Phone: (413) 253-8614 Lance Kuester, Coordinator Region 6 (CO, KS, MT, NE, ND, SD, UT, WY) 134 Union Blvd, POB 25486 Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 Phone: (303) 236-4341 Michael Roy, Coordinator Region 7 (AK) 1011 East Tudor Road Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: (907) 786-3925; Fax: (907) 786-3350 Martha Naley, Chief, Branch of Habitat Restoration National Program Office 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 400 Arlington, VA 22203 Phone: (703) 358-2201; Fax: (703) 358-2232

Contact

Internet

Marilyn Friley, Coordinator Region 1 (CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, WA) 911 North East 11th Avenue Portland, OR 97232-4181 (503) 231-615

partners.fws.gov/

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