Cooperative Conservation Agreements Fiscal Year 2020 Announcement for Program Funding – Wisconsin

Conservation Partners Program is sponsored by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in partnership with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), The J.M. Smucker Co., PepsiCo, General Mills, Cargill, Nestlé, Walmart, and Sam's Club. The Conservation Partners Program funds locally-led projects that provide technical assistance to agricultural producers to adopt regenerative agriculture systems and conservation practices.

2026 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Conservation Planning Assistance (Nontraditional Section 6) is sponsored by Department of Fish and Wildlife. Support the development of new, or the renewal or amendment of existing, Habitat Conservation Plans and Conservation Benefit Agreements (formerly referred to as Safe Harbor Agreements and Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances). The Conservation Planning Assistance Grant program provides funding to States to support the development of new Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) and Conservation Benefit Agreements (CBAs; formerly referred to as Safe Harbor Agreements and Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances). Funding may also be used to support the renewal or amendment of existing HCPs or CBAs. The development of HCPs that include only candidate or at-risk species (i.e., no federally listed species covered by the HCP), such that the HCP would be in place if the species is listed, is also supported through this program. Funding may be used to support development and planning activities such as document preparation, public outreach, baseline species surveys, habitat assessments, and inventories. The preparation of environmental compliance review documents, such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), is also an eligible use of grant funds. For CBAs, outreach, coordination, and administrative costs associated with the implementation of permitted agreements is also an eligible use of funds this year. Please Note: Applicants to the 2026 Nontraditional Section 6: Conservation Planning Assistance grant program must submit a proposal through this State opportunity. CDFW will not forward proposals to USFWS that were not submitted through this solicitation. This is a federal grant program administered by the State. Federal conditions are subject to change. The timeline for the FY2026 US Fish and Wildlife Service Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Conservation Planning Assistance Grants Funding Opportunity is set by the US Fish and Wildlife Service; it is unknown when that funding opportunity will be released. Proposals must be reviewed and approved by CDFW Regional staff. Contact your CDFW Region to coordinate on proposals. CDFW Regions will submit proposals to nccp@wildlife.ca.gov. Resources for this solicitation are based on the FY2025 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Conservation Planning Assistance funding opportunity announcement from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (F25AS00184) and FY2025 CDFW requirements.

2026 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: HCP Land Acquisition (Nontraditional Section 6) is sponsored by Department of Fish and Wildlife. Funds to support land acquisition projects in support of approved Habitat Conservation Plans that will conserve habitat for eligible species in perpetuity. The HCP Land Acquisition Grant program was designed to reduce conflicts between the conservation of listed species and competing land uses on specific parcels of land associated with approved and permitted HCPs. Under this program, the Service provides matching grants to states in support of land acquisition projects that will conserve species habitat in perpetuity through fee simple acquisition or the acquisition of permanent conservation easements. The Service considers the use of federal acquisition dollars by states for habitat protection associated with HCPs to be an important and effective mechanism to promote species recovery, prevent extinction, and preclude the need to list species under the ESA in the future. All land acquired through these grants complements, but does not replace, the mitigation, minimization, and/or monitoring commitments of the HCP. Thus, this work is additive to the conservation commitments entered into when HCPs are permitted and serves as a meaningful way to leverage non-federal investment in species recovery and connect conservation lands across the landscape. Please Note: Applicants to the 2026 Nontraditional Section 6: HCP Land Acquisition grant program must submit a proposal through this State opportunity. CDFW will not forward proposals to USFWS that were not submitted through this solicitation. This is a federal grant program administered by the State. Federal conditions are subject to change. The timeline for the FY2026 US Fish and Wildlife Service Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition Grants Funding Opportunity is set by the US Fish and Wildlife Service; it is unknown when that funding opportunity will be released. Proposals must be reviewed and approved by CDFW Regional staff. Contact your CDFW Region to coordinate on proposals. CDFW Regions will submit proposals to nccp@wildlife.ca.gov. Resources for this solicitation are based on the FY2025 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition Grants funding opportunity announcement from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (F25AS00035) and FY2025 CDFW requirements.