F25AS00226 Endangered Species Conservation - Wolf Livestock Loss Compensation and Prevention Grants | F25AS00226

Opportunity Information: Apply for F25AS00226

The F25AS00226 Endangered Species Conservation - Wolf Livestock Loss Compensation and Prevention Grants opportunity is a discretionary federal grant program run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (CFDA 15.666) under the Wolf Livestock Loss Demonstration Project Grant Program, which was authorized by Subtitle C of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-11). The program is designed to help states and federally recognized tribes address livestock conflicts with wolves in a way that supports both working lands and wolf conservation, primarily by reducing wolf-related losses and encouraging practical, nonlethal coexistence tools.

Funding is available for two main purposes that applicants can pursue separately or together. The first is Depredation Prevention, which supports proactive, nonlethal actions that lower the risk of wolves preying on livestock. The notice highlights examples such as fencing, the use of livestock guard dogs, and range riders who patrol grazing areas where livestock may be vulnerable to wolf predation. The second is Depredation Compensation, which reimburses livestock producers for losses tied to confirmed wolf depredation. The program defines eligible livestock broadly, including cattle, swine, horses, mules, sheep, goats, and even livestock guard animals, as long as the loss is confirmed as wolf-caused under the applicable investigation and documentation standards.

Eligible applicants are limited to state governments and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. Projects and payments supported by this funding can occur on federal, state, or private lands, as well as on tribal lands or lands held in trust for a tribe. Practically, that means states and tribes can structure programs that reach producers across mixed ownership landscapes, as long as the activities fit within the prevention and/or compensation purposes and the applicant can administer the program in a compliant and well-documented way.

To qualify for an award under P.L. 111-11, a state or tribe must put basic administrative infrastructure in place. That includes designating an appropriate state or tribal agency to run the program (either prevention, compensation, or both), establishing one or more accounts to receive and manage the grant funds, and maintaining complete files of all claims submitted under the grant-funded program along with supporting documentation. Applicants must also submit annual reports to the appropriate Service Program Coordinator that summarize claims and expenditures for the year, describe actions taken on claims, and provide any additional reporting the Secretary may require to evaluate the effectiveness of the supported activities. In addition, the state or tribe must promulgate rules that govern how livestock producers are reimbursed, which is intended to ensure consistent, transparent, and fair handling of compensation claims.

A key eligibility condition in this specific notice is that applicants must have fully expended prior program grant funds from fiscal year 2021 and earlier. This requirement is framed as a way to ensure new awards produce immediate conservation benefits rather than stacking funds on top of unspent balances. Applicants considering applying should be prepared to show that earlier awards have been spent down and closed out appropriately.

The notice also lays out extra requirements depending on which funding track the applicant is seeking. For Depredation Compensation funding, states and tribes must be able to document claims thoroughly, retain receipts, and track any required matching funds spent. They must also have the capacity to protect evidence of depredation so investigations can be conducted properly. Coordination with USDA APHIS Wildlife Services field representatives (or another authorized official) is required to support an investigation process, and the applicant must document payments so reimbursements reflect fair-market value. Taken together, these requirements emphasize verification, chain-of-custody style evidence protection, and defensible payment calculations, all of which are meant to maintain public trust in compensation determinations.

For Depredation Prevention funding, states and tribes must similarly maintain strong documentation, retain receipts, and track matching funds expended. They must demonstrate a good faith effort to avoid conflicts, and they must be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the nonlethal measures used. In practice, this pushes applicants to select prevention tools that can be evaluated (for example, tracking where and when tools are deployed and whether depredation risk or incidents change), rather than treating prevention spending as purely ad hoc purchases.

The opportunity is administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, uses a grant as the funding instrument, and is categorized under natural resources assistance. The posting lists an application closing date of 2025-03-28. The notice indicates an award ceiling of 0, which typically means the maximum award amount is not specified in the posting itself and applicants should look to program guidance or annual appropriations and agency direction for expected funding levels and grant sizing.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F25AS00226 Endangered Species Conservation - Wolf Livestock Loss Compensation and Prevention Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.666.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-01-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-03-28. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

Apply for F25AS00226

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