1.2 State Wildlife Grants Eligibility and Requirements
created the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program and the State Wildlife Grants Program (or SWG), which provides federal matching funds to all 50 states and territories (separate funding is provided to tribes through the Tribal Wildlife Grants Program). Te funds are to be used for conservation eforts aimed at preventing wildlife from becoming endangered and keeping common species common. Te SWG program was designed to assist states with the conservation of nongame species by providing annual allocations to supplement, not duplicate, existing fsh and wildlife programs. Tese matching funds support work that benefts species in greatest need of con- servation; species indicative of the diversity and health of the states’ wildlife; and species with low and declining populations, as designated by the states’ fsh and wildlife agencies. Te Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, which is part of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), administers the SWG program and apportions funds each year to state wildlife agencies. 1.2 State Wildlife Grants Eligibility and Requirements To be eligible for SWG matching funds, each state was required to develop a comprehensive wildlife conservation plan, more commonly known as a state Wildlife Action Plan (WAP or Plan). Each Plan must address the Eight Required Elements (see Table 1.1) and, at a min- imum, be revised at 10-year intervals. North Carolina’s frst WAP, which was developed to provide a foundation for state and federal agencies and other conservation partners to think strategically about their individual roles and coordinate prioritizing conservation eforts, was reviewed and approved by USFWS in 2005. Details about the development of the 2005 WAP are available in that document and an electronic copy of the docu- ment is available on the internet (www.ncwildlife.org/plan). Te NC Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC or Commission) is responsible for managing the SWG program and implementing the WAP.
State funds are needed to match the federal SWG grants and are generated through several opportunities:
• North Carolina State Tax Checkof for Nongame and Endangered Wildlife
• Wildlife Diversity Endowment Fund donations
• Purchases of the wildlife conservation special license plate from NC Department of Motor Vehicles
• State budget allocations
• In-kind contributions produced by the eforts of volunteers and state and local partners
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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