Oklahoma Conservation Commission Receives a $4 Million Grant Through the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation’s America the Beautiful Challenge.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The 61 new grants announced will support landscape-scale conservation projects across 42 states, three U.S. territories, and 19 Tribal and Native Nations.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) joined its public partners in announcing $122.5 million in grants through the America’s Ecosystem Restoration Initiative: America the Beautiful Challenge (ATBC). ATBC grants support projects that conserve, restore, and connect habitats for wildlife while improving community resilience and access to nature.
“OCC and I are so proud of our Wetlands Program for receiving this NWFW grant. Water, land, plants, and wildlife are truly connected in Oklahoma and we are committed to battling and removing woody species encroachment,” says Trey Lam, Executive Director, OCC. “The Oklahoma Legislature’s commitment to the Terry Peach Restoration Project got the ball rolling on the effort; now we are gathering local, county, federal, and private entity’s support for an all-out war on these woody monsters.
This grant will fund OCC’s Southern Great Plains Wetlands and Prairie Collaborative, which will create ecologically functional grassland, wetland, and riparian ecosystems in the Southern Great Plains of Oklahoma and Kansas through 10,000 acres of invasive-species removal, 30,000 acres of prescribed burning and restoring 1,000 acres of wetlands to benefit whooping cranes. The project will work collaboratively to restore wildlife habitat, decrease wildfire risks, increase water availability, and improve livestock production.
For more information, visit https://wetlands.ok.gov