$28 million in federal funding has been designated to support restoration and conservation projects on public lands across the West.
The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) announcement Tuesday said the funding will back six large scale partnerships with national organizations, states and the Navajo Nation on BLM-managed public lands.
For example, BLM said a nearly $10 million slice of the overall funding will go to a partnership with the Nature Conservancy to create natural looking beaver dams and rock structures. The goal is to promote healthy riverscapes and intact sagebrush ecosystems in six states, including Montana.
Another $2.5 million will bankroll Backcountry Hunters and Anglers’ (BHA) efforts to inventory, modify and remove fences on BLM-managed lands in the West.
A BHA spokesperson told MTPR the project will benefit pronghorn, mule deer, elk and bighorn sheep by eliminating barriers to wildlife movement on and around BLM lands. The group said the fence work will also benefit sage grouse habitat and populations.
The $28 million comes from the Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Joe Biden last summer.