NRCS APPROVES $734,200 TO RESTORE SALMON HABITAT

Voluntary Conservation Program Aids Private Landowners

June 6, 2004 - Palmer, AK Alaska State Conservationist Shirley Gammon today announced the approval of $734,200 to fund landowner applications to restore and conserve habitat for Pacific salmon. These funds will be used to support stream bank restoration, improved fish passage and other projects that ensure long-term salmon habitat improvement.

The obligated funds are part of a five-state, $3.5 million Salmon Habitat Restoration Project, a special initiative of the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) administered USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

“Our goal is to assure healthy habitats for Alaska’s salmon,” said Gammon.  “These funds will help implement projects that benefit not only the salmon populations, but also Alaskans who depend on the fish for subsistence, fish for recreation, or harvest salmon commercially.”

Overall NRCS has approved nearly $800,000 in funding this year to implement salmon habitat improvement in Nome and the Southcentral, Southeast and Interior regions of Alaska.

Additional information on WHIP and the Salmon Habitat Restoration Initiative is at http://www.ak.nrcs.usda.gov. 

Your contact for WHIP programs is Mark Weatherstone 907-761-7757

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