[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 28 (Thursday, February 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7371-7373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-02799]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-MB-2016-N218; 91400-5110-0000]; [91400-9410-0000]


Multistate Conservation Grant Program; Fiscal Year 2016 Priority 
List and Approval for Award of the Conservation Projects

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of priority list and approval of projects.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 priority list of wildlife and sport fish 
conservation projects from the Association of Fish and Wildlife 
Agencies (AFWA). As required by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration 
Programs Improvement Act of 2000, AFWA submits a list of projects to us 
each year to consider for funding under the Multistate Conservation 
Grant Program. We reviewed the list and have awarded all the grants 
from the list.

ADDRESSES: John C. Stremple, Multistate Conservation Grants Program 
Coordinator; Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program; U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike; MS: WSFR; Falls Church, VA 22041-
3808.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John C. Stremple, (703) 358-2156 
(phone) or [email protected] (email).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fish and Wildlife Programs Improvement 
and National Wildlife Refuge System Centennial Act of 2000 (Improvement 
Act, Pub. L. 106-408) amended the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife 
Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.) and the Dingell-Johnson Sport 
Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777 et seq.) and established the 
Multistate Conservation Grant Program. The Improvement Act authorizes 
us to award grants of up to $3 million annually from funds available 
under each of the restoration acts, for a total of up to $6 million 
annually. Projects can be funded from both funds depending on the 
project activities. We may award grants to projects from a list of 
priority projects recommended to us by the Association of Fish and 
Wildlife Agencies. The Service Director, exercising the authority of 
the Secretary of the Interior, need not fund all projects on the list, 
but all projects funded must be on the list.
    The Improvement Act provides that funding for Multistate grants is 
available in the year it is appropriated and for the following year. 
Total funding for the FY 2016 Multistate Conservation grants is in 
excess of $6 million due to funding that has been carried over from FY 
2015, as well as the availability of funding that had previously been 
sequestered.
    Grantees under this program may use funds for sport fisheries and 
wildlife management and research projects, boating access development, 
hunter safety and education, aquatic education, fish and wildlife 
habitat improvements, and other purposes consistent with the enabling 
legislation.
    To be eligible for funding, a project must benefit fish and/or 
wildlife conservation for at least 26 States, for a majority of the 
States in any one Service Region, or for one of the regional 
associations of State fish and wildlife agencies. We may award grants 
to a State, a group of States, or one or more nongovernmental 
organizations. For the purpose of carrying out the National Survey of 
Fishing, Hunting, and

[[Page 7372]]

Wildlife-Associated Recreation, we may award grants to the Service, if 
requested by AFWA, or to a State or a group of States. Also, AFWA 
requires all project proposals to address its National Conservation 
Needs, which AFWA announces annually at the same time it requests 
proposals. Further, applicants must provide certification that no 
activities conducted under a Multistate Conservation Grant will promote 
or encourage opposition to regulated hunting or trapping of wildlife, 
or to regulated angling or taking of fish.
    AFWA committees and interested nongovernmental organizations that 
represent conservation organizations, sportsmen's and women's 
organizations, and industries that support or promote fishing, hunting, 
trapping, recreational shooting, bowhunting, or archery review and rank 
eligible project proposals. AFWA's Committee on National Grants 
recommends a final list of priority projects to the directors of the 
State fish and wildlife agencies for their approval by majority vote. 
By statute, AFWA then transmits the final approved list to the Service 
for funding under the Multistate Conservation Grant program by October 
1 of the fiscal year. This year, AFWA sent us a list of 18 projects 
that they recommended for funding. We awarded all of the recommended 
projects for FY 2016. The list follows:

                                      Multistate Conservation Grant Program
                                               [FY 2016 projects]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                    Total 2015
        ID                 Title                Submitter         PR funding \1\  DJ funding \2\       grant
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.................  State Fish &        AFWA                              $3,360          $3,360          $6,720
                     Wildlife Agency
                     Technical
                     Workgroup for the
                     2016 National
                     Survey.
2.................  State Fish and      AFWA                           77,386.63       77,386.63      154,773.26
                     Wildlife Agency
                     Administration
                     and Coordination.
3.................  Development of a    AFWA                              74,925          74,925         149,850
                     National Outreach
                     Strategy.
4.................  Increasing          AFWA                              15,000          15,000          30,000
                     Effectiveness of
                     State Wildlife
                     Agencies Through
                     Leadership &
                     Professional
                     Development.
5.................  Management          AFWA                             118,568         118,568         237,136
                     Assistance Team
                     (MAT) and the
                     National
                     Conservation
                     Leadership
                     Institute.
6.................  State Fish &        AFWA                           48,056.25       48,056.25       96,112.50
                     Wildlife Agency
                     Director Travel
                     Administration
                     and Coordination.
7.................  Expansion &         AFWA                              12,485          12,485          24,970
                     Implementation of
                     the North
                     American
                     Conservation
                     Education
                     Strategy's
                     Outdoor
                     Recreation Model.
8.................  Preserve State      AFWA                               9,000           9,000          18,000
                     Agencies'
                     Authority to
                     Manage Wildlife
                     Resources and
                     Promote Their
                     Interest in the
                     Implementation of
                     International
                     Treaties.
9.................  Diversifying        ATA                               52,500               0          52,500
                     Outdoor
                     Education:
                     Translate Explore
                     Bowhunting into
                     Spanish to Reveal
                     an Untapped
                     Market.
10................  AFWA's Legal        AFWA                              75,000          75,000         150,000
                     Strategy:
                     Educating Law
                     Students,
                     Lawyers, Judges,
                     and the Public on
                     State Legal
                     Authority to
                     Manage Fish and
                     Wildlife
                     Resources.
11................  Coordination of     AFWA                              86,640          86,640         173,280
                     the Industry,
                     Federal, and
                     State Agency
                     Coalition.
12................  Recruitment of      Max McGraw Wildlife               19,675               0          19,675
                     Hispanic Hunters:   Foundation
                     Using a Case
                     Studies approach
                     to gain insights
                     into Hispanic
                     values toward
                     wildlife and
                     motivations and
                     participation in
                     hunting.
13................  Crucial Habitat     WAFWA                             20,000          20,000          40,000
                     Assessment Tool
                     (CHAT).
14................  2016--Raising       WMI                               60,000          60,000         120,000
                     Awareness of the
                     WSFR Program and
                     improving
                     industry
                     relations to
                     ensure the long-
                     term stability of
                     the program.
15................  Advancing the       AFWA/NFHB                              0          86,000          86,000
                     Objectives of the
                     National Fish
                     Habitat Action
                     Plan through
                     Regional and
                     Collaborative
                     Science and
                     Priority Setting.
16................  Coordination of     FWS                              128,483         128,483         256,966
                     the 2016 National
                     Survey Efforts
                     (part A).
17................  50 State Surveys    Rockville Institute            1,780,370       1,780,370       3,560,740
                     Related to          (Westat)
                     Fishing, Hunting,
                     and Wildlife-
                     Associated
                     Recreation (part
                     B).
18................  National-Level      FWS/U.S. Census Bureau         1,272,167       1,272,167       2,544,334
                     Results for the
                     2016 Survey of
                     Fishing, Hunting
                     and Wildlife-
                     Associated
                     Recreation (part
                     A).
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
                                                                    3,853,615.88    3,867,440.88    7,721,056.76
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ PR Funding: Pitman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration funds.
\2\ DJ Funding: Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration funds.
AFWA: Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
ATA: Archery Trade Association.
NFHB: National Fish Habitat Board.
WAFWA: Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
WMI: Wildlife Management Institute.



[[Page 7373]]

    Dated: December 7, 2015.
Stephen Guertin,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-02799 Filed 2-10-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P