Assistance program
National Wildlife Refuge System Enhancements
$407.3 Million committed in FY2018–FY2026
- Agency
- U.s. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior, Department of the
- Assistance
- Cooperative Agreements (Discretionary Grants)
- CFDA number
- 15.654
- What it does
- To provide technical and financial assistance to identify, conserve, manage, and enhance the natural, historical, and cultural resources and physical infrastructure of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS); deliver public access and high-quality outdoor recreational opportunities; build a volunteer cadre, and inspire the next generation of hunters, anglers and wildlife enthusiasts through work on and off NWRS managed lands and waters. This program also encourages coordination and integration of efforts between U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) programs and interested parties to accomplish successful prevention or management of invasive species. Projects must conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife and plants on and off NWRS managed lands for the continuing benefit of the American people.
- Who benefits
- Not Applicable
- Who applies
- State Government, County Government, City or Township Government, Special District Government, Regional Organization, U.S. Territory or Possession, Public/State Controlled Institution of Higher Education, Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Federally Recognized), Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Other than Federally Recognized), Indian/Native American Tribally Designated Organization, Nonprofit with 501C3 IRS Status (Other than institution of Higher Education), Nonprofit without 501C3 IRS Status ( Other than Institution of Higher Education), For-Profit Organization (Other than Small Business), Small Business, Private Institution of Higher Education, Hispanic Serving Institution, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions.
- Authorized by
- Fish and Wildlife Act—Community partnership enhancement; Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act—Cooperation of agencies; Fish and Wildlife Act—Refuge education program enhancement; National Wildlife Refuge System Admin Act—Administration. Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024…
Committed by fiscal year
* FY2026 is year-to-date — the fiscal year is still in progress, so its total is still filling in. The striped band and dashed line mark that provisional stretch.
Top recipients
By dollars committed.
How to read these numbers
- Committed through this program
Money committed under this assistance listing (its CFDA program), counted in the year each action happened.
- How it's paid
Most programs pay out one way — a grant, or a direct payment to individuals; the flow bar only appears when a program genuinely mixes types.
- Some recipients aren't itemized
For entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, the government reports one aggregate instead of naming tens of millions of people, so the recipient roster isn't part of the public record.
- Awards, counted once
An award count is the number of distinct awards with at least one action that year — each counted once, however many times it was amended.
- The colored bars
Every bar on this page splits by how the money moves:
Direct payments