State Wildlife Grant Program | F17AS00051

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00051

The State Wildlife Grant Program is a mandatory federal grant program administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that provides funding to U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths and territories to conserve wildlife and the habitats those species depend on. A central focus of the program is supporting conservation work for species that are not traditionally managed through hunting or fishing programs, including species that may be declining or at risk but do not receive the same level of dedicated funding through other wildlife management mechanisms. The overall purpose is to help jurisdictions build and carry out comprehensive, science-based wildlife conservation efforts that address needs across a broad range of species and ecosystems.

Funding under this opportunity can be used for two major categories of work: planning and implementation. Planning activities must directly contribute to the development, revision, or improvement of the applicant jurisdiction's Wildlife Action Plan (often called a State Wildlife Action Plan), and that plan must be approved by the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This means planning funds are intended for work such as updating conservation priorities, incorporating new data on species status or habitat conditions, refining strategies, and strengthening the framework that guides long-term conservation decisions. Implementation activities, by contrast, cover on-the-ground or operational work that a state intends to carry out to execute the priorities and actions described in its approved plan. In other words, the program is designed to fund both the blueprint (planning) and the real-world conservation work (implementation), as long as both clearly tie back to the approved plan.

The program also sets expectations about how applicants should prioritize the use of funds. States are expected to place emphasis on species of greatest conservation need, and they should consider how limited conservation dollars can be targeted where needs are highest. This encourages states to focus on species and habitats facing the most significant threats or declines and to allocate resources in a way that reflects both urgency and the overall level of funding available for those conservation challenges. The intent is to maximize conservation impact by directing funds toward the priorities identified through the Wildlife Action Plan process rather than spreading resources thinly across unrelated activities.

Not all activities are eligible. The opportunity specifically notes that wildlife education and law enforcement activities are generally ineligible. However, there is an important exception: if an education or law enforcement component is minor or incidental and is critical to the success of an otherwise eligible project, it may be allowed. In practical terms, that means a project should not be primarily an education campaign or an enforcement initiative, but it may include a small, necessary educational or enforcement-related element if that element is essential to achieving the conservation outcomes of a larger habitat or species-focused effort.

Key administrative details from the opportunity record include that the funding instrument is a grant and the eligible applicants are state governments (which, in this context, includes the District of Columbia and U.S. territories and commonwealths). The CFDA number associated with the program is 15.634, and the funding activity categories listed include education and natural resources, reflecting the program's conservation and planning emphasis. The opportunity listing identifies an award ceiling of $1,000,000. The posting references funding opportunity number F17AS00051, was created on December 8, 2016, and lists an original closing date of August 31, 2018. For additional official program context and guidance, the notice points to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service web page for the State Wildlife Grant Program at http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/SWG/SWG.htm.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the education, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "State Wildlife Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.634.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-12-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-08-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

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