MARYVILLE – The Habitat Strike Team within the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) has received an Illinois Habitat Fund Special Wildlife Funds Grant for restoration activities across 8,000 acres of the Great Rivers Confluence area, State Senator Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) announced.
“It’s important that we continue to protect our habitats,” Crowe said. “This grant will give the employees with NGRREC’s Habitat Strike Team the opportunity to continue improving ecosystem health, promoting the growth of native plants, benefiting wildlife and restoring habitats.”
The team is receiving $220,000 to fund a project to restore and improve habitat across 8,000 acres of the Great Rivers Confluence area within a 90-mile radius from East Alton. The awarded habitat stewardship area includes five state parks and three nature preserves.
The Illinois Habitat Fund Special Wildlife Funds Grant Program is administered through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to support wildlife habitat restoration by not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities.
Funding for this program comes from the sale of Habitat Stamps. The Illinois Habitat Committee approved over $950,000 in funding for seven projects.
