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SPOTLIGHT: Boating Infrastructure & Clean Vessel Act
Federal Grant Program Key to Coastal Marina's Renovation
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Region
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| | Corpus Christi Marina. A general view facing south. Photo: P. Davidson |
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Southwest Region works with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to provide grants under the Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) program and Clean Vessel Act (CVA) program to support boating access infrastructure and boat sanitation reception facilities in Texas. Both of these grants were key in orchestrating a major renovation effort at the Municipal Marina in Corpus Christi, Texas. With federal grants as seed funding, the Superintendent at this Texas marina was able to garner matching funds and begin implementing improvements at the marina. CVA funds were used to install pump-out units. BIG funds were used to provide amenities for boaters and to construct additional docks. After implementing clean facilities and pollution abatement practices, the Corpus Christi Municipal Marina received the first "Clean Marina" designation in the State of Texas.
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Service and the Assoc. of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Sign Joint Memo Promoting Plans and Efforts to Conserve Monarch Butterflies
Source: Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) & USFWS
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| | A monarch butterfly perches on a New England aster at Sea Lake Wetland Management District in South Dakota. Photo: Tom Koemer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe has joined Larry Voyles, President of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), in signing a joint memorandum promoting collaborative efforts to conserve the monarch butterfly and other native pollinators. The memo signed at the 2015 North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Omaha, Nebraska, urges state and territorial fish and wildlife agencies to be resourceful in helping to turn around the severe drop in monarch butterfly populations, which have declined by more than 90 percent within the past 20 years.
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Trout Fishing Report Released
Source: Richard Aiken, Economist, National Survey Branch, USFWS WSFR Program, HQ
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The report provides a summary of the demographic and economic characteristics from the 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife Associated Recreation. The research explores demographic trends and patterns, expenditures of trout anglers, and how expenditures vary by demographics.
Trout Fishing Survey Highlights include: 
-7.2 million anglers participated in fishing in 2011. This is a slight increase from 6.8 million reported in the last National Survey in 2006.
-There is concern that young people aren't trout fishing like they use to. While anglers 55 years old and older increased over the past two decades, the number of trout anglers below age 55 declined.
-The average days for trout fishing were more than ten per person in 2011. There was slight decline in the average number of fishing days for both freshwater and trout anglers since 2006 when the last National Survey was published.
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State Wildlife Agencies Receive $1.1 Billion in Revenues Generated by Hunters, Shooters, Boaters and Anglers
More than $17 Billion since program's inception
By: Kim Betton, USFWS, WSFR Program, HQ
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service distributed $1.1 billion in revenues generated by the hunting, boating and angling industry to state and territorial fish and wildlife agencies throughout the nation. The funds support critical fish and wildlife conservation and recreation projects that benefit all Americans. Since the program's inception 78 years ago, more than $17 billion in excise taxes supported wildlife and habitat conservation.
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| | Man with pet dog hunting and canoeing at Kenai Refuge. Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
The Service apportions the funds to all 50 states and U.S. territories through the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration and Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration programs. Revenues come from excise taxes generated by the sale of sporting firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, fishing equipment, electric boat motors, and from taxes on the purchase of motorboat fuel. "These funds are the cornerstone of state-based efforts that are critical to the preservation of America's wildlife and natural resources," said Service Director Dan Ashe. "But they are also the fuel for a massive financial engine that benefits outdoor recreationists, hunters, boaters and anglers, equipment manufacturers and retailers, and local and regional economies. Their value cannot be overstated in providing opportunities for the next generation of Americans to get outdoors, experience our wild places and learn the importance of conserving our natural heritage."
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$5.7 Million in State Wildlife Grants help species in need of conservation
By: Kim Betton, USFWS, WSFR Program HQ
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The monarch butterfly, Topeka shiners, and gopher tortoise are among imperiled species that will benefit from $5.7 million in grants to 11 states through the Service's
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Forging Gopher Tortoise, Photo: Randy Browning, USFWS
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Competitive State Wildlife Grants (SWG) program. The grants focus on large-scale conservation projects and will be matched by more than $2.9 million in non-Federal funds from States and their partners. These projects work to conserve and recover Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) and their habitats.
In addition to offering funds to these 11 States, the Service is also awarding two grants to the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, to be distributed to several western States and their partners for cooperative conservation projects.
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Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP)
Little Bay oyster reef marsh restoration project begins soon
By: Greg Harlan, The Grant Connection
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The Coastal Impact Assistance Program supports the Little Bay oyster reef, marsh restoration project in Aransas County, Texas. The oyster reefs are expected to expand for many years. During the spring and summer oyster spawning season, oysters release free-swimming larvae, called spat, into the water column.
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| | Little Bay: Photo Credit: The Grant Connection |
The spat are carried by tide and current, and after spending about two weeks moving in the water column seek a suitable surface called cultch upon which to attach and begin building their shells of calcium carbonate. Unless disturbed, they will spend the remainder of their life cycle where they have attached.
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WSFR
Assistant Director's
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The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR) is treasured in so many ways. We appreciate all the support and dedication from our partners and we need to continue to help share the vision of this great program - the cornerstone of fish and wildlife conservation in North America.
In 2014 WSFR provided $1.1 Billion through the sale of hunting and fishing equipment to support habitat conservation and outdoor recreation. And since the program's inception 78 years ago more than $17 billion dollars have been distributed to States for this great work.
All Americans, whether they hunt, fish, spend a day boating, or wildlife watching, benefit from this program. There's a good chance that the trail they hike, the park where they watch birds, and the wildlife they see every day wouldn't exist without the funding provided by hunters and anglers. In addition to providing conservation benefits, WSFR funds - along with revenue from state fishing hunting licenses support local economies and generate thousands of jobs.
We are grateful for you helping us to share the successes of this WSFR program. Let's keep the momentum going strong for the wildlife and the people of this great nation.
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WSFR 75th Anniversary and Beyond Publication Highlights
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2011 National Survey of Fishing Hunting and Wildlife Associated-Recreation | |
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Click here to view WILDLIFE TRACS
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Contact:
Kim Betton
Editorial Director
Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, Headquarters
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
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