The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is awarding more than $6.6 million to federally recognized Native American and Alaska Native tribes to benefit fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. This year’s funding will support 35 tribes for conservation projects across 15 states, benefiting a wide range of wildlife and habitat, including species of cultural or traditional importance to Indigenous communities.
Nine of the awarded proposals are to tribes that have never received Tribal Wildlife Grants funds in the past. These awards reflect President Donald J. Trump’s commitment to supporting and empowering tribes.
“Tribes are vital partners in wildlife conservation, and we’re proud to support projects that reflect their connection to the land and leadership in protecting it,” said USFWS Director Brian Nesvik. “These investments support tribal sovereignty while advancing our shared conservation goals.”
The Tribal Wildlife Grants program helps fulfill federal trust responsibilities and achieve tribal sovereignty by expanding tribes’ natural resource capacity. Since its inception in 2003, including this year’s grants, the competitive Tribal Wildlife Grants program has awarded more than $131 million to Native American and Alaska Native tribes, providing support for 732 conservation projects. Across the United States, over 100 million acres of habitat are influenced or managed by 575 federally recognized tribes.
Tribal Wildlife Grants help develop increased management capacity, improve and enhance relationships with conservation state partners, address cultural and environmental priorities, and train the next generation of conservationists by engaging tribal students interested in fisheries, wildlife and related fields of study. Some grants have been awarded to support recovery efforts for federally listed threatened and endangered species.
A few of this year’s approved projects include:
Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation (California) Reconnecting Ranges: Restoring Chis-chu (Roosevelt elk) Habitat Connectivity in the Upper Smith River—$200,000 to restore habitat connectivity and enhance Roosevelt elk habitat in northern California.
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Michigan), Wésikan gdë-zhegémen (Building Animal Space)—$199,093 to create a wildlife management Wildlife Action Plan for the Gun Lake Tribe to enhance hunting and gathering opportunities for the Tribe.
Pueblo of Cochiti (New Mexico), The Bighorn Sheep Post-Fire Habitat Restoration and Population Monitoring Project—$199,632 to support the Pueblo of Cochiti’s effort to protect and retore critical habitat for desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis mexicana) through population monitoring, post-fire habitat restoration, erosion and habitat degradation prevention, wildfire prevention, and capacity building.
The grants are provided exclusively to federally recognized Native American and Alaska Native tribal governments and are made possible under the Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2002 through the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program.
