국립야생동물재단(National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, NFWF)은 지역사회에 의해 주도되는 전국 64개 습지·해안·하천 복원사업에 대해 보조금 230만 달러를 수여 받았다고 발표했다. 이번 수령은 지역 프로젝트에서 700만 달러 이상의 프로젝트 총 투자비용 중 추가로 480만 달러를 지원한다.

 

야생동물의 서식지와 지역의 물환경을 복원하기 위한 이번 프로젝트에는 자원봉사자, 학생, 지역 주민 등 수천 명의 참여가 예상되며, 이번 보조금은 MFWF 간의 협력으로 1999년 시작되었다.

Today, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced that 64 community-led wetland, coastal and stream restoration projects across the nation have been awarded more than $2.3 million in grants.

The grantees have also committed an additional $4.8 million in local project support, creating a total investment of more than $7 million in projects that will restore wildlife habitat and urban waters and will engage thousands of volunteers, students and local residents in community-based environmental stewardship projects.

These grants are awarded through the Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Program, which began in 1999 as a partnership among NFWF, National Association of Counties (NACo), Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Since its inception, the program has supported more than 750 projects with more than $8.5 million in federal funds, $7 million in private and corporate contributions and $60 million in matching funds at the local level.

Major funding for the 2015 Five Star and Urban Waters program is provided by the EPA, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FedEx, Southern Company, Bank of America, and PG &E.

The Five Star and Urban Waters 2015 winners were selected from a highly competitive pool of more than 280 applications. Consideration for funding is based upon the educational and training opportunities for youth and the community at large as well as the ecological and other cultural and economic benefits to the community (a full list of 2015 projects is available here).

These projects must also involve a high degree of partnership between local government agencies, elected officials, community groups, businesses, schools, and environmental organizations for improving local water quality and restoring important fish and wildlife habitats.

[출처 = Water World / 2015년 7월 23일]