The Game Commission this week approved two projects that will benefit northern goshawks and eastern red bats funded from an allocation provided by the State Wildlife Grant Program and regional endangered species funds, administered through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Federal Aid Program.

The projects will be provided a combined $37,000 in funding. The projects approved by the Board include:

· Migration Telemetry for the Eastern Red Bat: This $27,000 project will finance the capture, radio tagging and tracking - via telemetry - of red bats during migrations to collect information on migratory patterns and mortality at wind-energy facilities. The project will be jointly funded by the Wild Resource Conservation Fund and will be conducted by Mountain Watershed Association, Inc.

· Northern Goshawk Status and Response to Forest Management: This $10,000 project assesses northern goshawk populations using standardized protocols to evaluate their response to forest conditions and to update population modeling for this bird of prey. The project will be jointly funded by the Wild Resource Conservation Fund and will be conducted by Slippery Rock University.

"State Wildlife Grants have made a tremendous difference for wildlife throughout the Commonwealth," noted Carl G. Roe, agency executive director. "The management of Pennsylvania's birds and mammals covers a broad front that becomes more challenging - and usually more expensive - with each passing year. When we can get some help from universities, conservation organizations and specialized researchers, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we welcome it.”

The U.S. Congress has recently reauthorized the State Wildlife Grants Program in the 2007 fiscal year; Pennsylvania will receive $1.96 million.

For more information, visit the State Wildlife Grants Program webpage.

4/20/2007