Western Native Trout Initiative announces small project grant program to benefit native trout

Contact:
Robin Knox , Coordinator, Western Native Trout Initiative
wnti.rknox@wispertel.net [1]
Ph. 303-236-4402

Western Native Trout Initiative announces small project grant program to benefit native trout

LAKEWOOD,  COLO. -- The Western Native Trout Initiative, a National Fish Habitat Partnership, has announced a new small project grant program that will award up to $3,000 for conservation projects that benefit native trout species.

The "2011 Small Project Funding Program" is aimed at local trout fishing clubs, watershed councils and other community groups who want to conduct local conservation projects that will benefit western native trout.  The program is funded in 2011 through a $15,000 start-up grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The small project funding program specifically supports collaborative approaches and partnerships involved in local efforts or community-based programs that provide for habitat, educational or public recreational angling programs that contribute to the Initiative's efforts to conserve western native trout.

For more information about the program, types of projects that will be funded and the web-based application materials, visit the Western Native Trout Initiative website at www.westernnativetrout.org [2].

The deadline for submitting grant proposals in June 10, 2011.

The mission of the Western Native Trout Initiative (WNTI) is to improve the abundance of western native trout across a variety of landscapes.  WNTI - a collaborative effort of 12 western states including Alaska, the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Forest Service, the US Bureau of Land Management and many tribal and public or private conservation-minded organizations -  annually solicits native trout conservation projects for funding through the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.  WNTI hopes to expand the small project grant program in the near future through additional funds from a variety of sources.