The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is soliciting proposals for projects that improve the quality of ungulate seasonal habitat, stopover areas, and migration corridors on federal land and/or voluntary efforts on private and Tribal land.
Donor Name: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/21/2026
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
Funding Priorities
All proposals must outline specifically how projects will directly address state game and fish (wildlife) department priorities as identified in state action plans, or specific tribal priorities. They encourage non-government (option A) applicants to engage state and Tribal game and fish agencies, and local and tribal governments early to communicate intent and garner support. The required letters of support may take extended periods of time to obtain. For projects that are adjacent to Tribal lands, they encourage applicants to include a letter of support from relevant Tribal agencies. Similarly, projects on or adjacent to federal lands will be more competitive with letters of support from local federal land management offices.
Funding priorities to improve or restore habitat and measurably contribute to the sustainability of local and regional ungulate populations include:
- Restoring degraded priority habitat, stopover areas, and migration corridors through activities identified in state or tribal plans, such as removing encroaching trees from sagebrush ecosystems, rehabilitating areas damaged by fire, or treating exotic/invasive vegetation to improve the quality and value of these areas to big game and other wildlife.
- Work cooperatively with partners to implement wildlife friendly fencing measures, including potentially modifying (via smooth wire), removing (if no longer necessary), installing (if serving to direct big game movement out of harm’s way), or seasonally adapting (seasonal lay down) fencing if proven to impede movement of big game through priority migration corridors or habitat.
- Implement measures such as management agreements or other actions to improve and maintain bottlenecks within corridors and other areas within priority habitat or stopover areas.
- Utilize other proven actions to improve priority big game seasonal habitat, stopover areas, or migration corridors across the West.
Funding Information
Funding Information
- Option A: The most competitive grants will be at least $100,000 and there is no maximum request amount. Grants can range from one to three (preference given to projects that can be completed in two years) years in length.
- Option B: NFWF anticipates awarding approximately 10-25 grants with individual grants typically ranging from $100,000 to $2 million. Grants can range from one to three years in length.
Eligible Projects
- Option A:
- Eligible projects will have been prioritized by one or several of 11 western states as a result of Interior Secretarial Order 3362 (SO 3362) or Native nations. Projects will promote robust, sustainable populations of big game such as elk, mule deer and pronghorn, have positive effects on a variety of other species, and implement strategies that increase habitat connectivity and resiliency.
- Funding partners include the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and ConocoPhillips.
- Projects that can be completed in two years and are shovel/NEPA ready will be given priority.
- Eligible applicants include non-profit 501(c) organizations, U.S. Federal government agencies, state government agencies, local governments, municipal governments, Tribal Governments and organizations, and educational institutions.
- Option B Ecosystem Restoration Projects:
- Eligible projects will have been prioritized by one or several of 11 western states as a result of Interior Secretarial Order 3362 (SO 3362) or Native nations. Projects will promote robust, sustainable populations of big game such as elk, mule deer and pronghorn, have positive effects on a variety of other species and implement strategies that increase habitat connectivity and resiliency. Additional consideration will be given to projects in 6 Great Plains States and Alaska that address the goals of the recently developed Action/Connectivity Plans that resulted from the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) “Implementing Landscape Connectivity and Permeability Plans Across the Western Continent” project.
- Funding provided by Department of Interior (DOI) through U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for States and Native Nations
- Eligible applicants include only state governments and federally recognized Tribes.
Geographical Areas
Only projects proposed in focal areas identified by states under SO 3362 in 11 western states (depicted in green) and Native Nations within Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming will be eligible.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants include non-profit 501(c) organizations, U.S. Federal government agencies, state government agencies, local governments, municipal governments, Tribal Governments and organizations, and educational institutions.
For more information, visit NFWF.
