F25AS00010 - NAWCA 2025-2 US Standard Grants | F25AS00010

Opportunity Information: Apply for F25AS00010

F25AS00010, NAWCA 2025-2 U.S. Standard Grants, is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (CFDA 15.623) focused on conserving wetlands through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. The program is designed as a competitive, matching grant that funds on-the-ground conservation projects in the United States and is built around public-private partnerships. In practice, it supports collaborations among governments, tribes, nonprofits, universities, and other eligible entities to protect and improve wetland systems and the associated uplands that are essential to wildlife and broader ecosystem health.

The core purpose of this program is straightforward: projects must center on long-term protection, restoration, enhancement, and/or establishment of wetland and associated upland habitats, and those activities must be tied to sustaining abundant populations of waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans) as well as other wetland-associated migratory birds. The bird conservation outcomes are expected to align with major continental and national bird planning frameworks, including the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan, the Waterbird Conservation Plan for the Americas, and the Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plan. In other words, proposals should clearly connect habitat work to measurable benefits for waterfowl and other priority migratory bird groups, not just general environmental improvement.

A key requirement is the match: applicants must provide a 1:1 non-federal match, meaning every federal dollar requested must be matched by at least one dollar from non-federal sources. This is central to how the program leverages partnerships and expands the overall conservation investment beyond the federal award itself. Another important limitation is that research funding is not eligible under this opportunity; the emphasis is on tangible conservation implementation rather than stand-alone scientific studies.

The funding instrument is a grant, and the maximum award amount listed is $3,000,000. The opportunity is open to a wide range of applicant types, including state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; 501(c)(3) nonprofits (other than higher education institutions); and small businesses. This breadth supports the program’s partnership model, where a lead applicant often coordinates multiple contributing partners that bring land, funding, technical expertise, and long-term stewardship capacity.

Programmatically, NAWCA U.S. Standard Grants also support broader Department of the Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service priorities by conserving land and water resources through collaboration, expanding outdoor recreation and access where applicable, and contributing to climate-related goals such as climate resilience, reduced climate pollution, biodiversity conservation, and landscape-scale conservation outcomes. While the primary evaluation lens remains wetland habitat conservation and migratory bird benefits, strong projects often show how habitat actions also improve flood storage, water quality, drought resilience, coastal buffering, and other ecosystem services that matter to communities.

The original closing date shown for this funding opportunity is July 11, 2024, and the opportunity was created on May 22, 2024. Detailed eligibility rules, proposal instructions, and the required proposal template are provided by the Fish and Wildlife Service at: https://fws.gov/service/north-american-wetlands-conservation-act-nawca-grants-us-standard.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F25AS00010 - NAWCA 2025-2 US Standard Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.623.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Small businesses.

Apply for F25AS00010

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