Texas

American Bird Conservancy
Priority Bird Habitat Conservation in the West Gulf Coastal Plain/Ouachitas – II (AR, LA, OK, TX)
Coordinate conservation delivery networks to restore forest and grassland habitats and monitor species response within the West Gulf Coastal Plain/Ouachitas geography of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Project will provide technical and financial assistance to private landowners to implement conservation practices on 3,000 acres benefiting Bachman’s sparrow, prairie warbler and other forest and grassland-dependent bird species.
$213,995

Big Bend Soil and Water Conservation District
Grassland Restoration on Working Lands in the Big Bend Soil and Water Conservation District – II (TX)
Restore native grassland habitat for use by pronghorn and migratory grassland birds in Brewster and Jeff Davis counties in West Texas. Project will install pronghorn-friendly fence and conduct brush management to control expansion of nonnative species, including mesquite, tarbush, whitebrush, acacia and creosote.
$180,000

Borderlands Research Institute-Sul Ross State University
Restoring Marfa and Marathon Grassland Habitat for Wintering Migratory Birds (TX)
Restore grassland in wintering habitat for priority migratory grassland bird species, including Baird’s sparrow, Sprague’s pipit, chestnut-collared longspur and thick-billed longspur in the Marfa and Marathon grasslands of Texas. Project will treat 3,500 acres of mesquite invaded grassland to increase habitat connectivity and increasing grassland patch size for wintering bird populations.
$180,674

Gentner Consulting Group
Deepwater Horizon Oceanic Fish Restoration Project Project Monitoring and Evaluation (multiple states)
Conduct requisite statistical analyses to evaluate key performance indicators for the project in accordance with the Oceanic Fish Restoration Project Monitoring Plan. Project will estimate bycatch reduction and alternative gear performance during the remaining repose years and will support evaluation of the overall performance of the project following the final repose year.
$430,600

Gulf Coast Bird Observatory
Upgrading Radio Tracking Infrastructure to Improve Migratory Bird Detection (TX)
Improve existing Motus infrastructure (an automated radio telemetry program that tracks migratory birds) with Cellular Tracking Technologies SensorStations which provide highly localized position information that is unable to be tracked through traditional Motus nanotags. Project will update 15 structures to support monitoring efforts of migrating birds throughout the Texas coast.
$32,021

Gulf Fisheries Research Foundation
Remote Electronic Monitoring for the Gulf of Mexico For-Hire Reef Fish Fishery (AL, FL, TX)
Develop remote electronic monitoring for the Gulf of Mexico for-hire reef fish fishery using wireless video and data transfer, onboard artificial intelligence, cloud data storage and remote video review. Project will explore incentives specific to the for-hire industry, develop an image library for regulated species, explore artificial intelligence to minimize video review costs and contribute information for science and management, including post-release mortality estimates.
$396,343

Houston Advanced Research Center
Establishing Conservation Priorities and Restoring Urban Habitat in the Greater Houston Region (TX)
Establish and communicate conservation priorities for wildlife habitat in the growing Greater Houston Region and restore 9.5 acres of riparian habitat in three underserved urban parks. Project will plant 2,175 native trees and create a 0.25 acres native pocket prairie for families with little access to nature and disseminate the State of the Birds analyses, report and data tools via community events and education programs.
$50,000

Louisiana Tech University
Restoring Longleaf Using Grazing and Prescribed Fire (LA, TX)
Enhance 1,000 acres of longleaf pine forests in southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas by integrating cattle grazing with prescribed burning. Project will monitor ecological benefits of prescribed burning with cattle grazing on multiple private forestlands on which it is being conducted and landowners and natural resource professionals will be trained on these benefits as well as the logistics of cattle grazing in longleaf pine through a multi-media outreach program.
$224,500

Manomet
Improving Management of Birds Migrating through the Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas
Use GPS tracking devices to identify stopover locations of birds passing through the Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas to document habitat use, threats and to develop a species distribution model to indicate areas of importance. Project will compile species data into a best management practices document that summarizes the state of knowledge for supporting migratory grassland shorebirds.
$86,154

North Carolina State University
Expanding Prescribed Fire Delivery to Restore Southeast Forests (multiple states)
Expand and accelerate the implementation of prescribed fire to restore and enhance longleaf pine habitat and other fire dependent forest and grassland communities within the Southeast. Project will engage landowners, including underserved landowners and fire practitioners through technical assistance, training and outreach to increase the use of prescribed fire.
$180,000

Parks and Wildlife Foundation of Texas
Northern Hudspeth County Grassland Restoration (TX)
Conduct herbicide application to restore at least 6,000 acres of brush-invaded dry mixed prairie in northern Hudspeth County, Texas. Project will strategically expand the existing grassland for the greatest net gain of contiguous, usable habitat for grassland obligate species like pronghorn.
$250,000

Pheasants Forever
Providing Technical Assistance to Improve Grassland Bird Habitat in Edwards Plateau (TX)
Promote habitat stewardship actions designed to conserve priority grassland and shrubland birds in the Edwards Plateau ecoregion by adding conservation technical assistance capacity to the Grassland Restoration Incentives Program. Project will restore 5,000 acres of grassland habitat and provide landowner technical assistance and planning to improve management on 4,000 acres.
$236,322

Pheasants Forever
Increasing Habitat Quality on Private Working Lands for Lesser Prairie Chicken in Playa Lake (TX)
Increase capacity and wildlife-specific expertise within the Playa Lake region to increase quality habitat for lesser prairie chicken populations and other southwestern grassland dependent wildlife populations. Project will design 75 management plans with Best Management Practices incorporated to improve management on 30,000 acres of private working lands.
$100,000

Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory
Regional Surveying for Grassland Bird Communities in the Trans-Pecos (TX)
Continue rigorous bird monitoring and install a new automated telemetry (Motus) site to further understand the non-breeding ecology of grassland birds in the Chihuahuan Desert, including Sprague’s pipit and chestnut-collared longspur. Project will track the movements of tagged grassland birds to estimate within-season movement and seasonal survival for these species and inform on-the-ground range management.
$236,000

Stantec Consulting Services
Gulf-wide In-water Sea Turtle Monitoring Plan (multiple states)
Develop a statistically sound plan for the establishment of a coordinated Gulf-wide network for collection and compilation of critical abundance, demographic, and biological information on sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. Project will provide important context for project-level monitoring at individual sites where restoration is implemented and will assist with comparisons across multiple projects.
$224,267

Texas A&M Forest Service
Longleaf Pine Restoration and Management on Private Lands in East Texas
Restore, enhance and conserve longleaf pine and bottomland hardwood ecosystems on private lands in East Texas. Project will plant 200 acres of longleaf pine, improve an additional 2,500 acres of existing longleaf habitat through other forest management treatments, improve 500 acres of bottomland hardwood habitat and protect 500 acres of existing longleaf pine habitat with conservation easements, benefiting northern bobwhite, Bachman’s sparrow and Swainson’s warbler.
$150,000

Texas Water Trade
Pecos River Flow Restoration (TX)
Restore riverine, riparian and wetland systems that can provide habitat for Pecos gambusia, Texas hornshell and avian species, including Bell’s vireo in the Pecos River watershed. Project will address complex water quality and scarcity concerns for the benefit of both wildlife and agricultural uses and develop a mitigation strategy for habitat loss and impairment resulting from a small set of orphan wells in Pecos County.
$229,331

The City of South Padre Island
Feasibility Study and Design of the Laguna Madre Living Shoreline (TX)
Create a bayside living shoreline using an innovative new design approach that will encourage ecological diversity and deliver community protection against environmental stressors. Project will develop an arrangement of intertidal berms to establish pocketed wetlands that play roles in heavy metal absorption, decreased wave energy, coastal erosion, storm surge buffer and habitat restoration.
$150,000

The Conservation Fund
Restoring Coastal Prairie Habitat to Benefit Grassland Birds in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (TX)
Restore coastal prairie habitat in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas to provide habitat for Gulf Coast grassland-dependent birds, including the federally endangered aplomado falcon, the proposed-threatened black rail and state-threatened Botteri’s sparrow and white-tailed hawk. Project will restore 525 acres of native coastal prairie habitat through invasive species management of encroaching brush and replanting of native grasses and forbs.
$156,604

The Longleaf Alliance
Coordinating Local Implementation Team Capacity and Landowner Technical Assistance and Outreach  – V (multiple states)
Improve and sustain coordination and exchange of information among 18 multi-partner local implementation teams that organize, plan and deliver conservation actions to restore and enhance the longleaf pine ecosystem. Project will support strategic on-the-ground restoration through conservation planning, as well as tracking and communication of longleaf pine restoration accomplishments.
$250,000

The Longleaf Alliance
Conserving Longleaf Forests, Wildlife Habitat and Water Resources through Innovative Partnerships (FL, GA, LA, SC, TX)
Restore and enhance 5,000 acres of longleaf pine habitat within priority drinking water supply watersheds in the Southeast. Project will build partnerships between forestry and conservation organizations, landowners and drinking water supply utilities and provide private landowners with technical and financial assistance to restore and enhance longleaf pine habitat, protecting drinking water supplies and benefiting the gopher frog and other at-risk forested-wetland dependent species.
$411,000

Trinity Park Conservancy
Increasing Stewardship of the Trinity River and Adjacent Wetlands (TX)
Cultivate community stewardship of riparian and wetland habitats in Dallas, Texas. Project will increase outreach to marginalized neighborhoods and youth programs and utilize an array of partnerships to improve the environmental health along the Trinity River and its adjacent wetlands.
$47,774

Trinity River Authority of Texas
Installing Trash Barriers in Village Creek Lake Arlington Watershed and Fort Worth Parks (TX)
Purchase, install and maintain multiple trash barriers at highly visible and heavily littered locations within Village Creek Lake Arlington (VCLA) Watershed and the City of Fort Worth Parks. Project will aid in the expansion of the UpSpire Waterways litter prevention program as well as increase community engagement in addressing root causes of litter by restoring 21,128 acres of VCLA watershed and 807 acres within the City of Fort Worth through removal of up to 1,332 lbs of trash per month.
$39,600

Wildlife Habitat Federation
Private Landowner Outreach and Technical Assistance to Restore Watersheds (TX)
Help land managers develop management plans and enroll in Farm Bill programs to improve working land function, enhance habitat and increase the quantity and quality of water in three Texas watersheds to benefit aquatics species in the Gulf Coast region. Project will increase technical assistance capacity, improving management of 20,000 acres and using Farm Bill financial programs to assist 30 landowners with implementation of their habitat management plans.
$207,003