California Parks Announces Funding for Habitat Conservation
The Office of Grants and Local Services (OGALS) of the California Department of Parks and Recreation has announced the availability of $7.5 million in grant funding for the Habitat Conservation Fund (HCF) to protect, restore, and enhance wildlife habitat.
Who is eligible to apply?
- Cities and Counties
- Districts (The State may request documentation of eligibility for districts).
What types of projects are eligible?
Eligible projects include: nature interpretation programs to bring urban residents into park and wildlife areas, protection of various plant and animal species, and acquisition and development of wildlife corridors and trails.
There are seven unique categories of the Habitat Conservation fund, including
- Deer/ Mountain Lion Habitat
- Rare, Endangered, Threatened, or Fully Protected Species Habitat
- Wetlands
- Anadromous Salmonids and Trout Habitat
- Riparian Habitat
- Trails
- Wildlife Area Activities
What are the funding amounts?
There are no maximum or minimum grant amounts, however OGALS recommends that grant requests generally do not exceed $200,000. OGALS will make an effort to provide equitable geographic distribution of funds, provided that sufficient well-qualified proposals exist.
What is the match requirement?
The required match for HCF projects dollar for dollar, or at least 50 percent of total project costs.
Matching funds may be obtained from the following eligible sources:
- Local funds, including local general funds and local bond funds.
- Private funds.
- Donated materials and services. (e.g., in-kind services, force-account labor)
- Value of donated land (for acquisition projects only).
- Federal funds.
What is the deadline to apply for a RTP grant?
Applicants must submit their application online at parks.ca.gov by 5:00 p.m. PST on Thursday, June 15, 2023.
The Application Guides for this program can be found in the links above.
For more information on this program or how to apply with Morrison’s assistance, please contact the Morrison Grants Team by email at grants@morrisonco.net or call us at 530-893-4764.