R2 Wildlife Restoration Grant Program FOR STATE FISH AND GAME AGENCIES | F17AS00023

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00023

The R2 Wildlife Restoration Grant Program for State Fish and Game Agencies (Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00023) is a discretionary federal grant opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, specifically the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It operates under the authority of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, better known as the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (codified at 16 U.S.C. 669-669b and 669-669k). Congress approved the original act on September 2, 1937, and the program began operating on July 1, 1938. The central idea behind the program is to provide sustained financial support to states for practical, on-the-ground wildlife and habitat work, backed by science and paired with public education.

At its core, the program is designed to fund projects that select, restore, rehabilitate, and improve wildlife habitat, and to support wildlife management research that helps agencies make informed decisions about conservation and wildlife populations. In addition to physical habitat work and research, the program also supports the distribution of information produced by funded projects, meaning it can cover the communication and outreach needed to share findings, explain management approaches, and provide educational materials connected to wildlife restoration efforts. This makes the program not just a habitat improvement tool, but also a mechanism for building and sharing knowledge so that restoration actions can be repeated, improved, and understood by practitioners and the public.

The scope of eligible activities expanded significantly through a 1970 amendment (October 23, 1970). That amendment explicitly added support for hunter safety programs and for the development, operation, and maintenance of firearm and archery ranges. In practice, this means the program can fund efforts that improve safe participation in hunting and shooting sports, including structured hunter education and the infrastructure that supports safe, managed shooting opportunities. Those components are often treated as complementary to wildlife restoration because they support responsible wildlife-related recreation and help maintain the broader conservation funding and stewardship framework tied to hunting and shooting activities.

Eligibility for this opportunity is limited to state governments, which aligns with the program focus on state fish and game agencies as the primary implementers of wildlife restoration, research, and hunter education work. The funding instrument type is a grant, and the program is associated with Assistance Listing/CFDA number 15.611. The funding activity category is listed under Education and Natural Resources, reflecting the blend of conservation implementation and public-facing training or information-sharing that the statute supports.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity record shows a creation date of November 16, 2016, with an original closing date of August 31, 2018. The listed award ceiling is $4,000,000. The record also shows “Expected Awards: 0,” which typically indicates that the posting is informational, not forecasting a specific number of competitive awards, or that awards are structured differently than a typical open competition. Overall, the grant opportunity is best understood as a statutory, long-running federal assistance program that channels funds to state wildlife agencies for habitat and wildlife restoration projects, management research, public information distribution related to those projects, and, since 1970, hunter safety education and the development and upkeep of shooting and archery ranges.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the education, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "R2 Wildlife Restoration Grant Program FOR STATE FISH AND GAME AGENCIES" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.611.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 16, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 31, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $4,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F17AS00023

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