[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 15 (Thursday, January 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3938-3940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01017]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-HQ-WSFR-2018-N129; 91400-5110-0000; 91400-9410-0000]


Multistate Conservation Grant Program; Fiscal Year 2018 Priority 
List and Approval To Award Funds for Conservation Projects

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of receipt and award of the priority list and 
publication of grant awards.

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[[Page 3939]]

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
Fiscal Year 2018 priority list of wildlife and sport fish conservation 
projects from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 
(Association). As required by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration 
Programs Improvement Act of 2000, the Association submits a list of 
projects to us each year to consider for funding under the Multistate 
Conservation Grant Program. Once projects are awarded, this list must 
be published into the Federal Register. We have reviewed the list and 
recommended all projects on the list for award to the Service Director. 
The Service Director approved the entire list of projects for award, 
and we have awarded all projects 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, via phone at 703-
358-2156, via email at [email protected], or via the Federal Relay 
Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), announce the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 priority list of wildlife 
and sport fish conservation projects from the Association of Fish and 
Wildlife Agencies (Association). As required by 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.), the 
Association submits a list of projects to us each year to consider for 
funding under the Multistate Conservation Grant Program. We have 
reviewed the list and recommended all projects on the list for award to 
the Service Director. The Service Director approved the entire list of 
projects for award, and we have awarded funds for all projects from the 
list.

Background

    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.

Funding Amounts

    Total funding available for FY 2018 was $6,039,090; the total 
requested was approximately $6,024,583.08. The available funding was 
due to funding carried over from FY 2017, as well as the availability 
of funding that had previously been sequestered. After subtracting 
committed funds ($3,261,027) among the three components of the 2016 
National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation 
(parts A & B), there was $2,778,063 available for new awards. The 2018 
new award Priority List requested $2,763,556.08.

Funding Eligibility

    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 Wildlife-Associated Recreation, we may award 
grants to the Service, if requested by the Association, or to a State 
or a group of States. Also, the Association requires all project 
proposals to address the Association's National Conservation Needs, 
which are announced annually at the same time requests for proposals 
are sent out. 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.
    The Association's 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. The Association's 
National Grants Committee 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, the Association then transmits 
the final approved list to the Service for funding under the Multistate 
Conservation Grant program by October 1 of the fiscal year.

Fiscal Year 2018 Priority List of Awarded Wildlife and Sport Fish 
Conservation Projects

    For FY 2018, the Association sent us a list of 18 new projects, 
plus the 3 previously approved components of the 2016 National Survey 
of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation that they 
recommended for funding. The list is in the following table:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                    Total 2018
          ID                    Title              Recipient        PR funding      DJ funding         grant
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................  Coordination of Farm    AFWA.............         $83,880         $55,920        $139,800
                        Bill Program
                        Implementation.
2....................  State Fish and          AFWA.............          59,200          59,200         118,400
                        Wildlife Agency
                        Technical Workgroup
                        and Evaluation Team
                        for the 2016 National
                        Survey.
3....................  State Fish and          AFWA.............          47,500          47,500          95,000
                        Wildlife Agency
                        Director Travel--
                        Enabling Coordination
                        and Planning of
                        National-Level
                        Conservation
                        Initiatives.

[[Page 3940]]

 
4....................  Coordinating and        AFWA.............          40,000          40,000          80,000
                        Planning National-
                        Scale Conservation
                        Initiatives through
                        Communications.
5....................  Track Participation     ASA..............          69,000          69,000         138,000
                        Trends & R3
                        Effectiveness via
                        License Sales
                        Dashboards.
6....................  Coordination of the     AFWA.............          77,130          77,130         154,260
                        Industry, Federal,
                        and State Agency
                        Coalition.
7....................  Developing Data-Based   ATA..............      130,968.11       43,656.03      174,624.14
                        Strategies to
                        Increase Bowhunting.
8....................  Determining Actionable  RBFF.............               0      174,562.30      174,562.30
                        Strategies for Angler
                        R3.
9....................  Improving Recruitment   NSSF.............         149,100               0         149,100
                        of New Hunters and
                        Recreational Shooters.
10...................  Improving Local Angler  ASA..............               0         134,900         134,900
                        Recruitment Events.
11...................  Developing Strategies   RMEF.............      149,831.21               0      149,831.21
                        to Train
                        Professionals How to
                        Communicate About
                        Hunting.
12...................  Evaluating the Promise  NC State                89,309.18       33,762.25      123,071.43
                        and Potential Impacts   University.
                        of R3 Efforts
                        Targeting College
                        Students.
13...................  Coordination of State   AFWA.............          32,100          32,100          64,200
                        Fish and Wildlife
                        Agencies' Authority
                        to Manage Resources
                        in Concert with
                        Federal Actions
                        Required by CITES.
14...................  Increasing Awareness    AFWA.............          50,000          50,000         100,000
                        and Knowledge of
                        State Fish and
                        Wildlife Management
                        (Based on AFWA
                        Strategic Plan Goal
                        2).
15...................  Management Assistance   AFWA.............      255,667.50      304,679.50         560,347
                        Team (MAT) and
                        National Conservation
                        Leadership Institute
                        (NCLI).
16...................  Multistate              AFWA.............          52,500          52,500         105,000
                        Conservation Grant
                        Program Management.
17...................  Conservation            AFWA.............               0         209,960         209,960
                        Collaboration across
                        the United States
                        through the National
                        Fish Habitat
                        Partnership.
18...................  Chronic Wasting         WY Game & Fish...          92,500               0          92,500
                        Disease Management in
                        the West.
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
                                                                       1,378,686    1,384,870.08    2,763,556.08
NS...................  2016 Survey             FWS..............         136,102         136,102         272,204
                        Coordination (Part A).
NS...................  2016 National Report    U.S. Census......         185,106         185,106         370,212
                        (Part A).
NS...................  2016 Fifty-State        Rockville            1,309,305.50    1,309,305.50       2,618,611
                        Survey Reports (Part    Institute.
                        B).
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
                                                                    3,009,199.50    3,015,383.58    6,024,583.08
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PR Funding: Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration funds.
DJ Funding: Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration funds.
AFWA: Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
ASA: American Sportfishing Association.
ATA: Archery Trade Association.
NC State University: North Carolina State University.
NFHB: National Fish Habitat Board.
NS: 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.
NSSF: National Shooting Sports Foundation.
RMEF: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Inc.
RBFF: Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation.
WY Game and Fish: Wyoming Game and Fish Commission.


    Dated: November 3, 2019.
Margaret E. Everson,
Principal Deputy Director, Exercising the Authority of the Director for 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-01017 Filed 1-22-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P