F25AS00184 FY 2025 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Conservation Planning Assistance | F25AS00184

Opportunity Information: Apply for F25AS00184

F25AS00184 is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (CFDA 15.615) under the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, specifically the Conservation Planning Assistance program. This program has been running since FY 2001 and is aimed at helping states build the planning foundation needed to conserve imperiled wildlife through formal conservation planning tools. The core purpose is to fund the development of new Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) and Conservation Benefit Agreements (CBAs), as well as the renewal or amendment of existing plans and agreements. A notable emphasis is that the program can support HCPs written for candidate or otherwise at-risk species even when no federally listed species are covered, so the plan is ready to go if a species later becomes listed.

The funding is intended for planning and development work rather than on-the-ground land purchases. Typical eligible activities include drafting and assembling planning documents, conducting public outreach to support plan development, and doing the technical groundwork needed to design credible conservation measures such as baseline species surveys, habitat assessments, and biological inventories. The grant can also pay for preparing environmental compliance documents required to move a plan or agreement forward, including reviews and documentation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). For CBAs in particular, this FY 2025 opportunity also allows states to use funds for outreach, coordination, and administrative costs tied to implementing already permitted agreements, which expands the program beyond purely writing the agreements to supporting the practical coordination needed to carry them out.

Eligibility is tightly limited. Only state agencies may apply, and only if they have an active Cooperative Agreement under Section 6(c) of the Endangered Species Act and have submitted the information needed for the annual renewal (reconfirmation) of that cooperative agreement. If a state has not met both conditions, its application will not be considered. While the award can only go to a state, the opportunity explicitly allows collaboration: counties, conservation organizations, and other partners can participate through the eligible state agency as subgrantees when the work supports shared conservation goals.

The opportunity also draws clear boundaries around what the money cannot do. Federal grant funds and the required non-federal cost share cannot be used to satisfy regulatory obligations under the ESA or other federal requirements. That includes using these funds to comply with a Section 7 biological opinion, or to cover mitigation, minimization, or monitoring commitments required under a Section 10 HCP permit, or to meet other federal mitigation requirements such as those connected to Clean Water Act permits. In other words, this program is for proactive conservation planning and agreement development, not for paying for actions that an applicant is already legally required to perform as part of permitting or compliance.

There are additional program integrity rules for repeat or continuing efforts. If a state previously received funding for a planning effort and still has an open prior-year award, it cannot request FY 2025 funds to complete deliverables that were already promised under that earlier award. The example given is straightforward: if earlier funding covered completion of a draft NEPA document, this opportunity cannot be used to finish that same draft NEPA document. The Service also will not fund work that conflicts with approved species recovery plans (referencing 50 CFR 81.2). Applications may not include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service full-time equivalent (FTE) costs, meaning applicants cannot budget for Service staff time as a project cost line item.

From a budgeting and reimbursement standpoint, state administrative costs must either be absorbed by the state or built into the proposal consistent with federal cost principles and other applicable requirements. In general, only costs incurred during the approved period of performance are reimbursable, starting from the grant’s effective date. However, the program allows for pre-award costs in limited situations when necessary to meet the proposed schedule, but only if those costs are specifically detailed in the application, would otherwise be allowable, the grant is ultimately awarded, and the awarding agency provides written approval consistent with 2 CFR 200.458. One spending category is expressly excluded: land acquisition is not eligible under this opportunity.

Key logistics included in the notice are that the opportunity is run by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the application deadline is March 14, 2025, and the stated award ceiling is $1,000,000. The eligible applicant type is state governments only, reflecting the program’s structure as a state-focused planning assistance tool under the ESA cooperative agreement framework.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F25AS00184 FY 2025 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Conservation Planning Assistance" 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 2024-12-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-03-14. (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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F25AS00184

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