State Wildlife Grants Competitive Grant Program

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Since 2001, the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) 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 established the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) Competitive Grant Program in 2008 through Public Law 110-161. This nationally competitive grant program is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR) and serves to implement the SWAPs by promoting cooperative partnerships. For FY2010, SWG Competitive Grant Program applications must address eligible issues identified in Service-approved SWAPs or emerging issues (such as climate change effects on SGCN) that are adequately documented and approved in the grant application and that propose to improve the status of SGCN or their habitats. Funds will be awarded to the highest-ranking cooperative conservation grant applications using the ranking evaluation criteria contained in this announcement. Priority will be given to multi-state, cooperative conservation projects that demonstrate measurable performance results and outcomes. Please read the full announcement carefully prior to applying for SWG Competitive Grant Program funds. Applications that are incomplete or that contain ineligible activities will not be accepted. We strongly encourage States to coordinate closely with Regional WSFR SWG Specialists in the development of applications to assure that applications are complete and eligible for funding. Regional contact information is included in the full announcement.

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