Multistate conservation grant program

The Multistate Conservation Grant Program (MSCGP) funds projects that address regional or national level priorities of state fish and wildlife agencies. It was established in 2000 by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act, which amended the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act and the Dingell Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act.  The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) cooperatively administer the Multistate Conservation Grant Program. The Association solicits grant proposals and makes its “priority list” recommendations to the USFWS, who can only fund projects from the Association’s list and manages and monitors grant awards. Each year, up to $6,000,000 is available to fund MSCGP projects. 

In addition to the regular annually available funds of $6,000,000, the President signed the modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow’s Needs Act (Modernizing PR Act) (Public Law (Pub. L.) 116-94) into law on December 20, 2019 as part of the larger Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. This law amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (WR Act, 16 U.S.C. 669) to, among other measures, create a new “Modern Multistate Conservation Grant Program (M-MSCGP or as we refer to it R3 MSCGP).” This will include up to an additional $5 million annually beginning with 2020 for Wildlife Restoration eligible grants as defined by the legislation. 

2023 R3 and Traditional MultiState Conservation  Grant Program

Performance Period: January 1st, 2023 - December 31st, 2023

Background and General Information

MultiState Conservation Grant Program FAQ

2023 Strategic Priorities

2023 MSCGP Notice Of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

Training recording (External links)

Multistate Informational Webinar Recording

TRACS Training for MSCGP

MSCGP Full Grant Proposal Application/budget training

(Tentative) Timeline

1. By May 18, 2022, Initial Proposals are due to AFWA and relevant subcommittees begin their review.
2. By June 24, 2022, AFWA invites applicants with high-ranking proposals to submit Full Grant Proposals.
3. By July 19, 2022, Full Grant Proposal Packages must be submitted through GrantSolutions or Grants.gov and, in addition, provided to AFWA.
4. In August 2022 the AFWA National Grants Committee will review the Full Grant proposals and make recommendations to State Directors.
5.  In September 2022 the State Directors will approve the Priority List containing the highest scoring and ranked Full Grant proposals.
6. By October 1, 2022, AFWA will forward the Priority List of projects recommended for funding to the Service.
7. By January 2023 the Service will begin to award the grants from the Priority List and subsequently publish the list in the Federal Register. The Service can only award projects that appear on the Priority List.