Earlier this month, Prairie Rivers Network Habitat Conservation Specialist, Elliot Brinkman, traveled to Washington, D.C. to help educate legislators about the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program.
This program provides federal grant funds for projects that benefit wildlife and their habitats and gives priority to species of greatest conservation concern. It is also the primary funding source for states to implement their Wildlife Action Plans. In Illinois, these funds have been used for a number of successful restoration and research projects, many of which assessed and improved the quality of habitats in and along streams and rivers.
Despite the program’s popularity and bipartisan support, it has been cut by 32% since its highest funding level in 2010. This has had a major impact on how agencies and organizations implement the Wildlife Action Plan in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has since discontinued its competitive grants program, which allowed organizations to apply for Wildlife Grant funds for projects throughout the state.
As the National Wildlife Federation affiliate in Illinois, Prairie Rivers Network met with House and Senate staffers to highlight the importance of this program, and to request to sign on to a “Dear Colleague” letter that urges the Interior Appropriations Committee to maintain funding levels for State Wildlife Grants.
Last Friday was the deadline to sign on to the House version of the letter, and Illinois had a record number of Representatives that signed! We would like to send our sincere thanks to Representatives Judy Biggert, Jesse Jackson, Tim Johnson, Daniel Lipinski, Mike Quigley, Bobby Rush, and Jan Schakowski. Thank you for your commitment to this vital program.
It’s not over yet, though. The Senate version of the “Dear Colleague” letter was just released. The deadline for signing is next Tuesday, March 27th, so please contact the offices of Senator Durbin (202) 224-2152 and Senator Kirk (202) 224-2854 to ask them to sign onto the letter in support of State and Tribal Wildlife Grant funding.
