R8 (CA/NV) State Wildlife Grant Program for State Fish and Game Agencies | F17AS00060

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00060

The R8 (CA/NV) State Wildlife Grant Program for State Fish and Game Agencies is a discretionary federal grant opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. It is designed to provide funding to state-level wildlife agencies in California and Nevada (and, more broadly, to states, the District of Columbia, commonwealths, and U.S. territories) to support programs that conserve wildlife and wildlife habitat. A key feature of this program is that it is not limited to game species; it explicitly includes wildlife that is not hunted or fished, with an emphasis on broader biodiversity and habitat conservation outcomes.

The program supports two main categories of work: planning and implementation. Planning projects must directly support the development, revision, or modification of a State Wildlife Action Plan, which is the statewide conservation strategy that must be approved by the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In practical terms, planning funds are meant for work like updating conservation priorities, refining species and habitat assessments, improving threat analyses, identifying needed conservation actions, and strengthening the scientific or strategic foundation of the state plan. Implementation projects, by contrast, are for on-the-ground or operational activities that a state proposes in order to carry out the actions laid out in its approved Wildlife Action Plan. This can include habitat restoration and enhancement, conservation actions targeted to specific at-risk species, monitoring or management actions that directly advance plan objectives, and other practical steps that move the plan from paper to measurable conservation results.

Funding priorities under this opportunity are intended to focus on Species of Greatest Conservation Need, meaning the plants and animals identified by a state as needing proactive conservation attention to prevent further decline or future listing under the Endangered Species Act. The program also directs applicants to consider the relative level of other funding available for the conservation of those species. In other words, the grant is structured to encourage states to direct resources toward species and conservation problems that are both high priority and underfunded, rather than duplicating support that is already well covered by other sources.

The announcement also draws clear boundaries around what the funds are not intended to support. Wildlife education and law enforcement activities are generally ineligible. However, the program allows a limited exception when education or enforcement is minor or incidental to the main project and is critical to making the project succeed. This means the primary purpose of a proposal should be conservation planning or implementation tied to the Wildlife Action Plan, and any education or enforcement element must be secondary and clearly justified as necessary to achieve the core conservation objectives.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00060 and CFDA (now Assistance Listing) 15.634, and it uses the grant funding instrument type within the Natural Resources activity category. Eligible applicants are state governments, reflecting that the program is aimed at state fish and wildlife agencies rather than local governments, nonprofits, universities, or private entities as direct applicants. The opportunity record shows an award ceiling of $2,000,000, indicating the maximum amount that could be awarded per grant under this posting, although actual award sizes can vary based on appropriations, state allocations, and project scope. The posting was created on December 8, 2016, and the original closing date was August 31, 2018. The listing shows “ExpectedAwards: 0,” which in federal postings can reflect administrative or forecasting fields in the notice rather than a guarantee about whether funds will ultimately be distributed.

Overall, the program functions as a strategic conservation funding tool: it helps states build and maintain strong statewide wildlife conservation plans and then implement those plans with an emphasis on the species most in need and the habitats that sustain them. The central test for whether an activity fits is whether it clearly contributes to developing an approved Wildlife Action Plan or directly advances actions identified in that plan, with education or law enforcement only playing a limited supporting role when it is truly necessary for the conservation work to succeed.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "R8 (CA/NV) State Wildlife Grant Program for State Fish and Game Agencies" 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 Dec 08, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 31, 2018. (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 $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F17AS00060

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