Great Lakes Restoration Initiative –Joint Venture Habitat Restoration and Protection
Grant Opportunity Analysis
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant to support joint venture habitat restoration and protection for native Great Lakes fish and wildlife, especially migratory birds. The program funds projects that protect, restore, or enhance declining wetlands, grasslands, and forests, with activities aligned to GLRI Action Plan IV Focus Area 4 and relevant bird conservation plans. Projects must occur within the Great Lakes coastal zone, are viewed favorably if within 15 miles of Great Lakes coastal waters, and should show how existing science and decision-support tools will inform long-term habitat benefits; a 25% non-Federal cost share is required and infrastructure work is subject to Buy America preferences. The initiative expects three awards totaling about $800,000, with awards from $25,000 to $300,000, and electronically submitted applications are due through GrantSolutions by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 6, 2026.
Eligible Applicants
Applicants who are not conservation-based organizations must demonstrate how their organizational priorities can satisfy the objectives of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and the priorities of the Joint Ventures, and how GLRI investments in the proposed project will be maintained and ensured into the future.