F23AS00100 Refuges Enhancement/Infrastructure | F23AS00100

Opportunity Information: Apply for F23AS00100

F23AS00100 Refuges Enhancement/Infrastructure is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) discretionary funding opportunity offered as a cooperative agreement (CFDA 15.654) focused on improving National Wildlife Refuge System lands and facilities through strong, project-based partnerships. The program sits under FWSs broader National Infrastructure Partnerships initiative, which is meant to help refuges collaborate with outside organizations to tackle real on-the-ground needs like habitat maintenance and restoration, visitor access and recreation improvements, and overdue infrastructure repairs. In plain terms, the opportunity is designed to bring local communities and partner organizations into the work of caring for refuges, while also making refuge experiences better for the public and reducing the maintenance backlog that many sites face.

The projects this opportunity supports generally fall into two connected buckets. The first is habitat stewardship: activities that maintain, restore, or improve wildlife habitat and refuge resources. The second is refuge operations and infrastructure: constructing, operating, maintaining, or improving facilities and services that keep refuges functional and welcoming, such as trails, visitor amenities, and other site infrastructure tied to refuge use and management. FWS emphasizes outcomes that enhance the visitor experience and expand wildlife-dependent outdoor recreation (for example, hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, photography, environmental education, and interpretation), while also ensuring habitat is sustainable and resilient. The initiative is also framed as a way to advance several broader FWS priorities, including economic and conservation enhancement, career training and mentoring opportunities for youth and adults, equity and inclusion in conservation and recreation, climate and wildlife resilience, and community health.

This grant uses the Fish and Wildlife Act Community Partnership Enhancement Authority (16 U.S.C. 742f(d)), a special authority that allows FWS to enter into cooperative agreements with non-federal partners to carry out projects for a refuge or a group of related refuges, including certain construction activities on refuge property. Under this authority, construction is interpreted broadly to include building, operating, maintaining, or improving refuge facilities. However, there are important restrictions that applicants need to understand upfront. Improvements made with these funds become the property of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the program is limited to the National Wildlife Refuge System (it is not a general FWS-wide construction authority). Just as important, federal dollars cannot exceed the amount of non-federal match provided for the project, meaning the project must be at least 50 percent supported by non-federal contributions overall.

Cost sharing is therefore a central feature of this opportunity. Applicants must contribute a minimum of 50 percent of total project costs, which can be provided as cash or as qualified third-party in-kind contributions. In-kind contributions may include donated labor, materials, supplies, or equipment loans, as long as they are reasonable and directly tied to the project. Another key financial rule is that FWS funding under this authority cannot be used for the non-federal partners operational or administrative expenses, including indirect costs. Federal funds must be used only for expenses directly related to carrying out the project itself, not for running the applicants organization.

Eligibility is broad and includes many public and private entities, such as state and local governments, tribal governments and tribal organizations, special districts, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and certain non-501(c)(3) nonprofits), for-profit entities (including small businesses), independent school districts, and other eligible applicants. Beyond basic eligibility, FWS highlights several capacity and readiness expectations: applicants should have financial policies and procedures aligned with generally accepted accounting principles, and risk management policies consistent with industry standards that actively identify and reduce risk. A required partnership foundation is also built into the application process: applicants must have a current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with FWS (at the national, regional, or field station level) that clearly spells out roles and responsibilities for the type of work being proposed. The intent is that the MOU covers the category of work (such as trail maintenance or habitat restoration) so partners do not necessarily need a brand-new MOU for every single refuge or project, but a copy of the relevant MOU must be included with the application.

In terms of scale and timing, the posted award ceiling is up to $5,000,000 per award, and the opportunity closing date listed is September 10, 2023 (with a creation date of November 23, 2022). Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a partnership-driven mechanism for getting priority refuge infrastructure and habitat work done faster and more sustainably, while drawing in community partners who can add match, hands-on capacity, and local engagement to improve both conservation outcomes and public access on National Wildlife Refuge System lands and waters.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F23AS00100 Refuges Enhancement/Infrastructure" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.654.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-11-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-09-10. (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 $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for F23AS00100

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