Washington D.C.- The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies applauds Deputy Secretary Bernhardt’s announcement about allocating much needed funding to state wildlife agencies and Native American and Alaskan tribes through the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) program and the Tribal Wildlife Grant (TWG) program. This funding helps address critical fish and wildlife needs by supporting species and habitats listed in approved state wildlife actions plans and encouraging key partnerships for wildlife conservation.

“We appreciate the Department of Interior and the US Fish and Wildlife Service for releasing this critical funding for fish and wildlife conservation,” said Nick Wiley, President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Executive Director for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “State and Tribal Wildlife Grants leverage the expertise and professional management capacity of state fish and wildlife agencies with conservation partners to deliver successful conservation projects that directly benefit species in greatest need of support.”

The State & Tribal Wildlife Grants program is the only federal program available to states, territories, District of Columbia and tribes to help conserve more than 12,000 fish and wildlife identified in State Wildlife Action Plans as species in greatest need of conservation. State Wildlife Action Plans were recently revised and updated with the best science and rely on funding from the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program for implementation.