Grants / Department of the Interior / Fish and Wildlife Service

F26AS00008_FY 2026 - Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act - Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) Tier 1

Closed Closed October 27, 2025 Opportunity F26AS00008 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of Fish and Wildlife Service notices from 2025.

• Award ceiling$300,000
• Total funding$4.0 million
• Cost sharingRequired
• Funding typeGrant

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to state and local governments.

• State governments

Eligible applicants are the governor-designated agencies of the United States, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and the mayor-designated agency of the District of Columbia. You may not apply directly if you are not one of these entities. If you are uncertain of your eligibility, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (see Regional Office of Conservation Investment Contacts above).

More grants for state and local governments.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act awards averaged $271,510; this notice allows up to $300,000 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

The Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) Program (16 United States Code (U.S.C.) 777g-1) provides cost-sharing awards to eligible agencies of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The purpose of the program is to maintain, renovate, and construct new boating facilities and associated boater amenities for transient recreational vessels at least 26 feet long that are operated, leased, rented, or chartered primarily for pleasure. Transient vessels are recreational vessels staying no more than 15 days at a facility. These facilities must provide public access and may be publicly or privately owned. Eligible activities may include but are not limited to: Boat slips, piers, mooring buoys, dinghy or courtesy docks, day docks, and gangwaysFuel stations, restrooms, showers, utilities, laundry facilities, and similar amenitiesLighting, communications, buoys, beacons, signals, markers, signs, and security featuresAdministration, coordination, and monitoring for any one or more BIG Tier 1 or Tier 2 awards. Complete information on other eligible and ineligible activities and the requirements for participation in the program can be found in the BIG Program regulations (50 CFR 86). Review these regulations and this announcement carefully before applying for a Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 BIG Tier 1 award. The maximum Federal portion of a Tier 1 award is $300,000. The recipient agency, a subrecipient, and/or another third party must provide at least 25 percent of the total project cost in non-federal cost sharing or match. For more information on the BIG Program, visit the Service's Boating Infrastructure Home Page.

Category: Natural Resources.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

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