The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is requesting proposals for its West Mojave Landscape Resilience and Desert Tortoise Recovery Partnership Program.
Donor Name: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
State: California
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/07/2026
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is requesting proposals in two categories addressing critical conservation needs in California’s West Mojave Desert:
- Category 1: Landscape Resilience grants
- Landscape Resilience grants will develop and implement landscape resilience projects supporting watershed and ecosystem function within or adjacent to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) Twentynine Palms, California. The overarching objective of this initiative is to use Natural Infrastructure (NI) to directly benefit MCAGCC Twentynine Palms’s military training mission by protecting military readiness, natural and cultural resources, and built infrastructure from vulnerabilities related to natural hazards. NI leverages natural processes and ecosystem services to support resilience goals, such as reducing damage from floods and sustaining long-term water security.
- Category 2: Mojave Desert Tortoise Recovery and Sustainment Partnership (RASP) grants
- RASP grants will restore, protect and enhance populations of Mojave desert tortoise and their habitat in California’s West Mojave Desert, supplementing the existing DoW-DOI RASP initiative. Priority projects will address the leading factors in Mojave desert tortoise decline such as habitat alteration and fragmentation, environmental change and direct tortoise mortality. The primary goal of this category is to marshal resources in a coordinated manner to work to recover the species by protecting Mojave desert tortoises via reducing or eliminating threats to the tortoise and restoring critical habitat.
Priorities
- Category 1: Landscape Resilience grants
- Projects that address one or more of the following priorities will be most competitive for funding: 1) projects that use NI to reduce risk to military mission; 2) projects that restore watershed and landscape function; and/or 3) projects that benefit species and habitat. Applicants are strongly encouraged to highlight areas of their proposed work that are scalable, cost-effective, and collaborative. Project outcomes should demonstrate management approaches or restoration of natural systems that decrease risks to military infrastructure from natural hazards, increase water security, and improve habitats such as mesquite dunes and washes for native species including desert bighorn sheep, Joshua tree, and Mojave desert tortoise.
- Category 2: Mojave Desert Tortoise Recovery and Sustainment Partnership (RASP) grants
- Competitive projects in each category will address at least one of the following priorities for their category. Category 2 (RASP) projects that directly implement specific strategies and goals under NFWF’s Mojave Desert Tortoise Recovery Implementation Plan will be most competitive for RASP funding. Category 2 applicants are strongly encouraged to review this document. Category 2 RASP grants supplement the existing Department of Interior (DOI) and Department of War (DoW) Mojave desert tortoise RASP Partnership; projects will be reviewed to meet agency priorities. Applicants are strongly encouraged to highlight any areas of their proposed work that overlaps with these specific strategies, geographies and goals.
Funding Information
- Category 1: Landscape Resilience Grants
- Typical grant awards will range from $200,000 to $1,500,000.
- Category 2: Mojave Desert Tortoise Recovery and Sustainment Partnership (RASP) grants
- Typical grant awards will range from $200,000 to $1,000,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants include: local, state, federal, and Tribal governments and agencies (e.g., counties, cities, towns), special districts (e.g., conservation districts, planning districts, utility districts), non-profit 501(c) organizations, educational institutions, and commercial (for-profit) organizations.
- For-profit applicants: please note that this is a request for grant proposals, not a procurement of goods and services;
For more information, visit NFWF.
