F25AS00035 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition Grants | F25AS00035

Opportunity Information: Apply for F25AS00035

F25AS00035, the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) Land Acquisition Grants, is a discretionary federal grant program run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under CFDA 15.615. Created by Congress in FY 1997, the program is meant to lower the real-world friction that often shows up between protecting imperiled wildlife and ongoing development, agriculture, infrastructure, or other land uses. It does this in a very targeted way: by helping states buy specific parcels of land, or secure permanent conservation easements, that are tied to already approved and permitted Habitat Conservation Plans. The idea is straightforward but powerful: if key habitat can be protected forever, the species covered by those HCPs have a better chance at recovery, the risk of extinction drops, and the likelihood of additional species needing Endangered Species Act (ESA) listings in the future can be reduced.

The funding supports land acquisition projects that conserve habitat in perpetuity, meaning the conservation benefit is intended to last forever rather than for a limited term. Acquisition can occur through fee simple purchase (outright ownership) or through permanent conservation easements (legal restrictions that keep land in private hands but permanently limit uses in order to protect habitat values). Awards are matching grants, so federal dollars are intended to leverage non-federal contributions rather than fully pay for acquisitions. A central feature of the program is that these acquisitions are additive: land purchases funded here are meant to complement an HCP, not substitute for the mitigation, minimization, and monitoring actions the HCP permittee already agreed to. In practice, that means the grant-funded land protection is an extra conservation gain on top of what the HCP already requires, helping stitch together larger blocks of habitat, improve landscape connectivity, and increase the long-term durability of conservation outcomes.

Eligibility is narrow and specific. Only state governments can receive awards, and even within state government, applicants must be state agencies that have an active Cooperative Agreement under ESA Section 6(c). On top of having the agreement in place, the state must also have provided whatever information is required for the annual renewal or reconfirmation of that Cooperative Agreement. If a state agency has not met both conditions, it is not considered eligible for funding under this opportunity. While funding cannot be awarded directly to local governments or nonprofits, counties, conservation organizations, and similar partners can still participate by working through an eligible state agency as subgrantees or collaborators on shared conservation objectives.

The opportunity was posted with a creation date of September 27, 2024, and an original application closing date of January 8, 2025. The listed award ceiling is $26,000,000. The notice does not specify the number of expected awards in the provided fields, but the ceiling indicates the program can support large-scale acquisitions when projects are competitive and well-aligned with permitted HCPs and species recovery needs. Overall, the grant is designed to channel federal resources into permanent habitat protection tied to HCP implementation, using state partnerships to secure high-value conservation lands while reinforcing, rather than replacing, existing ESA permit commitments.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F25AS00035 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition Grants" 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 2024-09-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-08. (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 $26,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F25AS00035

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