Western Big Game Seasonal Habitat and Migration Corridors Fund 2025

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is soliciting proposals for projects that improve the quality of ungulate seasonal habitat, stopover areas, and migration corridors on federal land and/or voluntary efforts on private and Tribal land that have been prioritized by states as a result of Interior Secretarial Order 3362 (SO 3362) or Native nations. Projects will promote robust, sustainable populations of big game such as elk, mule deer and pronghorn, have positive effects on a wide diversity of other species and implement strategies that increase habitat connectivity and climate resiliency. Expected funding for the effort is approximately $3 million, and major partners include the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the U.S. Forest Service (FS), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and ConocoPhillips.

All proposals must outline specifically how projects will directly address state game and fish (wildlife) department priorities as identified in state action plans, or specific priority projects on Tribal lands. We encourage applicants to engage state and Tribal game and fish agencies, local and tribal governments early to communicate intent and garner support. The required letters of support may take extended periods of time to obtain. For projects that are adjacent to Tribal lands, we encourage applicants to include a letter of support from relevant Tribal agencies. Similarly, projects on or adjacent to federal lands will be more competitive with letters of support from local federal land management offices.

Funding priorities to conserve or restore habitat and measurably contribute to the sustainability of local and regional ungulate populations include:

Restoring degraded priority habitat, stopover areas, and migration corridors through activities identified in state or Indigenous plans, such as removing encroaching trees from sagebrush ecosystems, rehabilitating areas damaged by fire, or treating exotic/invasive vegetation to improve the quality and value of these areas to big game and other wildlife.

Work cooperatively with diverse partners to achieve wildlife friendly fencing measures, including potentially modifying (via smooth wire), removing (if no longer necessary), installing (if serving to direct big game movement out of harm’s way), or seasonally adapting (seasonal lay down) fencing if proven to impede movement of big game through priority migration corridors or habitat.

Implement measures such as conservation easements and management agreements or other actions to protect bottlenecks within corridors and other areas within priority habitat or stopover areas threatened by fragmentation.

Utilize other proven actions to improve priority big game seasonal habitat, stopover areas, or migration corridors across the West.

Develop and support positions that further the above priorities with specific funds available to support NRCS programs.

Community Impact and Engagement: Projects that incorporate outreach, foster community engagement, and pursue collaborative management leading to measurable conservation benefits are encouraged. When possible, projects should be developed through community input and co-design processes. Additionally, projects should engage community-level partners (e.g., municipalities, non-governmental organizations, community organizations, community leaders) to help design, implement, and maintain projects to secure maximum benefits for communities, maintenance, and sustainability post-grant award.

Capacity Building and Technical Assistance:

Additional funding is available in this request for proposals (RFP) specifically for capacity building and technical assistance that aligns with NRCS priorities. Projects on private, working lands should provide technical assistance to interested producers to develop management plans, design and implement conservation practices, and participate in Farm Bill programs, especially the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). A particular emphasis should be placed on promoting, designing, and implementing climate-smart agriculture and forestry (CSAF) conservation practices and reducing the Farm Bill practice contracting and implementation backlog. Successful projects will also seek to increase conservation program participation and practice adoption among Historically Underserved and Special Emphasis producers and forestland owners.

Please ensure the project is in alignment with NRCS goals and priorities by conferring with the NRCS State Conservationist and their staff in the state in which your project is located. A list of NRCS state contacts can be found here.
Please note that grantees applying for these capacity building funds may be required to report on additional performance metrics related to capacity building, conservation planning and practice implementation to be negotiated between NFWF and the grantee after award decisions have been made. Outcomes proposed under this category should comply with NRCS Conservation Practice Standards.

IDAHO FOCUS: There is dedicated funding available to support two positions in Idaho to work with NRCS staff and partners engaged in the Big Game Migration Initiative to develop an approach where existing Farm Bill programs could be strategically implemented in a way that maximizes benefits to both migrating animals and the working lands that support them.