Pine State News

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins, the Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee, and Angus King, the Chair of the Senate National Parks Subcommittee, announced that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) has approved a $2 million award for the Maine Department of Agriculture. The department will use the funds for the Conservation and Forestry (DACF) project called Protecting Maine's Freshwater Wetlands.

The Maine wetlands conservation project will permanently protect two large, wetland-rich interior properties, a coastal zone parcel and an intertidal shorefront tract, which are located across the Aroostook County, Moosehead Lake, and southwest coastal regions. These lands provide vital habitat for wetland-dependent bird species. Additionally, the project will create opportunities for public recreation, such as hiking, hunting, fishing, trapping, boating, snowmobiling, and ATV riding on marked trails within the designated tracts.

"Wetlands provide an essential habitat for migratory birds. This grant will help Maine permanently protect critical areas that support a variety of bird species while ensuring that these lands are available for the public to enjoy," said Senators Collins and King. "We applaud the MBCC for its ongoing commitment to the conservation of natural resources in the State of Maine."

The funding is part of $50.9 million in grants approved by the MBCC under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), the only federal grant program solely dedicated to conserving wetland habitats for migratory birds. The MBCC has approved a total of 12 projects nationwide for the current fiscal year, which will conserve or restore nearly 250,000 acres of wetland and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, shorebirds, and other birds across all of North America. Since 1989, the NAWCA has supported over 3,000 projects in all 50 U.S. states, advancing the conservation of wetland habitats and their wildlife.

Original source can be found here.