| In order to make the best use of the State Wildlife
Grants program, Congress charged each state and territory with developing
a statewide Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy. These
strategies will provide an essential foundation for the future of
wildlife conservation and a stimulus to engage the states, federal
agencies and other conservation partners to strategically think
about their individual and coordinated roles in prioritizing conservation
efforts in each state and territory.
Who is developing the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies?
Primary responsibility for managing wildlife management has always
rested with the states, so they are taking the leadership role in
writing the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies. State
fish and wildlife agencies are developing the strategies by engaging
of a broad array of partners, including other government agencies,
conservation groups, private landowners, the public, and anyone
else who has a stake in fish and wildlife management.
What will a State Wildlife Conservation Strategy look like?
Each strategy will set a vision and a plan of action for state
wildlife conservation and funding. While fish and wildlife agencies
are leading the strategy development process, the aim is to create
a strategic vision for conserving the state’s wildlife, not
just a plan for the agency. While each strategy will reflect a different
set of issues, management needs, and priorities, the states are
working together to ensure nationwide consistency and a common focus
on targeting resources at preventing wildlife from declining to
the point of endangerment.
When Will the Strategies be Completed?
Each state strategy will be finished by October 2005, and they
will be reviewed at least every decade. Many states are already
working to ensure that their strategies will regularly reviewed
and adaptively managed to ensure conservation success over the long
term.
Conservation Strategies With Deliverable Results
What makes the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies different
from any other plans that have been drafted in the last decade?
Two things: money and scale. The objectives and approaches defined
by each strategy will receive millions of dollars of federal funds,
matched with support from other sources, to ensure their implementation.
Very few other plans have this clear program of support. In addition,
the strategies are being produced by every state and territory to
address the entire diversity of wildlife and habitats. Collectively,
they will create – for the first time – a nationwide
approach to wildlife conservation.
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