Other State and Federal Programs

Federal Funding

The Land and Water Conservation Fund

The Land and Water Conservation Fund is the largest source of federal money for parks, wildlife, and open space land acquisition. Its funding comes primarily from offshore oil and gas drilling receipts, with an authorized expenditure of $900 million each year. Under the act, a portion of the money is intended to go to federal land purchases and a portion to the states as matching grants for state and local park projects. Congress generally has appropriated only a fraction of the $900 million authorized; however, significant strides have been taken in recent years to increase the levels of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Contact your Congressional representative or regional office of any of the federal agencies for more specific information.

Environmental Protection Agency

Various grants are available through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for watershed planning, restoration and stewardship studies for state, tribal and local governments. Grants are also available for environmental justice issues, pollution prevention, brownfields assessment, community/economic development and environmental education. EPA organizes grant opportunities by region.

National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries)

The NOAA Community-based Restoration Program (CRP) provides funding to catalyze the implementation of locally-driven, grass-roots habitat restoration projects that will benefit living marine resources, including anadromous fish. Projects funded through the CRP have strong on-the-ground habitat restoration components that provide educational and social benefits for people and their communities in addition to long-term ecological habitat improvements for NOAA trust resources. The role of NOAA in the CRP is to help identify potential restoration projects, strengthen the development and implementation of sound restoration projects and science-based monitoring of such projects within communities, and develop long-term, ongoing national and regional partnerships to support community-based restoration of living marine resource habitats across a wide geographic area. Proposals selected for funding through this solicitation will be implemented through a cooperative agreement. Funding of up to $3,000,000 is expected to be available for community-based habitat restoration projects in FY 2005. The NOAA Restoration Center (RC) anticipates that typical awards will range from $50,000 to $200,000.

There are several grant programs to apply to. Review specific program for grant application deadlines.

Natural Resources Conservation Service

Applications are solicited for the full range of natural resource conservation concerns detailed in the request for proposals. Significant funds are available to Joint Venture partners through Farm Bill funding. Applications are accepted from all 50 States, the Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), and the Pacific Basin Area (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). Proposal submissions to NRCS National Headquarters must be accompanied by a letter of review from the appropriate NRCS State Conservationist(s). Eligible applicants include State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses and Small businesses.

There are several programs applicants can apply to. See appropriate program for grant application deadlines.

Examples of Farm Bill programs

• Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP): WHIP is a voluntary program for private landowners who want to develop or improve fish and wildlife habitat on their property. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the program, providing technical assistance and up to 75% of the cost of the project. Contact your local NRCS field office for more information.

• The Wetlands Reserve Program: The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) is a voluntary program that provides technical and financial assistance to eligible landowners to address wetland, wildlife habitat, soil, water, and related natural resource concerns on private lands in an environmentally beneficial and cost-effective manner. The program provides an opportunity for landowners to receive financial incentives to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands in exchange for retiring marginal land from agriculture. WRP is reauthorized in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill). The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the program. Funding for WRP comes from the Commodity Credit Corporation.

Follow this link to learn more about the farm bill programs that NRCS administers. (49 KB Adobe pdf file)

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National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation conserves healthy populations of fish, wildlife and plants, on land and in the sea, through creative and respectful partnerships, sustainable solutions, and better education. The Foundation meets these goals by awarding matching grants to projects benefiting conservation education, habitat protection and restoration, and natural resource management.

Project pre-proposals are accepted throughout the year. See Web site for project deadlines, review, and approval cycles.

State Funding

Individual states offer a variety of funding opportunities. Visit our Partners page to be directed to your state government agency.