Idaho Landowner Incentive Program Awards for 2007 and 2008

Idaho Landowner Incentive Program awarded $1,269,107 to six conservation projects for 2007 and 2008:

• $237,000 for a 160 acre conservation easement which is held by the Teton Regional Land Trust in partnership with two landowners in Driggs, benefiting sandhill cranes, Columbian sharp-tailed grouse and other species.
• $8,000 for a restoration project on Duck and Kelly Springs creeks for a fish barrier removal in partnership with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Henrys Lake Foundation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Wildlife Program and a private landowner.
• $15,500. for a creek restoration and fish screen replacement project on Duck Creeks tributary of Henry's lake in partnership with Henrys Lake Foundation, IDFG and the landowner.
• $70,507 for a riparian fencing and stream restoration project in the Bear River focus area to benefit the Bonneville cutthroat trout. Partners in this project are IDFG, the landowner and Environmental Coordination Committee.
• $415,100 for 2 conservation easements of approximately 200 acres of Palouse Prairie in partnership with the Latah Soil and Water Conservation District, private landowners and the Palouse Land Trust.
• $523,000 for a 200 acre conservation easement to be held by the Teton Regional Land Trust in partnership with a large multi household family in Driggs. This CE will benefit long billed curlew, sandhill cranes, Columbian sharp-tailed grouse and Yellowstone cutthroat trout.

Awards were made to landowners in the LIP conservation priority areas - Palouse Prairie, Upper Henrys Fork and the Bear River Basin - come from an annual appropriation by the Interior Department to the Fish and Wildlife Service and then through a competitive grant process to the state fish and wildlife agency.

A six-member ranking team, with two members from nongovernmental agencies, one private landowner, one from Fish and Wildlife, and two from Fish and Game, review and rank all project proposals. The final decisions are based on the ranking of each proposal and the money available.

The Landowner Incentive Program encourages conservation efforts to protect and restore fish and wildlife habitat on private lands before species are threatened with extinction. Program goals are:

• To increase conservation partnerships across the state.
• To provide technical and financial help to landowners for conservation and restoration projects.
• To protect, restore and conserve habitat for the benefit of all wildlife species, with a special focus on species-at-risk, which are federally listed endangered, threatened or candidate species or state listed species of greatest conservation need.
• To protect the connectivity of populations and habitats of species-at-risk within the three conservation priority areas.