F25AS00290 FY 2025 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund Traditional Conservation Grants Program Region 6 | F25AS00290

Opportunity Information: Apply for F25AS00290

F25AS00290 is a FY 2025 discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, specifically the Traditional Conservation Grants Program for Region 6. Its core purpose is to help State (and Territorial) wildlife agencies build and carry out effective programs that conserve and recover species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The program is designed to fund practical, on-the-ground conservation that produces clear, direct benefits to species and/or their habitat, with an emphasis on work that advances recovery of federally listed species or helps keep at-risk species from needing to be listed in the first place.

The projects this program supports can cover a wide range of conservation approaches as long as the benefit is direct and well explained. Grant funds may be used for management actions, research, monitoring, and outreach, or a combination of these activities. Eligible species targets include federally listed threatened and endangered species, as well as certain non-listed categories: candidate species, eligible unlisted species (as recognized by the program), and species that have been delisted due to recovery within the last five years (monitoring for these groups is explicitly allowed). A key expectation is that the application clearly connects the proposed tasks to measurable conservation outcomes, such as addressing a known threat, improving habitat conditions, filling a research gap needed for recovery actions, or producing monitoring data that informs management decisions.

Eligibility is limited to State governments, and more specifically to State agencies that have an active cooperative agreement with FWS under ESA section 6(c). If a State does not yet have the agreement in place, it can still be eligible if it enters into or reconfirms the cooperative agreement within 30 days of the application deadline, but FWS must have a complete, signed cooperative agreement before it can obligate federal funds for the project (cited in the notice via 50 CFR 81.3, 50 CFR 81.5, and 43 CFR 12.50(b)(3)). While only States can receive the award, the program anticipates partnerships: counties, conservation organizations, and other groups can participate through the State as subgrantees when the work is mutually beneficial and aligned with the State-led project.

To be considered, proposals must focus on conservation work for federally listed resident species that are already included in the State's section 6 cooperative agreement. In addition, States may request funding to monitor species that are candidates or eligible unlisted by the application deadline, or species delisted due to recovery within the last five years. All projects must be voluntary conservation efforts within the United States, and the work must be consistent with approved or draft recovery plans; projects cannot conflict with approved recovery plans (referenced at 50 CFR 81.2). In practice, that means applicants should show how project actions map to recovery objectives, priority actions, or threat-reduction strategies already identified for the species.

The opportunity also includes several important compliance and cost rules. If project activities involve actions such as take, interstate transport, introduction outside the historical range, or holding wildlife in captivity for more than 45 days, a permit from the Regional Director may be required. For those kinds of activities, the applicant is expected to submit an Environmental Assessment to the Regional Director before a permit will be issued (noted with 50 CFR 81.9 and 43 CFR 12.50(b)(3)). Another major restriction is that neither the federal award nor the required non-federal cost share can be used to meet ESA regulatory obligations. In other words, this grant cannot pay for work that is required as mitigation or compliance under section 7 biological opinions, section 10 habitat conservation plan conditions, or other federal regulatory mitigation requirements (including examples like Clean Water Act permit mitigation). The funding is intended for proactive conservation, not to subsidize required compliance.

On budgeting, the notice states that an application cannot include FWS Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) costs, meaning applicants cannot budget for FWS staff positions as part of the requested costs. State administrative costs must either be covered by the State or included in the proposal in a way that complies with federal cost principles and grant requirements. As a general rule, only costs incurred during the approved period of performance are reimbursable, with the period beginning on the effective date set when the grant is approved. However, the program allows States to request reimbursement of certain pre-award costs when they are necessary to meet the proposed period of performance, are otherwise allowable, and are approved in writing by the awarding agency, consistent with 2 CFR 200.458. The opportunity supports both new projects and continuation projects; for continuation proposals, the application should briefly summarize accomplishments so far and provide a justification for why continuing the work is needed, while keeping the scope, objectives, and outcomes consistent over time.

A clear limitation is that land acquisition is not eligible under this funding opportunity. Applicants need to focus proposals on conservation actions other than purchasing land, such as habitat improvement on existing lands, research and monitoring, coordination and outreach, or other recovery-focused efforts consistent with recovery planning.

Key administrative details included in the notice are: the agency is the Fish and Wildlife Service; the Assistance Listing (CFDA) number is 15.615; the activity category is Environment; the funding instrument is a grant; the opportunity was created on 2025-07-21; and the application closing date is 2025-09-19. The listed award ceiling is $756,753.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F25AS00290 FY 2025 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund Traditional Conservation Grants Program Region 6" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.615.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-07-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-09-19. (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 $756,753.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

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