State Wildlife Grants Competitive Grant Program

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Since 2001, the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) mandatory program has awarded grants for “the development and implementation of programs for the benefit of wildlife and their habitat, including species that are not hunted or fished…” To participate in the SWG program and as directed by Congress, each State, Commonwealth, territory, and the District of Columbia (State) developed a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan or State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) for review and approval by the Service; all SWAPs were submitted to the Service by October 2005 and approved. Each SWAP identifies species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) that occur in a State and the habitats needed to conserve them. In addition, the SWAPs provide detailed information on issues affecting SGCN and their habitats and conservation actions and strategies to address these issues. Congress annually appropriates funds for the SWG mandatory program to support implementation of the SWAPs. The funds are apportioned by the Service to State fish and wildlife agencies through a formula based on population and geographic area. More information about the SWG Program is on the web at: http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/SWG/SWG.htm. Congress established the SWG Competitive Grant Program in 2008 through Public Law 110-161. This nationally competitive program serves to implement the SWAPs by promoting cooperative partnerships. SWG Competitive Grant Program applications must address: (a) eligible issues identified in Service-approved SWAPs or (b) emerging issues (such as climate change effects on SGCN) that are adequately documented in the grant application and that propose to improve the status of SGCN or their habitats. Funds will be awarded to the highest-scoring applications using the scoring criteria contained in this announcement and awarded based on these criteria, at the discretion of the Service Director. Priority will be given to multistate conservation projects that identify measurable performance results and outcomes.

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