Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund

Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund is sponsored by Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Supports conservation projects that promote recreation and protect Maine's special places, endangered species, and important fish and wildlife habitats.

Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund: Grants: Programs & Resources: Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Home → Programs & Resources → Grants → Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund View the MOHF Grant Process - What is the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund? What Materials Are Needed to Apply? How Are Applications Selected?

Other Supporting Documents MOHF Grant Application Review – Round 26-2 Thursday, November 19th, 2026 10:00 – 12:00 – Review of Round 26-2 Grant Applications Department of Marine Resources, 32 Blossom Lane, Augusta Marquardt Building, Room 118 The meeting will also be offered remotely via Zoom – Register Here for Grant Application Review Round 26-2 What is the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund?

The Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund (MOHF) helps fund critical wildlife and conservation projects throughout Maine. The Maine Legislature established MOHF in 1996 with LD 717 "An Act to Establish the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund" in response to a grassroots effort led by Maine Audubon and the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine while joined by many other environmental interested parties.

Revenue is generated by a dedicated instant lottery ticket distributed by the Maine State Lotteryas well as any funds received as contributions from private and public sources. Dedicated MOHF lottery tickets are available at most convenience stores, gas stations, and other outlets where Maine State Lottery tickets are sold.

The fund supplements sources and levels of funding appropriated and allocated by the Legislature to natural resources agencies. It is the intent of the Legislature that a grant received from the fund not be considered a substitute for funds previously appropriated or allocated to a natural resources agency.

Category 1: Conservation of fisheries and wildlife, and habitat (35%); Category 2: Acquisition and management of public lands, parks, wildlife conservation areas, and public access and outdoor recreation sites and facilities (35%); Category 3: Conservation of endangered and threatened species (15%); and Category 4: Natural resources law enforcement and protection of public health (15%).

For more information on categories, refer to MOHF Category Objectives (PDF) . Grants are awarded semi-annually to natural resource agencies in response to grant proposals. To date, MOHF has awarded over 28 million to over 1200 projects.

For more information about the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund contact Carol Gay, Secretariat for MOHF, email: carol. gay@maine. gov , or (207) 458-8421.

The following principles guide the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund Board as it considers grant requests during its current strategic' plans duration.

The Board will give preference to projects that most substantially accomplish one or more of these objectives: Conserve the best of Maine's outdoor heritage and achieve outstanding natural-resource or recreational benefits; Maximize degree and diversity of public/private partnerships or other types of matching contributions. Projects with a 1/3 or higher cash match will be given the highest priority evaluation.

Contributions are intended to support only project-related expenses, including salaries. Matching contributions must consist of funds raised specifically for the project proposed and should not include salary costs of natural resource agency staff that are funded by the State General Fund. In-kind contributions that occur during the duration of the project will be considered matching contributions.

Proposals that are funded will receive funds according to a schedule determined by the Board. For additional information on matching contributions: refer to MOHF Matching Contributions and Partnerships (PDF) Form alliances between natural resource agencies, interest groups, and organizations based on shared visions and mutual responsibility.

These groups and organizations could include Universities, Municipalities, Tribal Nations, Conservation Groups, other Not-For Profit, and For-Profit Corporations; Address natural resource concerns of statewide significance and/or broad geographical distribution.

Final Report and Recommendations of the Land Acquisition Priorities Advisory Committee (PDF) Maine's State Forest Assessment and Strategies (PDF) Maine's Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan or SCORP Maine's Wildlife Management Action Plans and Reports Any organization that can be established as an insured vendor with the State of Maine who holds a liability insurance policy for their project as well as any Maine State Agency may apply through an authorized Natural Resource Agency Representative .

Partnership Note: It is not necessary to have partnerships; however, Partnerships with state agencies, municipalities, and other organizations are strongly encouraged and are scored accordingly as noted in the Grant Evaluation Form (PDF) . A partner helps to plan or implement the project.

Partnership Letters of Understanding describing the partner's role in the project must be included with the Full Grant Proposal Application (PDF) to be considered a partner. Applications MUST be submitted through one of the following authorized Natural Resource Agency Representatives listed below while adhering to the MOHF Grant Submittal Schedule .

Applicants should be prepared to discuss their project description, how the project meets MOHF Guiding Principles , Funding Category Selection , Budget, and Partnerships. Authorized Natural Resource Agency Representatives: Baxter State Park Authority – Kevin Adam 207-723-9616 x 052 kevin. adam@baxterstatepark.

org ME Dept. of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry - Tom Gordon 207-287-4986 Tom. Gordon@Maine.

gov ME Dept. of Environmental Protection - Wendy Garland (207) 615-2451 wendy. garland@maine.

gov ME Dept. of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife – Alison Truesdale (207) 592-1525 Alison. Truesdale@maine.

gov ME Dept. of Marine Resources - Amanda Webb (207) 624-6556 Amanda. Webb@maine.

gov Saco River Corridor Commission - Cheri Dunning 207-625-8123 cheri@srcc-maine. org Saint Croix International Waterway Commission - Neal Berry 207-952-9069 director@stcroix. org Soil & Water Conservation Dist.

- Carol Weymouth 207-852-8184 cweymouth@maineconservationdistricts. com Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve - Dr. Jennifer Seavey 207-646-1555 jseavey@wellsnerr. org MOHF Grant Submittal Schedule: Jan 15 (spring) & Jul 15 (fall) – Initial Contact with Natural Resource Agency Representative Email authorized Natural Resource Agency Representative with a preliminary Summary Application Form (PDF) requesting sponsorship approval.

Applicants should be prepared to discuss their project description, how the project meets MOHF Guiding Principles , Funding Category Selection , Budget, and Partnerships.

Feb 20 (spring) & Aug 20 (fall) – Full Grant Proposal Application Submittal After receiving sponsorship approval from the authorized Natural Resource Agency Representative Grant Applicant must submit 10 copies of the Full Grant Proposal Application (PDF) to their sponsoring Natural Resource Agency Representative along with one copy of the Summary Application Form (PDF) (detached) while following Full Grant Proposal Requirements (PDF) .

Mar 1 (spring) & Sep 1 (fall) - Final Grant Proposal Application Submittal Authorized Sponsoring Natural Resource Agency Representative will submit nine copies of the Full Grant Proposal Application (PDF) with Summary Application Form (PDF) signed by the Commissioner (attached) to the MOHF Secretariat.

Applications are reviewed and awards are determined at the MOHF Board meeting, generally held the first week in May for the spring grant cycle and the last week in October for the fall grant cycle. Check the MOHF webpage, www. maine.

gov/ifw/mohf or contact the MOHF Secretariat for exact dates. MOHF Board meetings are open to the public and grant applicants are encouraged to attend. What Materials Are Needed to Apply?

Initial Submittal requires the preliminary Summary Application Form (PDF) emailed as a single pdf to the Authorized Natural Resource Agency Sponsor . Full Grant Proposal Application requires: Part 1 : Summary Application Form (PDF) Must include applicant signature and the financial section must align with the Budget Form.

(Leave unstapled from full package so the agency can get approval signature and make copies) Full Grant Proposal Application (PDF) (no more than 5 pages in length) Partnership Letters of Understanding (if applicable) Other supporting documents such as: Letters of support Note: These are letters from organizations supporting the project. Although welcomed, they are not considered partners and are not part of the grant evaluation scoring.

Mail and email application to your authorized Natural Resource Agency Sponsor per MOHF Grant Submittal Schedule Hard copy: Part 1: - one copy of the Summary Application Form (PDF) detached. Part 2: ten copies stapled in upper left corner of the Full Grant Proposal Application (PDF) packet (no binders please). Electronic Copy: One single pdf document containing both Part 1 & Part 2 documents.

How are Applications Selected? The Legislature created the seven-member Board to select projects that best meet the MOHF guiding principles based on the grant evaluation criteria and the funding allotment for the given round. Three of the members are permanent: the Commissioner of Conservation, the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources..

The remaining four citizen members are appointed by the Governor to staggered terms: one from a state sportsman's organization, one from a state wildlife conservation organization, and one working in a field related to natural resources. Projects are initially scored based on scoring criteria found in the grant evaluation form (PDF) by MOHF Staff .

Grant Applicants are encouraged to review this Grant Evaluation Form (PDF) prior to submitting their application. Scores and category funding allotments are forwarded to the seven-member Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund Board for their preliminary consideration. Final selection is made by majority vote of the MOHF Board after deliberation at the public MOHF Board meeting.

Amanda Beal, Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, & Forestry Timothy Peabody, Acting Commissioner of Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Carl Wilson, Commissioner of the Department Marine Resources Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund Other Supporting Documents Summary Application Form (PDF) Guidelines & Additional Information MOHF Grant Process Quick Step Guide (PDF) Full Grant Proposal Application Requirements (PDF) Grant Evaluation Form (PDF) Grant Awardee Funding & Reporting Requirements (PDF) MOHF Category Objectives (PDF) MOHF Matching Contributions and Partnerships (PDF) Sample MOHF Proposal (PDF) Sample MOHF Proposal 2 (PDF) Sample MOHF Final Report (PDF) State Priority Action Reports Final Report and Recommendations of the Land Acquisition Priorities Advisory Committee (PDF) Maine’s State Forest Assessment and Strategies (PDF) Maine's Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan or SCORP Maine’s Wildlife Management Action Plans and Reports Maine Climate Action Plan (PDF) Maine Climate Implementation Table (PDF) Maine Climate One-Year Progress Report (PDF) For more information about the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund contact Carol Gay, Secretariat for MOHF, email: carol.

gay@maine. gov , or (207) 458-8421.