The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has announced grants totaling $4 million in support of conservation efforts in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) and in the headwaters of the Colorado River and Rio Grande watersheds.

The funding includes $2.5 million awarded through the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Restoration Fund to improve, restore, and expand forest and wetland habitats in the LMAV. Projects supported will enhance and restore private and public land and improve habitat for species such as the Louisiana black bear, swamp rabbit, alligator gar, waterfowl, and numerous forest birds. Grants will generate $2.9 million in matching contributions from grantees for a total conservation impact of $5.4 million.

In addition, NFWF has announced grants totaling $1.5 million awarded through the Southwest Rivers Headwaters Fund to restore, protect, and enhance aquatic and riparian species and their habitats in the headwaters of the Colorado River and Rio Grande watersheds. Grants will leverage more than $1.8 million in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of more than $3.3 million. 

“Communities in the Southwest have grappled with challenges to the long-term sustainability of their rivers,” said NFWF executive director Jeff Trandahl. “These grants demonstrate how investments in stream and meadow restoration in our headwaters can increase the climate resiliency of these critical water resources while supporting the Southwest’s many unique fish and wildlife species.”

For a complete list of 2024 grants made through the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Restoration Fund and through the Southwest Rivers Headwaters Fund, see the NFWF website.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Eifel Kreutz)