[Federal Register: February 21, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 35)]
[Notices]               
[Page 9582-9585]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21fe08-79]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R9-MB-2008-N0031]

 
Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of priority list.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), announce the FY 
2008 priority list of wildlife and sport fish conservation projects 
from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA). As required 
by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act of 
2000, AFWA submits a list of projects to us each year to consider for 
funding under the Multistate Conservation Grant program. We then review 
and award grants from this list.

ADDRESSES: John C. Stremple, Multistate Conservation Grants Program 
Coordinator, Division of Federal Assistance, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Mail Stop MBSP-4020, Arlington, 
Virginia 22203.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John C. Stremple, (703) 358-2156 
(phone) or John_Stremple@fws.gov (e-mail).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration 
Programs Improvement Act of 2000 (Improvement Act, Pub. L. 106-408) 
amended the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 
et seq.) and the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 
777 et seq.) and established the Multistate Conservation Grant Program. 
The Improvement Act authorizes us to award grants of up to $3 million 
annually from funds available under each of the Restoration Acts, for a 
total of up to $6 million annually. We may award grants from a list of 
priority projects recommended to us by AFWA. The FWS Director, 
exercising the

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authority of the Secretary of the Interior, need not fund all projects 
on the list, but all projects funded must be on the list.
    Grantees under this program may use funds for sport fisheries and 
wildlife management and research projects, boating access development, 
hunter safety and education, aquatic education, fish and wildlife 
habitat improvements, and other purposes consistent with the enabling 
legislation.
    To be eligible for funding, a project must benefit fish and/or 
wildlife conservation in at least 26 States, or in a majority of the 
States in any one FWS Region, or it must benefit a regional association 
of State fish and wildlife agencies. We may award grants to a State, a 
group of States, or one or more nongovernmental organizations. For the 
purpose of carrying out the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and 
Wildlife-Associated Recreation, we may award grants to the FWS, if 
requested by AFWA, or to a State or a group of States. Also, AFWA 
requires all project proposals to address its National Conservation 
Needs, which are announced annually by AFWA at the same time as its 
request for proposals. Further, applicants must provide certification 
that no activities conducted under a Multistate Conservation grant will 
promote or encourage opposition to regulated hunting or trapping of 
wildlife or to regulated angling or taking of fish.
    Eligible project proposals are reviewed and ranked by AFWA 
Committees and interested nongovernmental organizations that represent 
conservation organizations, sportsmen's organizations, and industries 
that support or promote fishing, hunting, trapping, recreational 
shooting, bowhunting, or archery. AFWA's Committee on National Grants 
recommends a final list of priority projects to the directors of State 
fish and wildlife agencies for their approval by majority vote. By 
statute, AFWA then must transmit the final approved list to the FWS for 
funding under the Multistate Conservation Grant program by October 1.
    This year, we received a list of nine recommended projects. We 
recommend them for funding in 2008, contingent on the Multistate 
Conservation Grant Program receiving additional funds as specified in 
the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity 
Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-059) passed in August 2005. AFWA's recommended 
list follows:

    Dated: January 29, 2008.
H. Dale Hall,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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[FR Doc. 08-743 Filed 2-20-08; 8:45am]

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