Wildlife Diversity Grant Program

Wildlife Diversity Grant Program is sponsored by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). This program provides funding for projects designed to benefit imperiled wildlife species in Washington state, supporting recovery actions and data collection for land use and habitat management decisions. WDFW anticipates supporting eight to twelve projects.

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wa. gov/species-habitats/at-risk/wildlife-diversity-grants) # Wildlife Diversity Grant Program The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has awarded $1 million in Wildlife Diversity Grants for fiscal years 2026–2027, funding eight collaborative projects to protect some of the state’s most at-risk wildlife. Please check this page in November 2026 for the start of the new grant application period.

Several projects are receiving second-phase funding to build on early successes, while new initiatives address emerging conservation needs across Washington.

Funded work includes bumble bee monitoring, bullfrog control to aid endangered pond turtles, artificial burrow installation for burrowing owls, shorebird monitoring in coastal dunes, streaked horned lark population studies, Oregon spotted frog recovery, protection of desert-striped whipsnakes, and assessing the feasibility of tufted puffin reintroduction.

WDFW received 60 applications requesting more than $12 million, underscoring the demand for species recovery funding. The Wildlife Diversity Grant Program is part of WDFW’s long-term strategy to restore and protect biodiversity through science-based, collaborative action. Continued legislative investment will help expand these efforts and address decades of underfunding for species recovery.

### 2025-2027 Grant Recipients | Striped whipsnakes in focus: expanding knowledge and informing recovery | Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy | This project aims to advance the recovery and preservation of striped whipsnakes, a deeply imperiled shrubsteppe obligate species and candidate for state listing.

Goals include refining their statewide distribution, addressing key natural history gaps (e.g., diet and habitat selection), establishing long-term monitoring, and initiating conservation actions to mitigate impacts of wildfire and roads. These efforts will provide critical data and actionable plans to guide the species’ conservation.

| | Oregon Spotted Frog (OSF) Recovery and Bullfrog Management at Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge | Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, USFWS | The primary purpose of this project is to control invasive American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) in critical habitats where Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) and bullfrogs overlap, particularly in the Black River area.

The project aims to enhance oviposition habitat between OSF populations at Dempsey Creek and 123rd to increase connectivity. By suppressing bullfrog populations, monitoring OSF breeding success, and restoring habitats, this project directly supports OSF recovery. | | Cross-Boundary Aquatic Invasive Bullfrog Control for Northwestern Pond Turtles in the Columbia River Gorge | Mt.

Adams Resource Stewards | To protect the endangered Northwestern pond turtle (NWPT), Mt Adams Resource Stewards (MARS) proposes to partner with Friends of the Columbia Gorge (Friends), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pierce National Wildlife Refuge (Pierce NWR), and WDFW (“Partners” to describe the combined cohort of organizations) to reduce the number of non-native bullfrogs through culling and egg mass removal on Partners' properties in Skamania and Klickitat Counties.

| | Assessing the viability of reintroductions as a conservation tool to restore Tufted Puffin populations | Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge | To inform conservation planning for the Tufted Puffin, state-listed as Endangered, we propose to create a report that assesses (1) current colony occupancy and trends all historically occupied colonies in the state, (2) habitat characteristics analysis of all historical colonies, (3) the current knowledge of seabird population active restoration strategies and techniques, and (3) viability of using active restoration for conservation of the species, and prioritized list of sites for doing so.

| | Understanding population dynamics of streaked horned larks at Olympia Airport | Ecostudies Institute | The proposed project will complete the first season of streaked horned lark demographic monitoring at Olympia Airport that is being initiated in April 2025 and continue monitoring up through the 2026 breeding season.

This project will improve our understanding of lark population dynamics under airport management activities and provide demographic vital rates for the largest lark population in the South Puget Sound located off of Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

| | Implementing Long Term Monitoring for Bumble Bee SGCN at Sentinel Sites in Washington State | The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation | The goal of this project is to track SGCN bumble bee species - including western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis), Morrison bumble bee (B. morrisoni), and Suckley cuckoo bumble bee (B.

suckleyi) - to better understand trends in occupancy and drivers of those trends, and to serve as a detection system should these or other species experience changes in status. Information gained through this project will inform habitat restoration and stewardship of the lands that support these species.

| | Western burrowing owl artificial burrow installation and site suitability assessment | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Western burrowing owls have declined substantially in Washington. Artificial burrows have been used in recovery efforts, but we don’t fully understand why some artificial burrow sites successful while others are not.

We propose to install 40 new artificial burrows, collect pellets for analysis, and complete monitoring for occupation of burrows.

| | Multi-species monitoring in coastal dune habitat on partner lands to advance recovery of Western snowy plover and streaked horned larks | Ecostudies Institute | The proposed project is a continuation of an existing, multi-year effort to support collaborative conservation and recovery of the federally-threatened and State-endangered streaked horned lark and Western snowy plover in Washington coastal dunes.

This project aims to fill critical information gaps on distribution, demographics, and habitat use, through breeding season monitoring of both species and deploying GPS tags on larks to reveal non-breeding season movements and potential threats.

| ## Grant Opportunity Announcement and Information ### Grant Opportunity Announcement for Washington 2025-27 Biennium (7/1/2025 - 6/30/2027) WDFW’s Wildlife Diversity Grant Program aims to support recovery actions for a suite of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN).

Grant funding can also be awarded for projects aimed at collecting data and information on species abundance, distribution, and habitat associations, with priority for SGCN whose habitats are under significant threat of incompatible development, land use, or resource management. Coordination with WDFW species leads and alignment with WDFW priorities is critical to the success of grant-funded projects.

**Please read the**full grant opportunity announcement (PDF)for details on eligibility criteria, WDFW priorities, how to coordinate with WDFW staff ahead of applying, and how to apply. Be sure to read the full announcement thoroughly as details and instructions to apply have been updated for this grant round. An information session was held on November 13 and the recording can be viewed below.

See the FAQ section below for responses to common questions and clarifications. Funding for the Wildlife Diversity Grant program comes from a significant investment by the state legislature to restore and protect biodiversity in Washington. The Department expects funding to be available in future biennia to continue this grant program.

### Grant Opportunity Basics * **Total available funding:** $1 million * **Eligible Applicants:** Applicants affiliated with public, nonprofit, academic, or tribal entities * **Project Timeframe:** Projects must occur from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027 * **Project budget range:** $40,000 to $400,000, including indirect/overhead * **Eligible species:** SGCN within the Wildlife Diversity Division's scope (see table below).

Ineligible SGCN include fish, aquatic invertebrates, wolves, and most harvested wildlife. * This flyer (PDF) provides a high-level summary of the grant opportunity and examples of past-funded projects. **For more detailed information on each 2024-2025 project, you can view individual****project summary handouts hyperlinked in the table below.

** * Implementing recovery and conservation actions for eligible Washington SGCN that directly and measurably benefit species populations. These projects contribute to increased species abundance, distribution, population health, or clear abatement of direct threats.

* Collecting data and information on the abundance, distribution, habitat associations, or natural history of eligible SGCN, with additional priority given toward species whose habitat is under significant pressure from development, land use, or resource management (i.e., shrubsteppe, eastside forest, prairies, and oak woodlands).

* Completing direct actionable steps toward increasing eligible species’ populations (e.g., conservation translocation feasibility studies) or collecting baseline data about eligible species (e.g., developing survey protocols or assessing habitat use).

### Ineligible Activities * Habitat restoration, conservation easements, or land acquisition * Projects that primarily benefit species outside WDFW Wildlife Diversity Division’s scope of responsibility are not eligible. These include fish, aquatic invertebrates, wolves, and most harvested wildlife.

Review the grant opportunity announcement (PDF) for more details on priority, eligible, and ineligible activities for inclusion in grant proposals, including a list of eligible species. Grant applicants must complete an application form and submit all required components through the grant submission form**no later than 11:59 pm on January 19, 2027**.

Questions and communications concerning this grant opportunity may be directed to: Wildlife Diversity Assistant Division Manager Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife WildlifeDiversityGrants@dfw. wa. gov ## Fiscal Year 2025 Grant Recipients WDFW selected 17 grants to be funded in state fiscal year 2025, allocating $1.

1M this grant cycle. These grants advance a range of recovery actions and data collection efforts that will support recovery of at least twenty Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) (PDF) representing a variety of wildlife species in Washington. WDFW announced the new grant program in March 2024, and received 46 grant proposals, for a total budget request of $3.

9 million, from applicants interested in conducting projects to benefit a wide variety of wildlife species in Washington. The FY25 grant opportunity announcement (PDF) details the priorities and grant selection process for that first single-year grant opportunity.

**A full list of the grant recipients and project titles is available below, along with project summary PDFs (hyperlinked in title) with more detailed information on each project. ** ## List of Eligible Species The following Species of Greatest Conservation Need are eligible for activities funded through this grant opportunity.

Each species has unique data- and recovery-related needs, and applicants are strongly encouraged to consult relevant WDFW species leads prior to submitting a grant proposal. Applicants may email WildlifeDiversityGrants@dfw. wa.

gov to ask questions or to be connected to relevant WDFW subject matter experts to inform their grant proposal. This table includes species that have had recent taxonomic revisions; therefore, the listed names may not match the name listed on the linked webpage. The information on linked webpages may not be fully up to date and the species without a link do not have a webpage.

Again, we encourage direct communication with WDFW biologists to best inform potential grant proposals. ## Frequently Asked Questions **What is the definition of a public entity? ** For the purposes of this grant program, a public entity is the same as a public agency, as defined by RCW 39.

34. 020: (1) "Public agency" means any agency, political subdivision, or unit of local government of this state including, but not limited to, municipal corporations, quasi municipal corporations, special purpose districts, and local service districts; any agency of the state government; any agency of the United States; any Indian tribe recognized as such by the federal government; and any political subdivision of another state.

” **Will this grant opportunity be available in future years? ** This is a biennial opportunity we expect will continue to be funded. This round is for 7/1/25-6/30/27, and the next one would be for 7/1/27-6/30/29, and so forth.

**Match is not required, but could a grant proposal request WDFW grant funding to cover a portion of a larger or longer-term project? ** Yes, absolutely. There is an optional question in the form where applicants can explain how a WDFW grant would complement or be used to cover a portion of a project funded by other sources or with “in-kind” capacity.

WDFW grant funds could be used to pick up a phase or portion of a longer-term project. The deliverables and outputs of the grant should be clearly described. **Are there restrictions on grant funds paying for salary?

** No, grant funds can be used for salary, supplies, equipment, and travel expenses to implement grant-eligible activities. **Why isn’t habitat restoration or land acquisition an eligible activity for this grant program? Are there cases where habitat restoration could be part of an eligible proposal?

** Habitat restoration is not eligible for this particular funding opportunity for a few reasons: * We agree that habitat restoration and protection is critical for wildlife recovery. * The Wildlife Diversity Grant program is one piece of a larger investment the Washington legislature made in biodiversity restoration. Habitat protection and restoration is the focus of other major pieces of that larger investment.

The component of the larger investment that includes the Wildlife Diversity Grant program is focused on the wildlife species themselves. * There are other available funding sources and grant programs that focus specifically on habitat restoration. The Wildlife Diversity Grant program is intended to meet a specific need to support wildlife recovery actions and species information gathering projects.

* Some examples of habitat restoration that could be eligible and is not considered the primary purpose of a project include: * Mowing a small area to install survey equipment such as a camera, or artificial habitat components such as a bat box. * Surveying species response to habitat restoration treatments that are funded with another source. * Habitat assessments to inform future recovery or habitat restoration actions are eligible.

**Could you please give examples of recovery and conservation actions that are eligible? ** Projects that focus on abating direct threats, such as bullfrog control to benefit Oregon spotted frog, Northwestern pond turtle, or Northern leopard frog. * Projects that take steps toward implementing a recovery action such as development of a conservation translocation feasibility assessment.

* Headstarting or captive rearing as part of a coordinated conservation translocation action, such as for northwestern pond turtle or island marble butterfly.

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