Enhanced Hunter Education and Safety (15.626)
Enhanced Hunter Education and Safety (Assistance Listing 15.626) is run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, part of the Department of the Interior. It awarded $26.6 million in 87 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $305,648 per award on average. No funding opportunity is open on Grants.gov right now.
The typical award was $125,038. Half of the 87 awards fell between $80,000 and $240,000, and they ranged from $7,416 to $3.2 million.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$26.6 million
- Grant awards87
- Typical award$125,038
- Awarded in FY 2025$5.2 million
- Size rank1223 of 1824
- Type of assistanceFormula grants
Key findings
- Annual funding was roughly flat, $5.1 million in fiscal 2021 and $5.2 million in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 1223rd largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 101% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 24 states and territories.
What the program funds
This program provides funds for the enhancement of hunter and archery education programs and the enhancement or construction of firearm shooting ranges and archery ranges as well as acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing public target ranges, including ranges on Federal land.
Open opportunities
No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.
Rules from the program listing
Who can apply
Participation is limited to State, Territory, or Commonwealth agencies (excluding the District of Columbia) with lead management responsibility for fish and wildlife resources in the United States of America. These entities must pass laws (assent legislation) for the conservation of fish and wildlife. The law(s) must require that revenue from hunting and fishing licenses be only used for the administration of the fish and wildlife agency.
What the money can and cannot pay for
The program provides funds to enhance programs for hunter education, hunter development, and firearm and archery safety, including support for hunter development programs introduce individuals to and recruit them to take part in hunting, bow hunting, target shooting, or archery; Enhance interstate coordination of hunter education, and firearm and archery range programs; Enhance programs for education, safety, or development of bow hunters and archers; Enhance construction and development of firearm and archery ranges; Update safety features of firearm and archery ranges; Acquire real property suitable or capable of being made suitable for firearm and archery ranges for public use; Enhance activities for hunter and recreational shooter recruitment, retention, and reactivation; and Public relations activities specifically covered under the de?nition of hunter recruitment and recreational-shooter recruitment, and as de?ned at 1 6 U.S.C. 669(a)(3), is also eligible so long as the public relations activities comply with 50 CFR 80.50(a), are necessary and reasonable for the performance of the award, and meet all other criteria for allowability with special attention to 2 CFR 200.421. Yes. Ineligible activities include law enforcement, activities conducted for the primary purpose of producing income, and activities, projects, or programs that promote or encourage opposition to the regulated taking of fish, hunting, or the trapping of wildlife (see 50 CFR 80.54).;
Matching requirements
This program has no statutory formula. Matching Requirements:?Percent: Other?Grant funds may be disbursed to States for up to 75 percent of the total cost of a project. Grant funds may be disbursed from 75 to 100 percent of the total project costs to the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands and the territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. Each Regional Director decides on the specific Federal share between 75 and 100 percent based on what he or she decides is fair, just, and equitable. Eligible State agencies (including Puerto Rico) may be paid up to seventy five percent (75%) of project costs through the program. States are required to provide the remaining twenty-five percent (25%) of the project costs from a non-Federal source, which can include license fees. In accordance with an October 12, 2022 Policy Advisory Notice from the Department of the Interior (Reference No. 2023-001) and 48 U.S.C. 1469(a), Amendment of Subsection (d), the Service's Regional Directors shall waive cost sharing requirements described in this announcement in any grant to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Territories of American Samoa, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Matching and cost-share requirements are discussed in 50 CFR 80.84, 50 CFR 80.85, and 2 CFR 200.306. EHE funds used for acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing public target ranges (as defined at 16 U.S.C.
Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines
Award range and average, in the agency's words
Range is $13,300 to $240,000; Average $145,000.
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal Year2025: Program funded projects that Enhance Hunter Education and Safety including: Enhance programs for hunter education, hunter development, and firearm and archery safety, including support for hunter development programs that introduce individuals to and recruit them to take part in hunting, bow hunting, target shooting, or archery; Enhance interstate coordination of hunter education, and firearm and archery range programs; Enhance programs for education, safety, or development of bow hunters and archers; Enhance construction and development of firearm and archery ranges; Update safety features of firearm and archery ranges; Acquire real property suitable or capable of being made suitable for firearm and archery ranges for public use; Enhance activities for hunter and recreational shooter recruitment, retention, and reactivation; Public relations activities specifically covered under the de?nition of hunter recruitment and recreational-shooter recruitment, and as de?ned at 1 6 U.S.C. 669(a)(3), is eligible when the public relations activities comply with 50 CFR 80.50(b)(2), are necessary and reasonable for the performance of the award, and meet all other criteria for allowability with special attention to 2 CFR 200.421.Fiscal Year2026: Program has not yet completed selecting projects for funding. Program anticipates funding Enhanced Hunter Education and Safety projects and activities that are eligible each year.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Enhanced Hunter Education and Safety (15.626) awarded$26.6 million across 87 grant awards, an average of $305,648 per award.
Who usually wins
Almost all of the money went to state and local governments.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| State and local governments | 87 | $26.6 million | 100% |
By state
7 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| California | 10 | $11.3 million |
| South Dakota | 6 | $3.0 million |
| Maryland | 4 | $2.2 million |
| Washington | 1 | $1.9 million |
| Texas | 3 | $1.2 million |
| Florida | 6 | $1.1 million |
| North Carolina | 5 | $1.1 million |
| South Carolina | 5 | $870,024 |
| Oregon | 5 | $625,617 |
| West Virginia | 2 | $489,572 |
| North Dakota | 5 | $384,517 |
| Vermont | 4 | $365,740 |
| Kentucky | 2 | $333,595 |
| Idaho | 4 | $320,160 |
| Nebraska | 2 | $320,000 |
| Alabama | 2 | $312,143 |
| Utah | 4 | $311,333 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | $237,316 |
| Arkansas | 3 | $216,788 |
| New Mexico | 5 | $199,666 |
| Colorado | 3 | $181,465 |
| Indiana | 1 | $151,018 |
| Mississippi | 1 | $59,610 |
| Guam | 3 | $24,170 |