Rep. Hayes Awarded for Efforts to Help Conserve Wildlife in North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. (March 26) – Representative Robin Hayes (R-NC) was presented an award for his leadership in championing federal funding for state-based wildlife conservation under the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) program.

Representative Hayes, co-chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, and other Members of Congress were honored during the Teaming with Wildlife Fly-In Days, an annual event held by the Teaming with Wildlife Coalition to educate Congress about the SWG program.

The award, presented at an evening reception earlier this month, recognized Hayes’ role in leading an effort to secure greater funding for the SWG program, which remains the nation's core program for preventing nongame wildlife, animals that are neither hunted nor fished, from becoming endangered in every state.

In addition to Hayes, other attendees representing North Carolina during the three-day “fly-in” event included Chris McGrath, Wildlife Diversity program coordinator and Scott Van Horn, aquatic wildlife diversity supervisor, both of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Chris North from the N.C. Wildlife Federation and Tom Cors of the North Carolina chapter of The Nature Conservancy also attended.

They, along with more than 150 conservation leaders from 42 states, met with lawmakers about the many projects and programs paid for with SWG funds, which are used to help restore habitat, reintroduce wildlife and work with private landowners to help keep wildlife from declining.

Since 2001 when North Carolina received its first State Wildlife Grant, the Commission has spent more than $8.7 million on programs and projects benefiting nongame wildlife and their habitats. A few of these programs and projects include:

• A native fishes restoration effort in the Pigeon River. Pollution control efforts by the paper mill in Canton have improved downstream water quality. An interstate collaboration of industry, government (including the Commission), universities and others has begun returning fish species to the Pigeon River after 100 years of damaged water quality.
  
  
• A survey and monitoring program of bog turtles in western North Carolina. In addition to surveying bog turtle populations and monitoring them for illegal collections, “Project Bog Turtle” focuses on conserving and restoring suitable bog turtle habitat and educating the public about bog turtle conservation.
  
  
• A Bachman’s sparrow study in the pine forests of the Sandhills. Biologists are using MP3 players with recorded mating songs to elicit a response from breeding males, providing a more accurate count of breeding individuals and a better understanding of their habitat needs.
  
  
• An urban wildlife conservation project in the Triangle. This project promotes open space conservation through land use planning and land protection. The Commission advises local governments on ways to steer growth away from sensitive wildlife habitats, encourage conservation-based development in less-sensitive areas, and connect existing parks and open spaces with greenway corridors.

The SWG program provides federal money to every state and territory for cost-effective conservation aimed at preventing wildlife from becoming endangered.

State hunting and fishing license dollars, federal excise taxes on hunting and fishing gear and motorboat fuel taxes have provided the backbone for funding the nation’s state wildlife conservation programs over the past century. However, there has always been a lack of funding for species that are not hunted or fished. SWG monies have provided state fish and wildlife agencies with the resources they need to fill that gap.

Teaming with Wildlife, a national coalition of 5,000 conservation-minded organizations and businesses, works to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered by supporting increased state and federal funding for wildlife conservation. To learn more about the Teaming with Wildlife Coalition, visit www.teaming.com and http://statewildlife.nwf.org/nc/.

To learn more about nongame wildlife in North Carolina, visit the Wildlife Resources Commission’s Wildlife Species and Conservation page.