FishAmerica Announces Funding Available for Habitat Restoration

Second Round of Grants to be Announced January 2009

The FishAmerica Foundation has grant monies available for marine and anadromous sportfish habitat restoration projects across the coastal United States and the Great Lakes basin. These grants will be awarded to community-based, on-the-ground projects to restore marine, estuarine and riparian habitats, including salt marshes, mangrove forests and freshwater habitats important to anadromous fish species such as salmon and striped bass that spawn in freshwater and migrate to the sea.

The FishAmerica Foundation will accept grant proposals through October 6, 2008. Grants of up to $50,000 each will be awarded in January 2009. Eligible applicants include community-based nonprofit organizations, such as local sporting clubs and conservation associations, as well as state and local agencies. Applicants are encouraged to partner with NOAA staff in order to strengthen the development and implementation of sound restoration projects. The announcement and full grant package are available at www.fishamerica.org.

This year, FishAmerica and the NOAA Restoration Center are celebrating 10 years of partnering for fisheries habitat restoration. Since 1998, the partnership has awarded more than $5 million in grants in 25 states and has leveraged an additional $6.4 million in funds matched by local communities for a total of more than $11 million in restored fisheries habitat that is critical for marine and anadromous sportfish.

Successful projects funded through the 10-year partnership include:

* Restoration of fish habitat in the Salmon/Snow Estuary in the Puget Sound watershed of Washington.
* Restoration of wetland fisheries habitat in the Galveston Bay of Texas.
* Removal of the Ralph Stover Dam in the Delaware River Basin to restore fish passage.

###

The FishAmerica Foundation is the conservation and research foundation of the American Sportfishing Association, keeping our fish and waters healthy. FishAmerica unites the sportfishing industry with conservation groups, government agencies, fishing tournaments, corporations and charitable foundations, investing in fisheries conservation and research across the country. FishAmerica's matching grants empower citizen conservationists in their own communities. Over 25 years, FishAmerica has provided more than $10 million for more than 1,000 fisheries conservation and research projects nationwide.

--

ASA Communications
American Sportfishing Association
225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 420
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 519-9691 ex. 222
asacomm@asafishing.org