Southern Plains Grasslands Program is a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) that funds habitat conservation and rangeland stewardship across the Southern Great Plains, covering Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The program partners with nonprofits, government agencies, and the ranching community to address grassland health and resilience, supporting wildlife species such as the monarch butterfly, pronghorn, prairie chicken, and bobwhite quail. Projects that enhance carbon storage and benefit rural ranching communities are prioritized.

Funding partners include Burger King, Cargill, Sysco, Walmart Foundation, USDA NRCS, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The program plans to award more than $10 million over five years; no current deadline is listed.

Southern Plains Grassland Program | NFWF Southern Plains Grassland Program The Southern Great Plains host a unique set of wildlife species that are specifically adapted to this grassland ecosystem. Many of these species, such as the monarch butterfly and songbirds, migrate to and from the region in order to complete their life cycle.

Others, including the pronghorn, swift fox, prairie chicken and bobwhite quail are year-round residents that live alongside human residents who are engaged in the ranching of livestock, primarily beef cattle.

The Southern Plains Grassland Program seeks to work closely with nonprofit and government partners and the ranching community to bring important financial and technical resources to address the health and resilience of the grasslands of the Southern Great Plains. These actions will increase the vitality of this often-overlooked ecosystem, providing benefits to wildlife and to rural, ranching-based communities.

In addition, these actions increase the ability of grasslands to store carbon, providing key benefits to much larger efforts to address a changing climate. Program partners include Burger King, Cargill and Sysco, with additional support from Walmart Foundation, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Southern Plains Grasslands are located in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The Southern Plains Grassland Program seeks to make more than $10 million in grants over the next five years, building upon the contributions from Cargill and Sysco with additional public and private conservation funding.

The Southern Great Plains host a unique set of wildlife species that are specifically adapted to this grassland ecosystem. Many of these species, such as the monarch butterfly and songbirds, migrate to and from the region in order to complete their life cycle.

Others—including the pronghorn, swift fox, prairie chicken and bobwhite quail—are year-round residents that live alongside human residents who are engaged in the ranching of livestock, primarily beef cattle. Due to habitat loss and fragmentation as well as reduced habitat quality, many of these species are in decline. As an example, grassland birds have declined by 53 percent since 1970.

The implementation of the voluntary conservation measures supported by the Southern Plains Grassland Program will be focused on the most important factor for most wildlife; the extent, connectivity and quality of habitat. For example, in Colorado, grasslands support more than twice as many animal species of conservation concern than any other habitat type.

Improved grazing management actions can proactively address those declines before these species see further population decreases and are threatened with extinction. The grasslands of the Southern Great Plains exist on just a portion of their once greater extent. While some large areas of grasslands still exist, many of these are threatened with fragmentation and conversion to other land uses.

Between 2014 and 2018, grasslands have disappeared at an average rate of four football fields every minute. What is causing these issues? Grassland loss is occurring at an alarming rate due to land use conversion to more profitable—but often less sustainable—practices than grass-based agriculture.

Woodland encroachment of invasive species, such as eastern red cedar, which is spreading due to a changing climate and natural fire regimes, has transitioned 108 million acres of former grasslands in the Great Plains. What will NFWF and partners do to remedy the problem?

NFWF will work with nonprofit conservation groups and ranching collectives/associations, as well as local, regional, state and federal agencies to identify and implement on the ground conservation actions, and then monitor the outcomes from those efforts. Additional emphasis will be placed on partnerships that are developed from within local communities and those that are rancher-led initiatives.

What are the program priorities, strategies and/or goals?

Improve grassland health and resilience through improved grazing practices Control of invasive species that reduce available forage for livestock and habitat for wildlife Restore formerly converted lands back to grassland Protect existing high-quality grassland parcels Invest in community-level grassland collaborative conservation efforts Explore innovations in conservation, including: Grass banks and other community cooperative grazing arrangements Innovations in fencing, water delivery and recreation.

Southern Plains Grassland Program 2026 Request for Proposals - CLOSED Director, Rocky Mountain Regional Office Program Director, Grasslands and Mountain West Manager, Rocky Mountain Regional Programs Coordinator, Regional Programs Pronghorn, also known as "antelope," are sagebrush-dependent ungulate known for their incredible speed. They are the sole-surviving member of their taxonomic family.

With an evolutionary history rooted in open-grasslands, pronghorn are reluctant to leap over fences that have been constructed across the West for rangeland management, causing disruptions of their ancient migration routes and reducing access to high-quality habitat.

Acres for America Program ConocoPhillips SPIRIT of Conservation Program Conservation Partners Program Northern Great Plains Program Pecos Watershed Conservation Initiative Rocky Mountain Rangelands Program Southern Plains Grassland Program Western Big Game Seasonal Habitat and Migration Corridors Fund Rocky Mountain Rangelands Northern Great Plains Business Plan Southwest Rivers Business Plan One of the most economically important game birds, the northern bobwhite quail is named for the distinctive 'bob-white' mating call of males throughout the breeding season.

Bobwhite quail prefer shrubby areas surrounding grasslands or agricultural fields and live in groups called "coveys" during the fall and winter.

Acres for America Program Conservation Partners Program Cumberland Plateau and Southern Appalachian Stewardship Fund Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund Southern Plains Grassland Program Longleaf Forests and Rivers Longleaf Forests and Rivers Business Plan One of North America's most iconic species, the monarch butterfly is best known for its spectacular 3,000-mile annual migration from its northern breeding grounds to wintering grounds in central Mexico.

A distinct, western monarch population migrates between the western states and their winter range in coastal California; both the eastern and western populations have been negatively affected by habitat loss and reduction in milkweed plants that serve as the sole food source for monarch caterpillars.

Conservation Partners Program Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Southern Plains Grassland Program Monarch Butterfly Business Plan Rallying partners for wildlife in the Northern Great Plains National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Announces $7. 4 Million in Third Round of Grants Made through the Southern Plains Grassland Program National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Announces Nearly $2.

2 Million in New Conservation Grants to Address Health and Resilience of Southern Great Plains Ecosystem