Grant proposals accepted only from 501 (c)(3) organizations that have been in full fiscal operation for at least one year. Grants funded will foster the conservation and stewardship of natural land and provide current and future generations with a link to their heritage by preserving, restoring, and protecting strategic lands that contribute to the health of the regional ecosystem; building and supporting constituencies that value and engage in land stewardship; and engage young people.
Deadline: April 1, 2011; August 5, 2011
The Wildlife & Habitat Keystone addresses conservation needs for mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and plants, as well as landscape-level and issue-based conservation. Our goal in the Wildlife & Habitat Keystone is to find the best conservation investments, fund the best solutions, and deliver measurable results for wildlife. Under this mission statement, we have selected Initiatives that are focused on making a measureable impact on specific species and their habitats. Individual initiatives are listed at the right but are focused under three themes that we believe are critical for wildlife in America.
Deadline: Grant Cycle 1: Preposals: April 1, 2010/Full Proposal: June 1, 2011/Notification: November 30, 2011; Grant Cycle 2: Preproposal: September 1, 2011/Full Proposal: November 1, 2011/ Notification: March 31, 2011
Provides modest financial assistance on a competitive basis to support community-based wetland, riparian, and coastal habitat restoration projects that build diverse partnerships and foster local natural resource stewardship through education, outreach and training activities.
Deadline: February 15, 2012
Supports on-the-ground conservation projects that protect, enhance, and/or restore native plant communities, including pollinators, on public and private lands. Projects fall into one of six categories: conservation, education, restoration, research, sustainability, and creating data linkages for native plant conservation in North America.
Deadline: TBA
The Pulling Together Initiative seeks proposals that will help control invasive plant species, mostly through the work of public/private partnerships such as Cooperative Weed Management Areas.
Deadline: Pre-proposal due July 15, 2011
Operates only in the United States; it supports the same type of projects and adheres to the same selection criteria and administrative guidelines as the U.S. Standard Grants Program. However, project activities are usually smaller in scope and involve fewer project dollars. Grant requests may not exceed $75,000, and funding priority is given to grantees or partners new to the Act’s Grants Program.
Deadline: October 25, 2012
Supports projects in Canada, the United States, and Mexico that involve long-term protection, restoration, and/or enhancement of wetlands and associated uplands habitats.
Deadline: March 2, 2012 and July 27, 2012
In general, the NPCI grant program funds projects that provide conservation benefit for native plants (including associated pollinators), involve multiple partnerships, demonstrate the ability to find matching funds exceeding the minimum 1:1 federal/non-federal requirement, and use innovative ideas (such as landscape approach, shareable new technologies, and teaching by example). All projects address priorities established by one or more of the funding federal agencies and fall within at least one of six focal areas for plant conservation, as outlined in the PCA National Framework for Progress in plant conservation.
Deadline: June 30, 2011
The Wetlands Reserve Program is a voluntary program offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides technical and financial support to help landowners with their wetland restoration efforts. The NRCS goal is to achieve the greatest wetland functions and values, along with optimum wildlife habitat, on every acre enrolled in the program. This program offers landowners an opportunity to establish long-term conservation and wildlife practices and protection.
Deadline: TBA
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 reauthorized WHIP as a voluntary approach to improving wildlife habitat in our Nation. The Natural Resources Conservation Service administers WHIP to provide both technical assistance and up to 75 percent cost-share assistance to establish and improve fish and wildlife habitat. In order to provide direction to the state and local levels for implementing WHIP to achieve its objective, NRCS has established the following national priorities:
1) promote the restoration of declining or important native fish and wildlife habitats, 2) protect, restore, develop or enhance fish and wildlife habitat to benefit at-risk species, 3) reduce the impacts of invasive species on fish and wildlife habitats; and 4)
protect, restore, develop or enhance declining or important aquatic wildlife species’ habitats.
Deadline: TBA
Through CSP, NRCS will provide financial and technical assistance to eligible producers to conserve and enhance soil, water, air, and related natural resources on their land. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pastureland, rangeland, Non-Industrial Private Forest lands (NIPF), agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe, and other private agricultural land (including cropped woodland, marshes, and agricultural land used for the production of livestock) on which resource concerns related to agricultural production could be addressed. Participation in the program is voluntary.
Deadline: Applications accepted on rolling basis through 2012
The Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) is a voluntary conservation program that emphasizes support for working grazing operations, enhancement of plant and animal biodiversity, and protection of grassland under threat of conversion to other uses.
Deadline: Applications accepted on rolling basis
Plant materials are used in all phases of the soil and water conservation program. This program emphasizes field testing to determine the plant’s value and restoration techniques. It is limited to the properties of conservation cooperators properties in conjunction with soil conservation districts, State Agricultural Experiment Stations, State Crop Improvement Associations and other Federal and State agencies. The program also provides commercial seed growers with breeder and foundation quality seed or propagules through State Crop Improvement Associations or Foundations Seed Services. Other plants or seed are not provided to the general public. Large-scale production is conducted by cooperating commercial producers. Free plants, seed and/or grants are not available to nurseries or the public.
Deadline: No deadlines
NOAA delivers funding and technical expertise to restore Great Lakes coastal habitats. These habitats support valuable fisheries and protected resources; improve the quality of our water; provide recreational opportunities for the public’s use and enjoyment; and buffer our coastal communities from the impacts of changing lake levels. Projects funded through NOAA have strong on-the-ground habitat restoration components that provide social and economic benefits for people and their communities in addition to long-term ecological habitat improvements. Through this solicitation, NOAA seeks to openly compete funding available for habitat restoration in U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern (http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/ ) under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative as anticipated in the President’s FY2011 Budget. Applications should be submitted for any project that is to be considered for this funding, even for those projects already submitted as applications to other NOAA competitions.
Deadline: February 2, 2011
The Stewardship Grants Program supports large-scale habitat restoration and enhancement projects that will have enduring and significant positive impacts on the ecological condition of the Great Lakes basin. Grant awards will range from $150,001 to $1.5 million.
Deadline: February 15, 2012
The Community Grants Program supports habitat restoration and enhancement projects that simultaneously: 1) improve local habitat conditions and 2) build local conservation capacity. Grant awards will range from $25,000 to $150,000.
Deadline: February 15, 2012
The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program Act authorizes the Secretary of Interior to provide direct technical and financial assistance to private landowners interested in restoring, enhancing, and managing fish and wildlife habitats on their own lands. This announcement is not a solicitation for grant proposals. It is a goal of the program to secure at least 50 percent of project costs from non-Service sources, but this goal applies to the national program as a whole, and does not have to be achieved on a project-by-project basis. Funding above $25,000 for an individual project must be approved at the Washington Office level. If you are interested in pursuing a project under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program you must contact your local coordinator. A listing of coordinators by state is available at
Deadline: September 30, 2011
GLRI grants will fund projects that address the most important Great Lakes priorities, including reducing toxic contaminants, restoring the Great Lakes Areas of Concern, protecting beaches and beachgoers, keeping out invasive species and reducing polluted land-based runoff.
Deadline: April 11, 2011
The Grants Program sponsored by EPA’s Office of Environmental Education (OEE), Office of External Affairs and Environmental Education, supports environmental education projects that enhance the public’s awareness, knowledge, and skills to help people make informed decisions that affect environmental quality. EPA awards grants each year based on funding appropriated by Congress. Annual funding for the program ranges between $2 and $3 million.
Deadline: May 2, 2011
The Exchange Network Grant Program provides funding to states, territories and federally recognized Indian tribes to support the development of the Environmental Information Exchange Network. Now in the eighth year, EPA has awarded almost $144 million in assistance agreements to build the National Environmental Information Exchange Network. All states, five territories, and 56 federally recognized tribes have received grants to facilitate their involvement in the development and implementation of the Exchange Network. All states, one territory, and eight tribes have leveraged this funding to implement data exchange nodes on the Network and have shared environmental information with EPA or other Network partners.
Deadline: November 4, 2011
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking proposals from states and U.S. territories interested in obtaining federal financial assistance to acquire land or conduct planning efforts for endangered species conservation. These projects range from species status surveys, public education and outreach, habitat acquisition and restoration, captive propagation and reintroduction to nesting surveys, genetic studies and development of conservation plans.
Deadline: January 27, 2012
The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) provides funds to the states to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both nonmotorized and motorized recreational trail uses.
Deadline: TBA
The Farm Bill—H.R. 6124 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008—became law in June 2008. Section 10201 (“Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention”) directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make available Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds for early plant pest detection and surveillance, for threat identification and mitigation of plant pests and diseases, and for technical assistance in the development and implementation of audit-based certification systems and nursery plant pest risk management systems. The five-year Farm Bill specifies that these funds be made available incrementally, starting with $12 million in fiscal year (FY) 2009, $45 million in FY 2010, and $50 million in FY 2011 and thereafter.
Deadline: February 24, 2012
EPA?s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) is soliciting initial proposals to advance partnerships that focus on pesticide risk management issues with a special focus on integrated pest management (IPM) approaches. Awards are intended to support a diverse set of project types, including, but not limited to demonstrations, transfer of innovative IPM technologies, outreach, and education. This announcement provides qualification and application requirements to those interested in submitting initial proposals for fiscal year 2011. The total amount of funding available for award is expected to be $500,000 which is authorized by the Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act. The number of awards to be made under this announcement will depend on individual proposal costs, the availability of funds, and the quality of proposals received. This competition begins with a call for initial proposals from which candidates will be selected and offered an invitation to submit full applications. This announcement contains information on the format and content for the initial proposals as well as criteria for the evaluation of invited applications. The maximum funding level is $250,000 per project for Agricultural IPM and Community IPM. The project period of performance is limited to two years from the award date.
Deadline: April 22, 2011
The North Central Integrated Pest Management Center (NCIPMC) announces the availability of funds and requests proposals for Critical Issues that support the NCIPMC and regional IPM priorities. The goals of the Center are to increase the economic benefits of adopting IPM practices and reduce the environmental and human health risks associated with managing pests. These goals were established by the IPM Roadmap, and the NCIPMC addresses them through competitive grants and other programs and projects. The NCIPMC programs address pest management needs for production agriculture, natural resources and recreational environments, and residential and public areas. North Central region IPM priorities, as identified by regional IPM stakeholders, are available on the Center’s web site at http://ncipmc.org/about/priorities.
Deadline: February 29, 2012
This funding opportunity provides federal financial and technical assistance to “ready-to-go” projects in U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern. These projects must be within an U.S. Great Lakes Area of Concern and must contribute to the delisting of the area. Successful applications will be those that 1) contribute to the delisting of fish and wildlife related beneficial use impairments in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern; 2) yield significant ecological benefits (especially those benefits robust to potential climate change impacts); 3) are shovel ready (also with feasibility studies available); 4) document community benefits such as improved opportunities for recreation, park use, or other tangible community benefits; and 5) demonstrate collaboration between different entities, such as government, public, private, and nonprofit groups. NOAA anticipates that up to $5 Million may be available for Great Lakes coastal habitat restoration. Typical awards for habitat restoration are expected to range from $1 Million to $4 Million. Typical awards for engineering and design are expected to range from $75K to $350K.
Eligibility: institutions of higher learning; non-profits; commercial organizations; local, state, Tribal governments. Applications from federal agencies or employees of federal agencies are NOT eligible.
Deadline: February 16, 2012
This foundation invests in projects that support their program areas of Sustainable Environments, Strong Local Economies, Thriving Cultures, Community Revitalization, and Effective Citizenry. An example of a previous grant award is $200K to the American Planning Association in FY2008 to aid U.S. planners with initiatives to integrate energy sustainability and climate change into contemporary planning practices. Another example is $200K to the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana in FY2010 to increase/strengthen local and national collaboration for the benefit of Louisiana coastal protection. Organizations are eligible for a max of three consecutive years of funding.
Eligibility: U.S. based non-profit organizations
There are no application deadlines. Grants are assessed three times a year (February, May, and September), and must be submitted three to four months prior to staff review.
Deadline: No application deadlines
This foundation focuses on public education of the risks of global warming, conservation of natural resources, protection of health as affected by the environment, meaning implementation of environmental laws, and public participation in national environmental policy debates. Grant applicants must submit a letter of inquiry online. If accepted, the applicant will be invited to submit a full proposal for evaluation. Grants are usually in the range of $25,000 – $30,000 and are normally made to the same organization for no more than two consecutive years.
Eligibility: United States non-profit organizations engaged in “activities of national significance”
Deadline: No application deadlines
LCCs are a network of partnerships working for the sustainability of America’s land, water, wildlife, and cultural resources. Partnerships include federal, state, and local governments, tribes, universities, NGOs, landowners, as well as other stakeholders. These cooperatives (21 in total, representing different geographic areas of the country) build upon existing science and conservation efforts that preserve water and land resources, as well as cultural partnerships. Periodically, LCCs offer grants that support their core functions.
Deadline: TBA
This foundation supports funding opportunities in Great Lakes protection and restoration. The foundation supports opportunities in the following areas: on-the-ground restoration work that can be monitored, documented, and replicated; efforts to drive policy change by connecting policy advocates with decision makers and nontraditional stakeholders; Efforts to advocate for collectively developed policies at the federal, state, and local levels. Submitted proposals must address one of four areas: 1) Reduce polluted, non-point source runoff from both agriculture and built areas, 2) Protect and restore critical habitats such as wetlands through improved hydrology and other means, 3) Improve coastal health through increased use of green infrastructure and financing conventional infrastructure, 4) Implement the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. The foundation will also consider proposals relating to implementation of local, state, and regional climate and energy plans.
Eligibility: Non-profit organizations
Deadline: TBA
Wells Fargo and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation seek to promote sustainable communities through a new initiative, Environmental Solutions for Communities, designed to support projects that link economic development and community well-being to the stewardship and health of the environment. This five-year initiative is supported through a $15 million contribution from Wells Fargo that will be used to leverage other public and private investments with an expected total impact of over $37.5 million.
Collectively, investments under this initiative will promote a sustainable future for communities by:
Supporting sustainable agricultural practices and private lands stewardship;
Conserving critical land and water resources and improving local water quality;
Restoring and managing natural habitat, species and ecosystems that are important to community livelihoods;
Facilitating investments in green infrastructure, renewable energy and energy efficiency; and
Encouraging broad-based citizen participation in project implementation.
Under this five-year initiative, grants will be offered twice a year to support priority projects in states and communities where Wells Fargo operates (www.wellsfargo.com/donations). Additional priorities and funding guidelines may be found within the program’s Request for Proposals. In addition, funding available under this new partnership will also be used to leverage resources associated with other NFWF funding opportunities.
Deadline: July 2, 2012
Centaurea maculosa (spotted knapweed) (David Eagan)
