As the number of approved State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) grows, the states and their conservation partners are increasingly turning towards strategies to implement priority actions identified in the Plans. The Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (NEAFWA) has taken SWAP implementation to a new level by focusing agency resources on landscape-level, regional conservation needs, reports the Wildlife Management Institute.

NEAFWA directors and technical staff understand that some SWAP priorities transcend state boundaries. Examples include barriers to diadromous fish, quantity and quality of migratory bird habitat, mitigation of transportation system impacts, and watershed impacts from water removal or degradation. More practically, the utility of new tools to guide SWAP implementation also is not defined by state boundaries. Development of better monitoring methods, consistency in classification of conservation "hot spots," and techniques to minimize impacts of sprawl are a few other examples whereby states potentially benefit from tools developed at a regional scale.

NEAFWA has pledged to assign a percentage of their states' annual federal State Wildlife Grant appropriation to a Regional Conservation Needs (RCN) account. The RCN process will work similarly to the National Conservation Needs grant program coordinated by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). NEAFWA-designated technical staff will develop a set of prioritized RCN topics. A request for proposals (RFP) will be generated to solicit contractor proposals for projects that are intended to meet the needs described by the RCN. NEAFWA then will select the best proposals for funding.

Lee Perry, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and President of NEAFWA, explained how this is not a new concept to the states: "Because fish and wildlife are not confined by state and regional boundaries, natural resource management administrators pooled available resources long ago to address regional, national and international issues that affected the welfare of fish and wildlife within their individual states. Through this new NEAFWA action, we are applying a proven, collaborative approach to address emerging issues that affect fish and wildlife and their management."

As with previous multi-state projects, personnel from the Service's Region 5 Federal Aid office have been closely involved with the states in setting up the RCN program. "This multi-state collaboration is an important step in the evolution and implementation of SWAPs, and will ensure that they are dynamic documents and that benefits from State Wildlife Grant dollars will be maximized," stated John Organ, Federal Aid Division Chief for Region 5.

NEAFWA expects to issue its first RFP in mid January. Six priority RCNs for 2007 have been selected and will include (1) creation of regional habitat cover maps, (2) impact of invasive species on Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Northeast, (3) development of in-stream flow standards, guidelines and policies, (4) technical assistance to private landowners, (5) identification of regional focal areas and corridors for the conservation of Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Northeast, and development of habitat conservation initiatives at a landscape scale, and (6) development of regional indicators and measures.

For more information, contact Steve Weber, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, at 603-271-2462.