State Fish & Wildlife Agency Directors Approve Slate of National Conservation Needs for the 2015 Multistate Conservation Grant Program

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies' National Grants Committee reviewed 13 proposed National Conservation Needs (NCNs) and recommended the approval of 11 NCNs for the 2015 cycle of the Multistate Conservation Grant Program. NCNs are the foundation of the multistate program and establish the states’ funding priorities for the grant cycle.

State fish and wildlife agency directors approved the list of 11 at AFWA's spring Business Meeting held March 14, 2014 during the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference. The MSCGP funding opportunity/letter of intent solicitation will be posted the week of March 24.

2015 Multistate Conservation Grant Program NCNs

NCN 1: Outdoor Heritage – Participation, Recruitment and Retention in Hunting, Fishing, Boating and Conservation-related Recreational Activities; Enhanced Relations among State Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Related Industries

NCN 2: Multistate Conservation Grant Program Coordination

NCN 3: Improve Benefits for Fish, Wildlife, and their Habitats through Evaluation of Efficacious Management Strategies for Feral Swine

NCN 4: Strengthening the National Fish Habitat Partnership

NCN 5: Incorporating Fish and Wildlife Considerations into Energy Development Decisions

NCN 6: Policy and Legislative Advocacy – Implementing Goal 2 of AFWA’s Strategic Plan

NCN 7: Strengthening State Fish and Wildlife Agency Capacity to Understand and Respond to Changing Trends in Constituent Values and Demographics

NCN 8: The 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife Associated Recreation (National Survey)

NCN 9: Protecting State Fish and Wildlife Agencies Ability and Authority to Manage and Conserve Furbearers through Regulated Trapping Programs

NCN 10: State Fish and Wildlife Agency Coordination and Administration

NCN 11: Improve Benefits for Fish, Wildlife, and their Habitats as the 2014 and Future Farm Bills are Implemented 

The MSCGP was established in 2000 by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act, which amended the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act and the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act. AFWA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) cooperatively administer the Multistate Conservation Grant Program.


> Read the full description of each NCN


> Learn more about the Multistate Conservation Grant Program