Colorado and Utah Lands with Wilderness Characteristics and Greater Sage-Grouse Funds
The Colorado and Utah Greater Sage-Grouse Funds will support projects such as fee title and conservation easement acquisitions, sagebrush restoration and habitat improvement, and juniper / conifer removal. The Colorado and Utah Lands with Wilderness Characteristics Funds will support projects such as restoration, reclamation, and enhancement of certain lands; fee title and conservation easement acquisitions; and public outreach, education, and interpretation. Funding awards will be made by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (“NFWF”) to selected applicants for implementation of mitigation projects that best satisfy the evaluation criteria, as verified and approved by the United States Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”).
BLM issued a Record of Decision (“ROD”) and Notice to Proceed authorizing the Gateway South Transmission Line Project (“Project”) being implemented by PacifiCorp through its subsidiary Rocky Mountain Power. Among other things, the ROD and associated BLM authorizations required PacifiCorp to mitigate for the impacts of the Project on Lands with Wilderness Characteristics (“LWC”) and Greater Sage-Grouse (“GRSG”) in the States of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.
As part of the required BLM mitigation, PacifiCorp paid $34,039,242 to NFWF to fund compensatory mitigation projects for LWC and GRSG in the States of Colorado and Utah. Upon receipt of these mitigation funds, NFWF established four separate funds to administer the mitigation dollars consistent with the BLM authorizations:
- The Colorado Greater Sage-Grouse Fund
- The Utah Greater Sage-Grouse Fund
These funds support compensatory mitigation projects that restore, improve, preserve, and/or conserve GRSG habitat in Colorado and Utah, respectively.
- The Colorado Lands with Wilderness Characteristics Fund
- The Utah Lands with Wilderness Characteristics Fund
These funds support mitigation projects that restore, reclaim, preserve, conserve, and/or enhance wilderness characteristics in Colorado and Utah, respectively.
Please check back for more information, including announcements about Requests for Proposals.
Application Information
| Colorado Greater Sage-Grouse Fund: Request for Pre-Proposals 2023 | View Now | |
| Utah Greater Sage-Grouse Fund: Request for Pre-Proposals 2023 | View Now | |
| Utah Lands with Wilderness Characteristics Fund 2023 Request for Proposals - CLOSED | View Now | |
| Colorado Lands with Wilderness Characteristics Fund 2023 Request for Full Proposals - CLOSED | View Now |