Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund Grants on the Land Conservation Assistance Network

Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund Grants
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last updated: March 2022

Because more than half of all species currently listed as endangered or threatened spend at least part of their life cycle on privately owned lands, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) recognizes that success in conserving species will ultimately depend on working cooperatively with landowners, communities, and Tribes to foster voluntary stewardship efforts on private lands. States play a key role in catalyzing these efforts.

A variety of tools are available under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to help States and landowners plan and implement projects to conserve species. One of the tools, the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (section 6 of the ESA), provides grants to States and Territories to participate in a wide array of voluntary conservation projects for candidate, proposed, and listed species. The program provides funding to States and Territories for species and habitat conservation actions on non-Federal lands. States and Territories must contribute a minimum non-Federal match of 25% of the estimated program costs of approved projects, or 10% when two or more States or Territories implement a joint project. A State or Territory must currently have, or enter into, a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of the Interior to receive grants. Most States and Territories have entered into these agreements for both plant and animal species.

The FWS has Federal funding under four grant programs that are available through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund:

Conservation Grants - provide financial assistance to States and Territories to implement conservation projects for listed species and at-risk species. Funded activities include habitat restoration, species status surveys, public education and outreach, captive propagation and reintroduction, nesting surveys, genetic studies, and development of management plans.

Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance Grants - provide funds to States and Territories to support the development of Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) through support of baseline surveys and inventories, document preparation, outreach, and similar planning activities.

HCP Land Acquisition Grants - provide funding to States and Territories to acquire land associated with approved HCPs. Grants do not fund the mitigation required of an HCP permittee; instead, they support land acquisition by the State or local governments that complement mitigation.

Recovery Land Acquisition Grants - provide funds to States and Territories for the acquisition of habitat for endangered and threatened species in support of draft and approved recovery plans. Acquisition of habitat to secure long-term protection is often an essential element of a comprehensive recovery effort for a listed species.

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Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund Grants is not employed by or affiliated with the Land Conservation Assistance Network, and the Network does not certify or guarantee their services. The reader must perform their own due diligence and use their own judgment in the selection of any professional.