The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has announced $1.5 million in grants to help restore, improve, and conserve sagebrush, mesic wet meadow, and big game migratory corridor habitats in the Intermountain West.

The grants will leverage an additional $2.5 million in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of $4 million across Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. Awarded through the Rocky Mountain Rangelands Program, a partnership between NFWF, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Cargill, and the Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation, the grants include support for Pheasants Forever, which will receive two grants—one to restore rangelands in southern and central Idaho and another to remove invasive western juniper in southwestern Idaho. In addition, the Grand Teton National Park Foundation received a grant to restore a previously cultivated section of the Kelly Hayfields in the park, the National Audubon Society was awarded funding to implement replicable grazing/seeding techniques in Utah and Wyoming, and the Mule Deer Foundation will receive a grant to enhance rangeland habitat across the Rocky Mountain Region. 

“The Intermountain West is a region rich with wildlife and unique habitats,” said NFWF executive director and CEO Jeff Trandahl. “Through voluntary collaborations and impactful grants such as these, we can make major progress toward conserving and restoring this important working landscape and providing improved habitat for native species including elk, mule deer, sage-grouse and songbirds.” 

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Creative Nature NL)