Caribou, Sturgeon, Piping Plover Research To Benefit From Special Conservation And Endangered Species Fund

Manitoba News Release
……………………………………………………
January 22, 2007

Eight Manitoba organizations involved in conservation enhancement and awareness programs will receive more than $155,000 in special conservation and endangered species fund grants, Conservation Minister Stan Struthers announced today.
 
“The fund provides grants to non-profit community-based organizations for projects that will enhance the natural resources of the province,” said Struthers. “It encourages organizations to develop local projects that foster better understanding of natural resource issues and the environment.”The minister noted that two of the projects involve three-year studies on the endangered woodland caribou herds in the Swan-Pelican watershed area and between McNeil Lake and the Hargrave River in the Snow Lake area.
 
The projects must either promote the principles of sustainable development or support local organizations in the preservation of wildlife, especially endangered species.
 
Funded projects include:
·         Delta Marsh Bird Observatory – $12,200 to define origins of birds in the boreal forest migrating through the Delta Marsh area (south-central Manitoba).
·         Saskatchewan River Sturgeon Management Board – $13,100 for a program to provide long-term population assessment of sturgeon in the Saskatchewan River.
·         Portage Natural History Group – $22,500 to continue the protection of the nesting sites of the piping plover and determine the survival rates of young birds or fledglings.
·         Red River Operation Clean Up – $20,900 to clean up the shoreline of the Red River between Lockport and Breezy Point.
·         Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation – $25,000 to identify priority sites of provincial plant species at risk.
·         Assiniboine Community College – $17,000 for the first year of a three-year study on the endangered woodland caribou herd in the Swan-Pelican watershed area.
·         Northwest Region Woodland Caribou Management Advisory Committee – $25,000 for a three-year study of woodland caribou between McNeil Lake and the Hargrave River in the Snow Lake area.
·         Game Hunting Area 8 Co-operative Moose Management Committee – $20,000 for a three-year project to monitor the lower Saskatchewan Delta moose population. 
 
– 30 –