Help Earn a Matching Grant for Fish and Game’s Nongame Program

CONTACT:
Mike Marchand: (603) 271-2461
Jay Martin: (603) 271-3211
June 11, 2025

Concord, NH — The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is asking the public to participate in its 2025 spring appeal in support of the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program as it works to develop and implement an up-to-date New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan. For more than 36 years, the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program has worked with state and private partners to steward the Granite State’s nongame wildlife. The program is currently engaged in the year-and-a-half long process of revising the New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan, the blueprint for conservation in the state that is updated every 10 years. In addition to the 51 threatened and endangered species in New Hampshire, the Nongame Program is also responsible for the protection of over 400 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, as well as thousands of insects and other invertebrates. Using the New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan as a guide, and with the help of private financial support, we have achieved meaningful results over the years.

The New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan provides the framework for the Nongame Program to collaborate with partners across the state to implement recovery programs for iconic species such as New England cottontails, piping plovers, and the Karner blue butterfly, New Hampshire’s state butterfly. The State of New Hampshire offers a $100,000 challenge grant to fund the work of the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program, but to qualify, the Department must raise an equal amount in private contributions by June 30, 2025. These funds are also critical in meeting federal grant match requirements.

Visit www.wildnh.com/nongame to learn more about the program’s work—and to donate.

Donations support field research and monitoring of nongame and endangered wildlife identified as priority species in the NH Wildlife Action Plan, technical assistance to other organizations and private landowners, and direct on-the-ground species and habitat restoration efforts. Hunting and fishing license revenue does not support nongame wildlife protection efforts in the Granite State.

“Partnerships, volunteers, and the public’s financial support have been, and continue to be, critical to our success,” said Nongame Program Supervisor Mike Marchand. “We have initiated research efforts focused on turtles, freshwater mussels, and pollinating insects and are now using that knowledge to put action on the ground for these species. Working with other government agencies, land trusts, communities, private landowners, and other partners, priority habitats have been identified, monitored, managed, and protected.”

To learn more about the Nongame Program and the New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan, visit wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/nongame-and-endangered-species.