La Grange, TX – The Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture (OPJV) Partnership is pleased to announce a new program designed to help private landowners pay for the cost of wildlife habitat improvements on their property. The OPJV Grassland Restoration Incentive Program (GRIP) will pay qualifying landowners up to 75% of the estimated costs of eligible practices aimed at improving habitat for Northern Bobwhite and other grassland birds. Funding is available in the following Texas counties: Archer, Austin, Baylor, Callahan, Clay, Colorado, Dewitt, Ellis, Fayette, Gonzales, Karnes, Lavaca, Montague, Navarro, Shackelford, Stephens, Throckmorton, Washington, and Wilson.
The objective of the GRIP is to increase the amount of suitable habitat available to Northern Bobwhite and other grassland bird species which have been steadily declining throughout Texas for much of the past century. Along with unfavorable weather patterns, loss of suitable habitat has been the primary reason for the decline of these species. By improving habitat in key areas throughout the state, private landowners can help to address these historic declines that threaten the very existence of some of Texas’s most iconic bird species.
The GRIP is a partner-based, strategic approach to restoring grassland habitat on private land. This program is made available through generous support from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Upland Game Bird Stamp Funds, ConocoPhillips, Quail Coalition Chapters, and the National Wild Turkey Federation. Interested landowners in these counties should contact their local TPWD biologist for more information. Certain eligibility requirements for projects must be met in order to qualify for funding. TPWD biologists can be found at www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/land/technical_guidance/biologists/.
About the Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture
The OPJV is a regional, self-directed partnership of government and non-governmental organizations and individuals working across administrative boundaries to deliver landscape-level planning and science-based conservation, linking on-the-ground management with national bird population goals. The OPJV activities focus on a broad spectrum of bird conservation activities including biological planning, conservation design, conducting on-the-ground conservation delivery projects, organizing outreach, research, monitoring, creating decision support tools, and raising money for these activities through partner contributions and grants within the Oaks and Prairies Bird Conservation Region (BCR) and the Edwards Plateau BCR.
OPJV partner organizations include Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, National Wild Turkey Federation, American Bird Conservancy, Quail Coalition, Texas Wildlife Association, The Nature Conservancy, Natural Resource Conservation Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Native Prairies Association of Texas, Sutton Avian Research Center, University of North Texas Quail and various other local, state and national organizations. For more information on the OPJV visit www.opjv.org and follow @OPJV on Twitter.
