What is NAWCA?
The North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grant Program, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, supports local efforts to conserve wetland habitats for migratory birds and other wildlife. It provides matching grants to carry out wetlands conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico that directly protect, restore, and/or enhance wetlands and associated uplands habitats.
The Standard Grants Program provides project funds of up to $3,000,000. Standard grants have a rigorous application process and applicants should start well ahead of the two annual application deadlines. The Small Grants Program provides project funds up to $250,000. It has a strong emphasis on new partnerships and, when appropriate, may be used as a stepping stone to a Standard NAWCA. Both grant programs have a minimum match requirement of 1:1 federal to non-federal funds.
NAWCA conservation partnerships have conserved 33.4 million acres of habitat across North America. Pacific Birds works closely with the NAWCA program to assess proposed projects for their contributions to Joint Venture and NAWCA priorities. Please contact us prior to submitting an application.
Is NAWCA a good fit for your project?
To determine if you have a competitive NAWCA project, start with the following questions. Pacific Birds staff should be contacted early in the application process to see if your project aligns with Joint Venture priorities. Staff can also assist with the technical aspects of the application and may be able to help you find partners or match funds.
Wetlands & Habitats
Are there wetlands that are in need of protection, restoration or enhancement? Are there habitat benefits to birds, especially NAWCA priority species?
Federal Endangered Species
Does the project area have habitat that supports federally endangered species, or species of greatest conservation need from the relevant State Wildlife Action Plan?
Partnerships
Do you have project partners and is there a lead partner with the capacity to be the grantee?
Other matching funds
Are there matching, non-federal project funds?
Lead Time
Do you have enough lead time to provide the requested technical, administrative and partnership information?
What are NAWCA Priority Species?
A primary goal of the NAWCA Program is to conserve habitat for priority waterfowl species, such as Pacific Brant, Greater Scaup, and Dusky Canada Goose. The proposal instructions list all the priority and wetlands associated species that, if applicable to your conservation project, will help make your proposal more competitive.
More Resources for Applicants
Application Resources
Description
Biological Resources
Description
NAWCA Sucess Stories
Looking Forward Together for Coastal Wetlands
Kahoʻolawe – Where Hawaiian Culture and Conservation Combine
