UPDATED: Arkansas awarded $2 million for endangered species recovery effort

Arkansas will use a $2.2 million grant to support recovery efforts for endangered species like this yellowcheek darter in the upper Little Red River. (Pedro Ardapple-Kindberg/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

This story was updated at 4 p.m. on July 3, 2024 with additional comments from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Arkansas has received a $2.2 million federal grant to support land acquisition for the recovery of endangered species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday.

The funding is part of $48.4 million in grants to 19 states and Guam to support land acquisition and conservation planning projects on more than 23,000 acres of habitat for 80 listed and at-risk species through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, according to a press release .

The grants will be matched by more than $27.75 million in partner funds. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, which applied for the grant in January, is providing $80,000 to the project.

AGFC Assistant Chief of Communications Trey Reid said the remaining match funding is provided by The Nature Conservancy by protecting adjacent land. The roughly $827,500 in matching funding brings the total to nearly $3.1 million, according to a legislative report.

The Arkansas initiative is focused on the recovery of the yellowcheek darter and speckled pocketbook , a species of fish and freshwater mussel, endemic to Arkansas. Additionally, the initiative targets the northern long-eared bat , which is found in 37 states and eight provinces in North America.

“This project will also protect habitat for tricolored bat (proposed endangered), two species under federal review for listing – little brown bat and longnose darter, and 15 species of greatest conservation need, as well as providing increased public access for hunting and other recreational activities,” Reid said.

Since 2004, Arkansas has received roughly $11 million through this grant that has allowed for the purchase of more than 10,000 acres, including 1,165 acres at the Beryl Anthony Lower Ouachita Wildlife Management Area in 2020 for conservation of the red-cockaded woodpecker, he said.

AGFC will use the newest grant to provide protection through fee title acquisition of almost 1,100 acres in the upper Little Red River watershed in Van Buren County, Reid said.

Authorized by Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act and partly funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, CESCF grants contribute millions annually to support the implementation of state and territorial programs that conserve and recover federally listed and at-risk species on non-federal lands, according to the press release.

“Thanks to the Endangered Species Act, this critical funding will help in conserving our nation’s most imperiled wildlife and vital habitat while fostering partnerships between federal, state and local governments, private landowners and communities,” Service Director Martha Williams said.

“These grants support the Biden-Harris administration’s America the Beautiful initiative goal to conserve, connect and restore 30 percent of the Nation’s lands and waters by protecting biodiversity, slowing extinction rates and facilitating collaborative restoration efforts.”

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