Private landowners can benefit from a new grassland and pollinator habitat development program while improving the environment.
The DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife, in partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service has officially launched the program, called the “Grasslands for Gamebirds & Songbirds” initiative, or GGS for short.
GGS will provide technical and financial assistance to private landowners hoping to improve their properties by developing grassland and pollinator habitat throughout focal regions of the state. This habitat development will benefit species such as bobwhite quail, ring-necked pheasant, Henslow’s sparrow and loggerhead shrike.
The Indiana DNR was selected for the funding through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which is administered by the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The program has a total budget of more than $2 million. This budget includes multiple funding sources that can provide financial incentives and other benefits to landowners interested in grassland or pollinator habitat development or improvement.
The program is focused in five focal regions across the state. DNR is actively seeking landowners who are interested in working with biologists to improve grassland habitat on their lands within these focal regions. Financial assistance for creating habitat is available, as is the opportunity to work one-on-one with a DNR biologist to achieve landowner goals.
If you are a landowner interested in participating in the GGS initiative, or if you’d like to support the effort, see wildlife.IN.gov/9467.htm. You can also contact Jason Wade at jwade@dnr.IN.gov in northern Indiana, Erin Basiger at ebasiger@dnr.IN.gov in southwestern Indiana, or Nate Yazel at nyazel@dnr.IN.gov in southeastern Indiana.