The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently awarded $61 million for the purchase of thousands of acres in eight states in support of habitat conservation. Many of the buys are of developable land near urban areas.
California: One of three grants for San Diego County awarded $2 million to acquire 32 acres for the protection of a coastal sage scrub species and the threatened coastal California gnatcatcher. Another $10 million is for the purchase of 824 acres in the Proctor Valley to protect large-mammal corridors and assist the gnatcatcher, a species of shrimp and an endangered butterfly. Finally, a $1.7 million award is for the purchase of 82 acres, including vernal-pool habitat in Dennery Canyon, to protect several bird and plant species. In Riverside County, $9 million is for the purchase of 3,310 acres of coastal sage scrub land to protect the kangaroo rat and other species.
Maryland: A $1 million grant will be used to purchase 266 acres of essential habitat for an endangered squirrel species in rapidly developing Queen Anne's County.
Texas: More than $11 million is for the purchase of two habitat areas totaling 6,484 acres near Austin in Travis County.
For more information on the grants, go to www.HousingZone.com/land/grants or the Fish and Wildlife Service Web site at www.fws.gov.
Advertisement
Related Stories
Land Planning
Helena Habitat for Humanity Aims to Build 1,000 Affordable Homes
A new Habitat for Humanity project in Helena, Mont., aims to deliver 1,000 affordable housing units and outdoor community amenities
Government + Policy
How Eminent Domain May Be Used to Respond to Climate Crises
Eminent domain, which grants the government power to take private property for public use, has displaced thousands of Americans for the sake of infrastructure in the past, but it may be used for a better purpose in a global climate crisis
Q+A
Soil Connect Is Moving Dirt and Building Relationships
Cliff Fetner created Soil Connect so builders and developers could more easily move dirt and other aggregates from jobsite to jobsite, but it has expanded to become something much more