The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced it is seeking proposals from States and territories for funding under the Bush Administration?s innovative Landowner Incentive Program (LIP). This forward-looking program, managed by the Service, is making $19 million in Federal grant money available to State and territorial fish and wildlife agencies for private landowners under the President?s FY 2005 budget.

"Private landowners and conservation groups want to help conserve fish and wildlife but the costs of protecting, restoring, and managing habitat can be prohibitive," said Service Director Steve Williams. "The Bush Administration is lending a hand to support the efforts of our valued partners."

The Landowner Incentive Program, a $19 million competitive grant program for State and territorial fish and wildlife agencies, supports collaborative efforts with private landowners interested in conserving natural habitat while they continue to engage in traditional land-use practices. It establishes or supplements existing landowner incentive programs that provide technical or financial assistance to private landowners for the protection, restoration, and management of habitat to benefit species at-risk, including Federally-listed endangered or threatened species as well as proposed or candidate species on private land.

Landowners interested in participating in the LIP should contact their State fish and wildlife agency. The deadline for States to submit proposals to the Service is (this date will be 60 days after the Fed Reg Notice is published).

For more information on the grant programs and on how and where to submit proposals, please visit the Service's website at http://federalaid.fws.gov/lip/lipguidelines.html. You may also contact: Landowner Incentive Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Federal Assistance, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS-FA4020, Arlington, VA 22203. Phone # (703) 358-2156.

The Catalogue for Federal Domestic Assistance number is 15.633.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

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