The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Offer Multistate Conservation Grants for Wildlife Management and Hunter Recruitment

Eligible proposals must benefit:

A majority of States.
A majority (over 50%) of the States in a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Region. Please list the Regions and States in each Region that will benefit (use State abbreviations).
A majority (over 50%) of the States belonging to a regional association of State fish and wildlife agencies (click each of the Associations for the state members,  WAFWA, MAFWA, NEAFWA, SEAFWA). Please indicate the regional fish and wildlife association that will benefit and list each region’s States.

Any nongovernmental organization that applies for a grant shall submit with the application a certification that the organization will not use the grant funds to fund, in whole or in part, any activity of the organization that promotes or encourages opposition to the regulated hunting or trapping of wildlife, to recreational shooting activities, or to the regulated taking of fish. 

Eligible grant proposals are shared with the AFWA National Grants Committee (NGC) for review and ranking to aid in the selection process. Proposals must address eligible activities in one or more of the selected AFWA Strategic Priorities to be considered. Strategic Priorities are annually selected by AFWA to establish the State fish and wildlife agencies’ (States) conservation priorities (under T-MSCGP) or national recruitment priorities (under R3-MSCGP), and they are used to guide proposal development and grant selection for the programs. The primary goal of both programs is to provide grant funds to address regional or national priority needs of the States and their partners that are beyond the scope and capabilities of a single State. Projects selected and awarded are annually published in the Federal Register. Lists of past awards are also available from the Service and AFWA (see Section G, Federal Awarding Agency Contacts).

Recipients awarded under T-MSCGP may use the funds for sport fisheries and wildlife management including research projects, boating access development, hunter safety and education, aquatic education, fish and wildlife habitat improvements, and other purposes consistent with the enabling legislation. 

Recipients awarded under the R3-MSCGP can only use the funds for making hunter recruitment and recreational shooter recruitment projects that promote a national hunting and shooting sport recruitment program, including related communication and outreach activities.