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Grants from North American Wetlands Conservation Act passes $1 billion mark 
Forward-thinking U.S. grants program a boon for Canada’s waterfowl and wetlands
Oak Hammock Marsh, Man., September 12, 2009 - Two decades after being passed by the United States Congress to aid in the conservation of wetland ecosystems, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) has exceeded $1 billion U.S. in grants for wetland conservation in North America.
“This is a truly remarkable achievement,” said Jeff Nelson, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) CEO and Executive Vice President, about U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s historic conservation announcement earlier this week. “Since first enacted in 1989, NAWCA funding has been a driving force of wetland conservation in Canada.”
Besides aiding wetland conservation, NAWCA was created to provide a mechanism to support North American Waterfowl Management Plan objectives for waterfowl as well as other wetland related species. The NAWCA grant program is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, while the North American Wetlands Conservation Council establishes the policies that govern the grant selection process.
The key caveat for NAWCA money coming into Canada is that each dollar must be matched by a non-federal U. S. dollar. That means state governments and organizations such as Ducks Unlimited Inc., foundations and other conservation-minded groups in the U.S. must provide the monetary match for wetland conservation projects in Canada approved by NAWCA.
“The NAWCA proposal system is a forward-thinking and visionary process to support a continental wetland conservation program,” Nelson says. “In Canada, its strength lies in the multi-faceted partnership among national and provincial governments and bodies, DUC and other interest groups. The impact of this diverse partnership has truly benefitted the Canadian landscape for waterfowl, people and other wildlife.”
Of the $1 billion in total NAWCA grants, nearly $350 million has been provided to projects in Canada. This has been matched by U.S. non-federal funding and further fortified by an additional $180 million through Canadian contributions to NAWCA projects.
“This financial support has been paramount to the success of DUC’s conservation efforts over the past two decades,” said Nelson. “This is indeed a conservation triumph which deserves the highest praise. The foresight of NAWCA administrators, planners and partners to support wetland conservation is evident by the number of waterfowl that are leaving Canadian breeding grounds each year. We look forward to continued strengthening of this exemplary partnership as we look to the future.”
For more information, contact:
Duncan Morrison,
d_morrison@ducks.ca
National Marketing and Communications
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Tel: 204-467-3202
