Funding Opportunities

General resources

Catalog of Federal Funding for Watershed Protection
http://www.epa.gov/watershedfunding

EPA Watershed Funding Web Page
http://www.epa.gov/owow/funding.html

Watershed Information Network – Financial Assistance
http://www.epa.gov/win/financial.html

Directory of Watershed Funding Resources
http://ssrc.boisestate.edu

River Network – Directory of Funding Sources
http://www.rivernetwork.org/library/index.cfm?doc_id=117

The Grantsmanship center - Funding through state government
http://www.tgci.com/funding/states.asp

EPA Grants

Targeted Watershed Grants
http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/initiative/

The Targeted Watersheds Grant Program is a relatively new EPA program designed to encourage successful community-based approaches and management techniques to protect and restore the nation's waters. The watershed organizations receiving grants this year exhibited strong partnerships with a wide variety of support; creative, socio-economic approaches to water restoration and protection; and explicit monitoring and environmentally-based performance measures.

5 Star Restoration Program (joint with NOAA)
http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/restore/5star/

The Five Star Restoration Program brings together students, conservation corps, other youth groups, citizen groups, corporations, landowners and government agencies to provide environmental education and training through projects that restore wetlands and streams. The program provides challenge grants, technical support and opportunities for information exchange to enable community-based restoration projects.

Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Grant Program
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/grants

The Environmental Justice Cooperative Agreements Program provides financial assistance to eligible community-based organizations working on or planning to work on projects to address local environmental and/or public health concerns, using EPA's "environmental justice collaborative problem-solving model. The Office of Environmental Justice Small Grant Program provides financial assistance to eligible community groups with projects that address environmental justice issues.

Research

National Center for Environmental Research
http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/

NCER's mission is to support high-quality research by the nation's leading scientists that will improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its goals. NCER, as a part of EPA's Office of Research and Development, supports leading edge extramural research in exposure, effects, risk assessment, and risk management. National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) runs competitions for STAR grants, graduate and undergraduate fellowships, research contracts under the Small Business Innovative Research Program, and other research assistance programs.

Endangered Species

Private Stewardship Grants
http://endangered.fws.gov/grants/private_stewardship/index.html

The Private Stewardship Program provides grants and other assistance on a competitive basis to individuals and groups engaged in local, private, and voluntary conservation efforts that benefit federally listed, proposed, or candidate species, or other at-risk species. Diverse panels of representatives from State and Federal government, conservation organizations, agriculture and development interests, and the science community assess applications and make recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior, who awards the grants.

Landowner Incentive Program
http://federalaid.fws.gov/lip/lip.html

LIP (nontribal portion) is designed to assist States by providing grants to establish or supplement landowner incentive programs that protect and restore habitats on private lands, to benefit Federally listed, proposed or candidate species or other species determined to be at-risk, and provide technical and financial assistance to private landowners for habitat protection and restoration.

Bring Back the Natives Grant Program
http://www.nfwf.org/programs/bbn.htm

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S.D.A. Forest Service (FS), Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), and Trout Unlimited (TU), is pleased to request pre-proposals from nonprofit organizations, universities, Native American tribes, and local, state, and federal agencies interested in restoring native populations of sensitive or listed aquatic species. Funding for the BBN program is administered through NFWF from federal agencies cooperating to support this program. This funding requires a $2 non-federal match for each federal dollar requested by applicants. Since 1991, BBN has supported 244 projects and benefited over 120 species, 29 of which are federally listed as threatened or endangered.

Coastal

Coastal Program
http://www.fws.gov/cep/coastweb.html

The Coastal Program focuses the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's efforts in bays, estuaries and watersheds around the U.S. coastline. The purpose of the Coastal Program is to conserve fish and wildlife and their habitats to support healthy coastal ecosystems. The Service provides funding through the program to 16 high-priority coastal ecosystems.

Community-based Restoration Program
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/funding_opportunities/funding.html

The Community-based Restoration Program's objective is to bring together citizen groups, public and nonprofit organizations, industry, corporations and businesses, youth conservation corps, students, landowners, and local government, state and Federal agencies to restore fishery habitat around the coastal U.S. The program funds projects directly, and through partnerships with national and regional organizations. Since 1996, the CRP has funded over 600 restoration projects and has developed national and regional Habitat Restoration Partnerships with 19 organizations.

Wetlands

North American Wetlands Conservation Grants
http://birdhabitat.fws.gov/NAWCA/USsmallgrants.html

The purpose of the 1989 North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), as amended, is to promote long-term conservation of North American wetland ecosystems, and the waterfowl and other migratory birds, fish and wildlife that depend upon such habitat. Principal conservation actions supported by NAWCA are acquisition, establishment, enhancement and restoration of wetlands and wetland-associated uplands.

State/Tribal/Local Wetlands Grant Program
http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/initiative/#financial

This federal grant program has supports State, Tribal, and local efforts to protect wetlands by providing funds to enhance existing programs or develop new programs.

Recreation

Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program (RTCA)
http://www.nps,gov/rtca

The Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program, also known as the Rivers & Trails Program or RTCA, is a community resource of the National Park Service. Rivers & Trails staff work with community groups and local and State governments to conserve rivers, preserve open space, and develop trails and greenways.

Agriculture

Conservation Security Program
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp/

CSP is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to promote the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life, and other conservation purposes on Tribal and private working lands. Working lands include cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pasture, and range land, as well as forested land that is an incidental part of an agriculture operation. The program is available in all 50 States, the Caribbean Area and the Pacific Basin area. The program provides equitable access to benefits to all producers, regardless of size of operation, crops produced, or geographic location.

Farm Bill Conservation Provisions
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2002/

The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 is landmark legislation for conservation funding and for focusing on environmental issues. The conservation provisions will assist farmers and ranchers in meeting environmental challenges on their land. This legislation simplifies existing programs and creates new programs to address high priority environmental and production goals. The 2002 Farm Bill enhances the long-term quality of our environment and conservation of our natural resources.

Land and Water Conservation Fund
http://www.nps.gov/ncrc/programs/lwcf

The LWCF program provides matching grants to States and local governments for the acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities. The program is intended to create and maintain a nationwide legacy of high quality recreation areas and facilities and to stimulate non-federal investments in the protection and maintenance of recreation resources across the United States.