Michigan Gets $33.8M For Wildlife, Fish Conservation

TRAVERSE CITY (AP) — Michigan is getting $33.8 million in federal money this year to fund fish and wildlife conservation and recreation projects.

The grants are awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The revenue is generated by excise taxes on sales of sporting firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, fishing equipment and tackle, and electric outboard motors.

Recreational boaters also chip in by paying fuel taxes on motorboats and small engines.

More than $1.1 billion is being distributed nationwide under the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.

In Michigan, grants awarded previously are funding a statewide angler survey program and improvement of grouse habitat. Another project is helping restore lake trout stocks in Lake Huron, where the decline in chinook salmon has made trout crucial for sport angling.