The
Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is now soliciting National
Conservation Needs (NCNs) for the 2016 Multistate Conservation Grant Program
(MSCGP). NCNs are the foundation of the multistate grant program and
establish the states’ priorities for the grant cycle that uses funding from the
Wildlife Restoration Fund and Sport Fish Restoration Account.
Each
regional association of fish and wildlife agencies and each AFWA committee are
allowed to submit one NCN for consideration by the Association’s National
Grants Committee. AFWA committees are encouraged to collaborate and submit
joint NCNs.
The
National Grants Committee then selects the top NCNs to recommend for state
directors’ approval at the March 2015 North American Wildlife and Natural
Resources Conference. NCNs are due
by February 2, 2015.
The
MSCGP 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. AFWA and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cooperatively administer the grant progam.
Each
year, up to $6 million is available to fund MSCGP projects. Projects may be
funded for one, two or three years on a calendar year basis.
