Conservation Planning Assistance Grants

Conservation Planning Assistance Grants, available through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, provide federal financial assistance to states and territories to support the development of Habitat Conservation Plans and Conservation Benefit Agreements (formerly referred to as Safe Harbor Agreements and Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances). 

Background 

Habitat Conservation Plans

Prior to 1982, non-federal landowners undertaking otherwise lawful activities that were likely to take listed species risked violating section 9 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which prohibits the "taking" of a listed species. In the 1982 amendments to the ESA, Congress established a voluntary mechanism under section 10(a)(1)(B) that authorizes the Service to issue to non-federal entities a permit for the "incidental take" of endangered and threatened wildlife species. A Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) must accompany the application for an incidental take permit to demonstrate how the applicant intends to meet minimization and mitigation commitments to meet the permit issuance criteria under section 10(a)(2)(B) of the ESA. The commitments made by the applicant in the HCP become part of the permit.  

In some states, HCPs have become a broad-based, landscape-level planning tool. In addition to conserving listed species, HCPs often include conservation measures for candidate or at-risk species, as well as other rare species in the plan area. By including these species in the HCP, developers and landowners can also help prevent their decline or need for future listing under the ESA. Should a non-listed species that is covered under the HCP become listed during the permit term, the HCP can provide a seamless process to authorize the take to the newly listed species and eliminate the need to amend the permit. Thus, landowners have an incentive to conserve both listed and unlisted species that may become listed in the future. 

Conservation Benefit Agreements

A Conservation Benefit Agreement (CBA) is a voluntary agreement involving private or other non-federal property owners where the actions in the agreement contribute to the conservation or recovery of the agreement’s covered species. Covered species can include both species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and/or at-risk non-listed species. The agreement is between cooperating non-federal, property owners and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service).  

In exchange for actions that contribute to the conservation of species covered by an agreement on non-federal land, participating property owners receive formal assurances from the Service that if they fulfill the conditions of the CBA, the Service will not require any additional or different management activities by the participants without their consent.

Conservation Planning Assistance Grants 

Established in fiscal year 2001, the Conservation Planning Assistance Grant program provides funding to states and territories to support the development of new HCPs and CBAs. Funding may also be used to support the renewal or amendment of existing plans and agreements. The development of HCPs that include only candidate or at-risk species (i.e., no Federally listed species covered by the HCP), such that the HCP would be in place if the species is listed, is also supported through this program. Funding may be used to support development and planning activities such as document preparation, public outreach, baseline species surveys, habitat assessments, and inventories. The preparation of environmental compliance review documents, such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), is also an eligible use of grant funds. For CBAs, outreach, coordination, and administrative costs associated with the implementation of permitted agreements is also an eligible use of funds this year.  

While unlisted species can be included on a section 10 permit, only the following species proposed for inclusion on the permit will be considered when evaluating applications for funding through this opportunity. 

• Federally Listed Species
  Species listed as threatened or endangered through section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  

• Candidate Species
  Species for which the Service has sufficient information on biological status and threats to propose them as endangered or threatened under the ESA, but for which development of a proposed listing regulation is precluded by other higher priority listing activities. 

• At-Risk Species
  For the purposes of this funding opportunity, at-risk species are those that are the subject of a positive 90-day finding, species that are the subject of a positive 12-month finding but not yet the subject of a proposed rule, species that are the subject of a proposed listing rule but not a final rule, and species included on the National Listing Workplan as of the funding opportunity's postdate.  

Large-scale and multiple-species planning efforts with the greatest potential contribution to species conservation will be prioritized. These plans and agreements can significantly reduce the burden of the ESA on small landowners by providing efficient mechanisms for compliance, distributing the economic and logistical impacts of endangered species conservation among the community, and bringing a broad range of landowner activities under the plan’s legal protections. 

Eligibility 

​To be eligible for funding, a state or territory must currently have, or enter into, a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to section 6(c) of the Endangered Species Act and provide a minimum non-federal cost share of 25 percent, or 10 percent when two or more states or territories implement a joint project.  While funding may only be awarded to States and Territories, local governments such as counties or groups such as conservation organizations may work in partnership with a State or Territorial agency as a sub-grantee. 

Process

States and Territories must submit applications through Grantsolutions.gov. Detailed guidance on how to prepare applications is provided in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) available online at Grants.gov and Grantsolutions.gov.  The NOFO should be read carefully to ensure that applications meet all eligibility requirements and are complete upon submission.