June 11, 2018 — U.S. Rep Seth Moulton is a primary sponsor of a House bill that would appropriate $5 million in grants annually over the next decade to help in the conservation of the endangered North Atlantic right whales.
The bill, if made law, would require the U.S commerce secretary to provide competitive grants for projects related to the conservation of the right whales. It caps administrative expenses at 5 percent of the appropriated funds or $80,000, whichever is greater.
The bill carries a non-federal matching requirement of up to 25 percent for successful applicants. It also authorizes in-kind contributions as part of the matching requirement and “allows for the waiving of the match requirement if necessary to support a project identified as high-priority,” according to the proposed bill.
“The waters off Massachusetts are home to one of the planet’s most endangered species, the right whale,” Moulton said in a statement. “By providing competitive grants from right whale conservation projects, we can generate innovative solutions for saving an entire species. Let’s preserve some of earth’s greatest animals for future generations, rather than be a generation responsible for their irreversible demise.”