Grants / Department of the Interior / Fish and Wildlife Service

F25AS00184 FY 2025 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Conservation Planning Assistance

Closed Closed March 14, 2025 Opportunity F25AS00184 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: F26AS00030 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Recovery Land Acquisition Grant Program (F26AS00030). Status: Closes November 20, 2026 (13 days left). It is in our archive of Fish and Wildlife Service notices from 2024.

• Award ceiling$1.0 million
• Total funding$8.7 million
• Cost sharingRequired
• Funding typeGrant

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to state and local governments.

• State governments

Only State agencies that have entered into a Cooperative Agreement pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and have provided the information necessary for the annual renewal (reconfirmation) of their Cooperative Agreement are eligible to apply for funding. Applicants that have not fulfilled both criteria will not be considered. While funding may only be awarded to States, individuals or groups such as counties or conservation organizations may work with a State agency that has a cooperative agreement on conservation efforts that are mutually beneficial, as a subgrantee. Neither the Federal funds awarded through this opportunity, nor the associated non-Federal cost share, may be used to satisfy regulatory requirements of the ESA, including complying with a biological opinion under Section 7, fulfilling Federal mitigation, minimization, and/or monitoring requirements of an HCP permitted under Section 10, or any other Federal regulatory mitigation requirement (e.g., mitigation for Clean Water Act permits).For applications involving a previously funded planning effort, funding cannot be sought to support activities to meet deliverables that were identified for completion under open prior year awards. For example, if a prior planning assistance grant was awarded to a State to complete a draft NEPA document, funding from this opportunity cannot be sought to complete a draft NEPA document. The Service will not fund work in conflict with species approved recovery plans [50 CFR 81.2]. An application cannot include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) costs. State administrative costs must either be assumed by the State or included in the proposal in accordance with Federal requirements. Generally, only expenses incurred and budgeted during the period of performance are reimbursable; the period of performance begins with the effective date established at the time the grant is approved. However, a State may request reimbursement of pre-award costs for certain necessary expenses detailed in the grant application. Pre-award costs are those incurred prior to the approval of the grant where such costs are necessary to comply with the proposed period of performance. Such costs are allowable only if the grant is awarded, only to the extent that they would have been allowable if incurred after the date of the award, and only with the written approval of the awarding agency (2 CFR 200.458).Land acquisition is not eligible for consideration under this funding opportunity.

More grants for state and local governments.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund awards averaged $292,414; this notice allows up to $1.0 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (100% over five years) went to state and local governments.
• The notice requires cost sharing or matching funds, so you must contribute part of the project cost.

What the grant funds

First awarded in fiscal year (FY) 2001, the Conservation Planning Assistance Grant program provides funding to States to support the development of new Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) and Conservation Benefit Agreements (CBAs; formerly referred to as Safe Harbor Agreements and Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances). Funding may also be used to support the renewal or amendment of existing plans and agreements. The development of HCPs that include only candidate or at-risk species (i.e., no Federally listed species covered by the HCP), such that the HCP would be in place if the species is listed, is also supported through this program. Funding may be used to support development and planning activities such as document preparation, public outreach, baseline species surveys, habitat assessments, and inventories. The preparation of environmental compliance review documents, such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), is also an eligible use of grant funds. For CBAs, outreach, coordination, and administrative costs associated with the implementation of permitted agreements is also an eligible use of funds this year.

Category: Environment.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, F26AS00030, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.