Wildlife Conservation Grants Announced

NOTE: A list of 2015 grant recipients and amounts follows at the end of this release.

Twenty Habitat Conservation Fund grants totalling $205,900 were announced today, July 6, to help conserve wildlife habitats and gather information about wildlife for government, hunters and conservationists.

The funding will help to promote sustainable hunting practices, provide mentoring and conservation education, and study the pressures affecting wildlife populations.

"I want to thank Nova Scotia's hunters and trappers who know that, with the purchase of a wildlife habitat stamp, they are making a significant contribution to support wildlife and habitats," said Natural Resources Minister Zach Churchill. "These Habitat Conservation Fund projects will help everyone better understand the importance of sustainably managing our wildlife."

A five-dollar wildlife habitat stamp is required to hunt, trap or snare all wildlife species. All proceeds from the sale of the stamp go to the Habitat Conservation Fund. Requests for project funding are reviewed by a board of directors representing hunting, naturalist and academic associations.

"The Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers and Hunters congratulates the Habitat Conservation Fund board of directors for their continued dedication, expertise and experience in selecting candidate projects for 2015," said federation president, Ian Avery. "The projects selected offer a diverse approach to ensuring the goals of the Habitat Conservation Fund are met."

More information is available at www.novascotia.ca/natr/wildlife/habfund .

Habitat Conservation Fund Grants For 2015

• Chignecto region wildlife connectivity analysis, Nature Conservancy Canada, $6,000

• Consequences of nest habitat selection for tree swallows, Acadia University, $16,000

• Population structure and distribution of black bears in Nova Scotia, Acadia University, $12,000

• Ecological significance of fungal symbionts of the endangered plant Geum peckii in Nova Scotia, Acadia University, $12,000

• Factors influencing population decline of marine birds on Nova Scotia's eastern shore islands, Acadia University, $9,000

• Forest lichens in NS, creating access to baseline collections data, New Brunswick Museum, $8,000

• Fostering landowner stewardship and conservation for aerial insectivores, Bird Studies Canada, $10,000

• Garden Lots salt marsh interpretive site and youth education program, Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation, $8,500

• Learn 2 hunt: leave no trace, Nova Scotia Association of Crossbow Hunters, $8,600

• Mapping and tracking for adaptive management of endangered Avens on Brier Island, Dr. Nick Hill, $15,000

• Migration and staging and wintering habitat of Northern Saw-whet Owls in the Maritimes, Université Sainte-Anne, St. Francis Xavier University, Acadia University, $7,300

• Non-lead education and exchange program, Halifax Wildlife Association, $15,000

• Post-breeding dispersal of island-nesting Blackpoll Warblers, Acadia University $12,000

• Promote and educate new trappers on sustainable natural renewable resources from Nova Scotia's fur bearing animals, Trappers Association of Nova Scotia, $10,000

• The geography of diet: population impacts of food available to a generalist species, the Herring Gull (Laurus argentatus), University of New Brunswick, $10,000

• Understanding population declines for four species of swallows, Dalhousie University, $6,000

• Wetland conservation into the future, Ducks Unlimited Canada, $12,500

• Wood Turtle research, conservation and stewardship in The Annapolis River watershed, Clean Annapolis River Project, $12,000

• Young Naturalists Club, Young Naturalists Club, $10,000

• Youth Hunter Mentorship Program, Hants West Wildlife Association, $6,000