Coordinating and Planning National Scale Conservation Initiatives by State Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Strategic Priority
AFWA Priorities Identified in AFWA Funding Principles (submitted by ExCom) - Coordination of Conservation on a National Scale
Project Documents
No project documents available.
Project Description
- The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is built partly on the pillar of science-based wildlife conservation and managing fish and wildlife. National and regional level coordination and planning of conservation initiatives among the states and their federal partners requires fish and wildlife agency leaders to participate in national meetings nationwide. While many states can fund travel for this purpose, others face strict travel and budget restrictions and would be unable to participate in these national meetings, making national-level conservation coordination impossible. Association-related meetings, including the AFWA Annual Meeting, North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, and regional association meetings, are where many important national and regional level conservation programs are planned, coordinated, and reviewed. The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies has over 112 years of experience coordinating and collaborating with state and territorial fishing and wildlife agencies. This project will allow the Association to offer travel funds to agency leadership in all 50 states and the District of Columbia; therefore, the project is national in scope. If awarded this grant, the Association will reimburse fish and wildlife agency directors for participating in the abovementioned meetings. We will reimburse states up to an average of $1,900 per state and the District of Columbia for 2020.
Project Facts
- Organization Name: Association of Fish And Wildlife Agencies
- Organization Status: NGO classified as 501(c)(6)
- State: Virginia
- Obligation: $21,270
- Start Date: 01-01-2020
- End Date: 12-31-2020
Results
- This grant focused largely on supporting travel to and attendance at major national and regional meetings significantly impacted by the pandemic. The only major meeting the state directors could attend in person in 2020 was the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. This meeting, taking place in March, coincided with the declaration of a national health emergency and was, for many attendees, cut short. Likewise, there were no opportunities to attend meetings on Capitol Hill where in-person meetings, from March onward, did not take place. Based on these limited opportunities, most funding went unused and will be remitted to the MSCGP Program.
- With that said, the grant did provide significant measurable benefits to conservation in the following manner:
- Due to the grant, six state directors could attend the North American conference in March.
- The AFWA President attended the 2020 WAFWA winter meeting thanks to the grant.
