R8 (CA/NV) Wildlife Restoration Grant Program for State Fish and Game Agencies | F17AS00055

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00055

The R8 (CA/NV) Wildlife Restoration Grant Program for State Fish and Game Agencies (Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00055) is a discretionary grant program administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. It falls under CFDA 15.611 and is designed to provide federal funding support to state-level fish and wildlife agencies and similar eligible state government entities. The opportunity was created on December 8, 2016, with an original closing date of August 31, 2018, and it lists an award ceiling of up to $15,000,000. While the notice indicates an expected awards count of 0 in the source data, the purpose statement and program framing make clear that this is part of a broader, established federal funding mechanism intended to support ongoing state wildlife restoration and management responsibilities.

Program funding is aimed at strengthening and sustaining core wildlife conservation work carried out by state agencies. The scope includes activities related to the selection, restoration, rehabilitation, and improvement of wildlife habitat, which can cover everything from on-the-ground habitat enhancement projects to broader habitat management strategies that support game and non-game species. The program also supports wildlife management research, enabling states to investigate population dynamics, habitat relationships, harvest impacts, disease issues, and other topics needed to make informed management decisions.

A major emphasis of the opportunity is gathering and maintaining the information required to manage wildlife effectively. Eligible activities include wildlife population surveys and inventories, which may involve monitoring species abundance, distribution, reproductive success, survival, migration, and habitat use. These efforts help states set season structures, bag limits, and conservation priorities, and they also provide the baseline data needed to evaluate whether restoration projects are working over time.

The grant also allows for land acquisition when that acquisition supports wildlife restoration purposes. In practice, that can mean acquiring parcels that protect key habitat, maintain access to important wildlife areas, secure migration corridors, or prevent habitat loss or fragmentation that would undermine wildlife management objectives. Alongside land and habitat actions, the program supports coordination and development of facilities that contribute to effective wildlife management and public engagement with wildlife resources.

Another central component is hunter education and safety. Funds can be used for hunter education and safety programs, including the coordination and delivery of instruction. The opportunity explicitly includes the development of facilities and the provision of facilities and services for conducting hunter education and safety programs. This reflects the program goal of promoting safe, responsible hunting practices, improving compliance with regulations, and ensuring that hunting remains a well-managed and publicly supported tool for wildlife conservation.

Finally, the program recognizes the public-facing role of state wildlife agencies by supporting provisions for public use of wildlife resources. This can include infrastructure, services, and program delivery that help the public access and benefit from wildlife resources in a managed way, consistent with conservation goals and safe recreational use. Overall, this opportunity is structured to fund the practical building blocks of state wildlife conservation: habitat work, science and monitoring, strategic land actions, hunter education, and the facilities and coordination needed to deliver those functions at scale.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the education, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "R8 (CA/NV) Wildlife Restoration 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): 15.611.
• 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 $15,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F17AS00055

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