Fish & Wildlife Grants

Fish & Wildlife Grants

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation
Amount: US $10,000 - US $100,000
Last Updated: September 19, 2025

Summary

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation offers Fish & Wildlife Grants to support projects focused on native freshwater fish, wildlife, and their habitats. These grants aim to achieve significant conservation outcomes and encourage habitat enhancement and restoration. Eligible applicants include governments, First Nations, and NGOs, with a priority on projects that yield tangible results. Additionally, seed grants of up to $5,000 are available for preliminary project planning, facilitating the development of full proposals within two years.

Overview

Overview HCTF Fish & Wildlife (F&W) Grants are available to anyone (provincial or municipal governments, First Nations, academic institutions, non-government organizations, industry) for projects that: Focus on native freshwater fish, wildlife, and their habitats;Have the potential to achieve a significant conservation outcome;Align with our purposes as laid out in the Wildlife Act. One of HCTF’s priorities is to support habitat enhancement and restoration, therefore projects that involve on-the-ground habitat enhancement and/or restoration activities are strongly encouraged. For Wildlife surcharge funds, our priority is to fund restoration and enhancement projects that yield tangible outcomes for wildlife, fish and their habitats. Therefore any inventory, monitoring or research proposals under consideration would be vetted to ensure they: 1) support pending habitat management decisions, 2) identify or assess the feasibility of new restoration and enhancement opportunities, or 3) evaluate the effectiveness of projects funded by HCTF. For White Sturgeon and Wild Sheep (Bighorn and Thinhorn) dedicated funds, proposals must meet all HCTF eligibility criteria and follow the same application and review processes. Note to White Sturgeon Applicants In the lower Fraser River, many years of intensive tagging projects have gathered standard life-history data to model population structure and estimate annual mortality and recruitment rates. As the foundational science work in the lower Fraser is nearing completion in the coming years, the HCTF Board supports a move to see NEW Sturgeon proposals that aim to achieve: 1) population assessments in the mid and upper Fraser River; 2) juvenile habitat use, threats, and mixing between populations in the Fraser River and 3) habitat focused projects in the lower Fraser River that will address habitat requirements, habitat protection and habitat restoration initiatives. Important note: Existing Sturgeon projects that are already approved for multiple years of funding will continue to be funded, contingent on satisfactory progress. Seed Grant for a Fish & Wildlife Proposal Seed grants are for proponents who have an idea for a new Fish & Wildlife project but need to do some planning and preliminary work to develop their idea before submitting a full new proposal. Proponents may apply for seed funding of up to $5,000 to help fill information gaps, explore project feasibility, identify project partners, and prepare technical information. *Please note seed funding is not intended for a small, stand-alone project; seed grant project activities are meant to culminate in the development of a full F&W proposal (submitted within two years). Seed funding does not guarantee subsequent funding of a full F&W proposal.

Eligibility

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Ineligibility

The following activities and types of projects are not eligible for Enhancement and Restoration Grant funding:Non-applied research. (Note that research focused on understanding population baselines and conservation status of species, and/or research that identifies key opportunities for restoration, enhancement, maintenance, or acquisition is eligible for HCTF funding)Training costs for project personnelLaw enforcement activitiesFish rearing, farming, stocking, or hatchery projectsWildlife rescue or rehabilitation centresCaptive breeding and rearing, except for activities or circumstances that will result in clear and positive outcomes for recovery of native species populationsFeeding of wildlife species with the exception of activities that are part of population recovery projectsControl of native wildlifeSalaries for regular Provincial government employees (wages for Auxiliary employees dedicated to the proposed project are eligible)Salmon-only projects that do not also benefit provincially managed fish species or their habitatsMarine projects, except for activities that occur in estuary habitatMapping-only projects. Note that mapping may be a component of a larger, eligible HCTF proposalDevelopment or production of curriculum guidebooks or publication materials for fishing and hunting, tour activitiesHosting or organizing conferences (note that presenting/speaking at conferences may be an eligible activity if it is clearly tied to the management of the species/habitat in your project and it is a cost-effective way to share project results)Production or sponsorship of commercial programsStand-alone interpretative materials, signs and services that are not part of a larger, eligible HCTF projectCreation or management of stand-alone electronic databases, websites, or file systems