Episode 19: National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Big Game Corridors Grant Program

On this episode of Talking Mule Deer, Jodi and Steve talk with Seth Gallagher, manager of Rocky Mountain regional programs for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). We learn about what NFWF is, how the organization receives funding, and how it has provided billions of dollars for conservation across the country. We talk about some of the private land conservation efforts that NFWF has been engaged in, including sagebrush conservation that benefits mule deer, and how important this is to help keep agriculture viable and conserve important fish and wildlife habitat. We then hear about NFWF’s new grant initiative offering $2.7 million for on-the-ground habitat conservation efforts needed to help implement Secretarial Order 3362 on big game migration corridors. Projects support specific needs identified by state fish and wildlife agency plans that were developed in response to the Order. Some of the efforts could include work on transportation projects to help wildlife crossings, easements to conserve corridor bottlenecks or stopover sites, fire restoration, and more. The funding for the new NFWF grant program came through the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Conoco-Phillips. More information about the grant program, including a link to the request for proposals, and the state plans can be found at www.nfwf.org/westernmigrations. The grant deadline is in early January with plans to announce grants in March in order to get these habitat conservation and restoration projects on the ground by next summer. We also talk about a capacity grant that the Mule Deer Foundation just received from NFWF to implement an initiative within the organization for these types of boots-on-the-ground projects to benefit mule deer.