(Palmer) - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), Division of Sport Fish is currently accepting proposals for the 2025 Mat-Su Habitat Rehabilitation & Protection Cost-Share Program. The submission deadline is 5:00 p.m. Thursday, October 31, 2024.

The Mat-Su Habitat Rehabilitation & Protection Cost-Share Program, administered cooperatively by ADF&G and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), is a financial incentive and educational outreach program directed towards private landowners and public land managers. The program provides technical expertise about rehabilitation practices, state and federal permitting assistance, and funding for salmon habitat rehabilitation and protection projects along lake shorelines and streambanks in the Mat-Su Borough. Funds are limited and not all projects can be funded; however, if selected landowners could have up to 2/3 of the cost of their project reimbursed. Additionally, ADF&G staff provides educational opportunities to landowners, public land managers, and the public on the techniques and value of fish habitat. The program uses proven bioengineering techniques to help stabilize, revegetate, and rehabilitate streambanks and shorelines.

“This program provides an opportunity for landowners and land managers to work towards common goals of protecting both property and salmon habitat” stated Streambank Rehabilitation Streambank Rehabilitation Coordinator Jessica Johnson. “Our aim is to educate and engage landowners in the conservation of their land and our shared wildlife resources by providing fish-friendly alternatives to waterfront properties that are experiencing erosion. The program focuses on making bioengineering solutions more readily available, creating a win-win scenario for people as well as salmon.”

For additional information, please contact Streambank Rehabilitation Coordinator Jessica Johnson at (907) 267-2403 or by email at DFG.DSF.StreambankRehab@alaska.gov. Additional information is also available on the ADF&G Cost-Share Program website.

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