R8 (CA/NV) State Wildlife Grant Program for State Fish and Game Agencies | F18AS00046

Opportunity Information: Apply for F18AS00046

The R8 (CA/NV) State Wildlife Grant Program for State Fish and Game Agencies (Funding Opportunity Number F18AS00046) is a mandatory federal grant program run by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. It provides funding to state-level wildlife agencies to conserve wildlife and the habitats they depend on, with an emphasis that extends beyond traditionally hunted or fished species. In practical terms, the program is meant to help states maintain and strengthen statewide conservation efforts that address a broad range of wildlife needs, especially for species that may not benefit from more common funding streams tied to hunting and fishing revenues.

The grant supports two main types of work: planning and implementation. Planning activities are only eligible when they directly support the development, revision, or updating of a State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan, commonly referred to as the Wildlife Action Plan. The opportunity notes that these plans were to be submitted by October 1, 2005, and that they must be approved by the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This matters because it anchors eligible planning work to a defined statewide framework, rather than allowing stand-alone planning efforts that are not clearly connected to the official Wildlife Action Plan. Implementation activities, on the other hand, are the on-the-ground or operational actions a state carries out to execute the priorities and strategies laid out in its Wildlife Action Plan. That can include a wide range of habitat and species conservation actions, as long as they align with the plan and the program rules.

A central theme of the program is prioritization. States are expected to place the highest priority on Species of Greatest Conservation Need, while also weighing the reality of how much other funding is already available for those species. The idea is to direct limited federal dollars toward the wildlife and habitats most in need and least likely to be covered by other sources. This emphasis also reinforces the role of Wildlife Action Plans as the guiding documents for deciding which species and habitats warrant immediate investment and what strategies are most appropriate.

The opportunity also draws clear lines around what is not eligible. Wildlife education and law enforcement activities are generally ineligible under this program. However, there is a narrow exception: an education or law enforcement component may be allowed if it is minor or incidental, and only when it is critical to the success of an otherwise eligible conservation project. Even then, that component must directly contribute to conserving Species of Greatest Conservation Need and their habitats and must be consistent with the development or implementation of the state Wildlife Action Plan. In other words, the program is not designed to fund education or enforcement as primary objectives, but it can tolerate small supporting pieces of those activities when they are essential to achieving conservation outcomes.

From the source details, this opportunity falls under the Natural Resources funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 15.634. Eligible applicants are limited to state governments, reflecting the program structure as a state-focused conservation funding mechanism rather than one open to nonprofits, universities, local governments, or private entities as direct applicants. The listed award ceiling is $2,000,000. The opportunity record shows a creation date of November 30, 2017, and an original closing date of August 30, 2019, with expected awards shown as 0 in the provided dataset. Overall, the program is best understood as a targeted federal funding stream that helps state fish and game agencies plan and carry out priority wildlife conservation actions identified in their federally recognized Wildlife Action Plans, with particular attention to species facing the greatest conservation challenges.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "R8 (CA/NV) State Wildlife Grant Program for State Fish and Game Agencies" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.634.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 30, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 30, 2019. (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 $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

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