Fish and wildlife funds disbursed in Marin

Fines levied for fish and wildlife violations in Marin County will fund a slate of programs to enhance local fish and wildlife resources and public education programs, according to the Marin Independent Journal.

The funding is being allocated by the Marin County Fish and Wildlife Commission, which is staffed by UC Cooperative Extension director and watershed management advisor Dave Lewis. He reported that reduced state and local allocations resulted in the commission limiting its recommendations for grant disbursements in 2011.

The nine grants, which ranged from $1,140 to the Friends of Corte Madera Creek Watershed to $300 for the Tyee Foundation, which raises and releases salmon in Tiburon, amounted to $7,033 in all. Also, $2,200 was allocated for administrative staff support of the commission. Last year, the panel distributed more than $24,000 to a dozen agencies.

Lewis said the commission gets about 18 percent of fish and game fine revenue to distribute after the state and courts take the lion's share of citation revenue generated in Marin. The funds support projects that promote restoration, sustainable use, management and related educational programs of the fish and wildlife resources in Marin County.

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