Association of Fish&Wildlife Agencies

The National Grants Committee oversees the Multistate Conservation Grant Program. Annually, the Committee has two major tasks: (1) the selection of National Conservation Needs (NCNs) in March; and (2) the selection of grant proposals that address the NCNs in September.

National Conservation Needs (NCNs) are used to establish the states' priorities for the upcoming grant cycle. Du ring the March North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, the National Grants C ommittee evaluates and ranks NCNs that are proposed by Association Committees and the four Regional Associations of fish and wildlife agencies. The Committee's recommended NCNs are submitted to the State Directors for their approval at the North American's Business Meeting.

Once NCNs are selected, Multistate Conservation grant proposals are solicited by the Association to address these NCNs. The Association's subject-matter committees are then asked to evaluate proposals. This input is used to develop a relative ranking of proposals as a starting point for the National Grant Committee's review and selection process. During the Association's Annual Meeting in September, t he National Grants Committee prepares a recommended “priority list” of projects for the State Director's approval. This "priority list" is due to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) by October 1 of each year. The USFWS may then fund projects on the list, though they are not required to fund all of the state directors' recommendations .

The National Grants Committee is comprised of the following m embers:

Vice President of the Association (Chair)
Chair of Executive Committee (Vice Chair)
Chair of Fish and Wildlife Trust Funds Committee
Vice Chair of Executive Committee
Western Regional Association President (or designee)
Northeast Regional Association President (or designee)
Midwest Regional Association President (or designee)
Southeast Regional Association President (or designee)

Minutes and Agendas

North American

2008 North American Agenda

2006 North American Report

Annual Meeting

2006 Annual Meeting Report

Contact

For more information about the National Grants Committee or the Multistate Conservation Grant Program , contact Christina Zarrella at 202/624-7890 , czarrella@fishwildlife.org, or visit http://www.fishwildlife.org/multistate_grants.html .

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