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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 (USFWS)
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.
One of the tools, the Cooperative
Endangered Species Conservation
Fund (section 6 of the ESA) provides
grants to States and Territories to
participate in a wide array of voluntary
conservation projects for candidate,
proposed, and listed species. The
program 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 cost share of 25% for 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 Secretary of the Interior to receive grant funds.
Four grant programs are available through the CESCF. They include the “Traditional” Conservation Grants and the “Non-traditional” Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition, Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance, and Recovery Land Acquisition Grants.
Information on both Traditional and Non-traditional Section 6 grant programs is available by using the links below:
(State conducted projects that address research and
recovery needs of listed and candidate species)
(Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition, Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance, Recovery Land Acquisition)
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