COLLINS, SNOWE ANNOUNCE MORE THAN $173,000 FOR ATLANTIC SALMON CONSERVATION PROJECT

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe today announced that the State of Maine Department of Marine Resources has received $173,250 in grant funding from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund to develop a statewide habitat conservation plan.

The grant funding will allow the Maine Department of Marine Resources to begin Phase I of its Water and Forest Programmatic Habitat Conservation Plan, which involves state’s forestry and wastewater plans and the state water rules that cover more than 17.8 million acres of forestland and approximately 45,000 miles of streams and rivers.  The grant will provide funds for a one-year planning phase to initiate and develop a comprehensive plan to conserve Atlantic salmon and other fish species.

“The Atlantic salmon is an important natural resource, and this grant will allow the State to work with private landowners, conservation organizations, and other partners to make comprehensive plans to conserve and protect this threatened species for future generations,” said Senators Snowe and Collins in a joint statement.

Authorized by the Endangered Species Act, the competitive grants enable states to work with private landowners, conservation groups, and other stakeholders to initiate conservation planning efforts and acquire and protect habitat to support the conservation of threatened and endangered species.