FY 2021 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CESCF) Traditional Conservation Grants Program (Service Legacy Region 5) | F21AS00176

Opportunity Information: Apply for F21AS00176

The FY 2021 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CESCF) Traditional Conservation Grants Program (Service Legacy Region 5) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designed to help state governments build and carry out strong conservation programs for threatened and endangered species covered under the Service's jurisdiction. The central aim is practical, on-the-ground progress: projects must show clear, direct conservation benefits that either help recover federally listed species or reduce the risk that additional species will need to be listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The funding is intended to support the development and implementation of state-led conservation work, with the Service providing financial assistance through grants.

This program supports work focused on several categories of species. First are federally listed species, specifically resident species included within a state's ESA Section 6 cooperative agreement. Second are candidate species, meaning species the Service has determined warrant listing as threatened or endangered, but the formal listing is delayed because other higher priority actions take precedence. Third, the notice also includes certain "at-risk" species beyond official candidates, defined for this opportunity as species that fall into one of several active ESA pipeline situations: species with a positive 90-day finding but no proposed rule yet; species already proposed for listing but not finalized; species currently under an initiated ESA status review that has been announced in the Federal Register; and species identified on the National Listing Workplan (a detailed list is referenced as Attachment A in the opportunity materials). Finally, the program can also fund monitoring for recently delisted species, defined here as species delisted within the past five years, but only when delisting occurred due to recovery (not for other reasons). The Service points applicants to its ECOS Delisted Species page for the official list and delisting years.

Projects may cover a wide range of conservation approaches as long as the work is tied to measurable recovery progress or prevention of future listing. The opportunity explicitly supports management actions, research, monitoring, outreach, or blended projects that combine multiple approaches. Examples of eligible activities include introducing species into appropriate habitat within their historic range, restoring or enhancing habitat, conducting surveys and inventories of habitats, running species status surveys, propagating plants or animals, and performing targeted research such as genetic analyses to evaluate population structure and genetic health. It also allows for public education and outreach when it is directly linked to addressing threats to a species, such as developing practical outreach tools (including websites) or coordinating workshops with local landowners to reduce or manage specific threats. Monitoring of candidate, at-risk, and recently recovered (recently delisted) species is also an eligible use of funds, reflecting the program's emphasis on both recovery and proactive prevention.

Eligibility is narrowly defined. Only state agencies may apply, and they must have an active cooperative agreement with the Service under ESA Section 6(c), or they must enter into or reconfirm such an agreement within 30 days of the application deadline. The Service also emphasizes that a complete, signed cooperative agreement must be in place before federal funds can be obligated to any project, citing applicable regulatory requirements (50 CFR 81.3, 50 CFR 81.5, and 43 CFR 12.50(b)(3)). While the award can only be made to a state, other partners such as counties, conservation organizations, or other groups can still participate by working with the eligible state agency as subgrantees, as long as the partnership supports mutually beneficial conservation outcomes aligned with the grant's objectives.

Key administrative details in the source data include the funding opportunity number F21AS00176, the CFDA number 15.615, and the funding instrument type listed as a grant. The eligible applicant type is state governments, and the issuing agency is the Fish and Wildlife Service. The original closing date was May 12, 2021, and the listed award ceiling was $755,421. Overall, the program is structured to reward proposals that clearly connect planned actions to tangible conservation results for species or habitats, with a strong preference for projects that can demonstrate direct benefits and credible pathways toward recovery or reduced listing risk.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2021 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CESCF) Traditional Conservation Grants Program (Service Legacy Region 5)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.615.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-11-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-12. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $755,421.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F21AS00176

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: