WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) announced today that the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has awarded the Maine Department of Marine Resources $283,334 in funding for the development of a Maine Marine Mammal Stranding Program and a Maine Students Invasive Species Monitoring project.
"Maine takes great pride in its flora and fauna, and we are pleased with these efforts to preserve the integrity of our state's ecosystems and marine wildlife populations," said Senators Snowe and Collins in a joint statement. "Invasive species and marine mammal strandings raise serious environmental concerns and thus deserve our utmost attention. This funding will go a long way toward ensuring the health and stability of Maine's natural endowments."
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will allocate funding as follows:
(1) $133,334 for the Maine Marine Mammal Stranding Program. This project is being considered under the auspices of the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Program, with matching funds from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and will develop a volunteer network of trained responders and veterinarians and a Maine Marine Animal Reporting Hotline. In 2003, the number of stranding events in the region was triple the annual average and resulted in unusually high mortalities, prompting concerns about future such incidents.
(2) $150,000 for the Maine Students Invasive Species Monitoring. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) will engage Maine middle school students in a conservation education program that involves invasive species monitoring.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a nonprofit organization that attracts diverse investments to conservation and encourages locally supported stewardship of fish, wildlife, and plants on private and public lands. Federal dollars entrusted to the Foundation are competitively awarded and matched with non-federal funds, building cooperative locally supported partnerships and increasing funds invested in conservation while stretching taxpayer dollars.