F26AS00040_Fiscal Year 2026_Tribal Wildlife Grants (TWG)_NOFO
Grant Opportunity Analysis
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering the Fiscal Year 2026 Tribal Wildlife Grants to provide technical and financial assistance to federally recognized Native American Tribal Governments. Funded projects must develop and implement programs that benefit fish, wildlife, and their habitats, including plant and animal species of cultural or traditional importance to the Tribe. Eligible activities include conservation planning, habitat protection and enhancement, research, field surveys, and conservation education, with funding covering salaries, equipment, travel, and consultant services. Applications will be evaluated on resource benefit, performance measures, work plan, budget, capacity building, and outreach, with special consideration given to first-time recipients. This non-matching grant opportunity has an estimated total program funding of $6,200,000 to support approximately 80 awards ranging from $25,000 to $200,000, and applications must be submitted by August 14, 2026.
Eligible Applicants
Participation is limited to federally recognized Tribal governments listed in the current Federal Register Notice of Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs (Notice). This is the official listing of all federally recognized Tribes in the United States pursuant to Section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-454; 108 Stat. 4791-4792). The current Notice was published in the Federal Register, 89 FR 238 (December 11, 2024). Tribal contact information is available in the BIA Tribal Leaders Directory.Recipient Tribes must meet all reporting requirements for previously awarded, active TWG Program awards before they are eligible to receive new funds. After a Tribe submits a new application, it will be notified of any outstanding reporting requirements. The Tribe will then have 30 days to submit the required reports. Tribes that have not brought past due reports up to date in this 30-day period will be found ineligible and excluded from further consideration in the FY 2026 TWG Program cycle.There is no limit to the number of applications a Tribe may submit within a single fiscal year. However, no single Tribe may be funded for multiple projects within a fiscal year if the total combined Federal request exceeds $200,000. If multiple applications exceed this amount, only the highest-scoring application(s) will be accepted, and any other(s) will be determined to be ineligible.Tribal organizations and other entities may participate as subrecipients or contractors to federally recognized Tribal government recipients. Any entity receiving TWG Program funds as a subrecipient must comply with the applicable requirements described in this announcement.TWG Program funds may not be used to acquire real property interests. Real property interests include, but are not limited to, fee simple, fee with exceptions to title, easements, water rights, mineral rights, and leaseholds.