Some grants are used to improve critical foraging and nesting sites for birds such as this Prairie Warbler. Courtesy/Three Rivers Land Trust
Cornell Lab of Ornithology News:
ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative is seeking proposals for its annual small grants program.
These year-long grants are earmarked for land trust projects that improve private lands for birds and promote the regional partnerships often needed to reach conservation goals.
The deadline for proposals is March 1. Awarded grants will be distributed in May. To learn more and apply for a grant, see the Request for Proposals guidelines.
“Projects proposed for the $25,000 awards should actively manage, restore, and/or steward land in a way that enhances habitat and promotes bird and wildlife conservation,” said Program Leader Sara Barker of the Cornell Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative. “We hope projects at the $5,000 level will build land trust capacity by teaching or demonstrating how birds can enhance strategic planning and mission fulfillment of land trusts and/or facilitate mutually beneficial partnerships with the bird conservation community.”
Though they are called “small” grants, they result in big gains for birds, habitat, and other species that rely on the same privately owned lands. Projects that educate people in the community about birds and build partnerships with other conservation groups are also the bedrock of the program to help land trusts conserve more land and do more good for birds.
“Land trusts play a huge role in the protection of private lands and their projects have far-reaching benefits,” Barker said. “During the past six years, we’ve been able to support 50 projects, awarding $734,000 for conservation efforts impacting more than 580,000 acres in 25 states!”
Last year’s grant awardees received nearly a quarter-million dollars for 14 projects in more than a dozen states. Below is the list of the most recent grant recipients. Read more about each of their projects.
Courtesy/Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Questions about the grants program can be directed to Sara Barker, Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative program leader, sb65@cornell.edu.
Funding for the Cornell Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative small grant program comes from donors, including the March Conservation Fund, the California Community Foundation, and Dr. Phyllis A. Rosenberg & Dr. Joyce I. Levy.