Department of the Interior: Conservation of At-Risk Species Grant in Northeast USA

The intent of the award is to provide capacity and tools needed for collaboration among states, U.S. FWS Region 5, and other partners on the recovery and conservation of at-risk and listed species. The agreement will provide support for non-regulatory, collaborative approaches with states, forest landowners, and the Department of Defense to help preclude species from listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and down-list or delist species already listed, supporting the Conservation without Conflict approach in the Northeast. There are two components to the agreement. The first is to provide capacity to help coordinate and provide information for collaborative approaches, including mapping of habitats, shared development of conservation designs, and cross-agency coordination for implementation of effective conservation practices. The second component is to provide needed updates to the mapping information developed with states to support the collaborative conservation of at-risk and listed species such as updates necessary to mapping of terrestrial and aquatic habitats across the Northeast and evaluation of road-stream crossings that pose public safety and aquatic passage risks.