Applications are due May 31 for the Fish and Boat and Game Commissions’ Landowner Incentive Program to fund high-priority habitat conservation projects for endangered, threatened and at-risk species across Pennsylvania.

The Landowner Incentive Program is a federal program administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to fund projects to protect and restore wildlife habitats on private lands.

Grants are awarded to benefit species of special conservation concerned identified in Pennsylvania’s State Wildlife Action Plan.

“Our agencies were created more than one hundred years ago because sportsmen -- those who hunt, trap and fish -- recognized the need for conservation of our natural resources,” said Carl Roe, Executive Director of the Game Commission. “Over the years, those same sportsmen have stepped up to the plate to fully fund all wildlife conservation programs for both game and nongame species. Due to our limited streams of funding, programs for nongame species have not risen to the top of the list.

“Federal programs such as LIP help our agencies direct monies to conservation programs for those species that face the greatest challenges due to habitat loss.”

For more information, visit the Landowner Incentive Program webpage.

3/10/2006