The intermountain west includes most of the north american sagebrush ecosystem, an array of rivers, streams, and floodplains with productive wetlands, and vast western forests

Award: Pheasants Forever, Inc. received a $4.82 million Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the Migratory Bird Joint Ventures program (CFDA 15.637) effective May 1, 2025, through June 2, 2027. Pheasants Forever serves as the fiscal and primary contracting agent for the Intermountain West Joint Venture (IWJV) Habitat Programs, providing comprehensive administrative, financial management, and procurement services to support habitat conservation across sagebrush ecosystems, riparian zones, and western forests throughout the Intermountain West region.

Products and Services: The award funds critical support services that enable IWJV to implement proactive, community-led conservation across private and public lands. Pheasants Forever manages all financial operations including expense tracking, payments, and cost-sharing arrangements with state partners; establishes contractual frameworks for procurement of goods and services from consultants, vendors, government agencies, universities, and non-profits; and directly staffs field delivery capacity positions, including 12 cost-shared positions and the IWJV Sagebrush Field Delivery Capacity Specialist role. Sub-award recipients including Colorado State University, The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, The Mule Deer Foundation, Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition, Colorado Open Lands, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, Lake County Umbrella Watershed Council, and the University of Wyoming provide specialized coordination and implementation services for sagebrush conservation partnerships, invasive species management, stream and habitat restoration, and landscape-level restoration activities across multiple western states.

Intermountain west joint venture (iwjv) habitat programs work to address threats to these habitats by catalyzing proactive voluntary and community led conservation across both private and public lands. Pheasants forever (PF) will provide a variety of support services for iwjv habitat programs. PF will act as the fiscal agent for iwjv habitat programs. The iwjv will provide funds to PF from multiple federal sources through this agreement. PF is also an applicant and recipient of non-federal contributions from private entities on behalf of iwjv habitat programs. PF will enter into financial agreements with states that wish to invest in specific components of iwjv habitat programs. As the fiscal agent PF will be responsible for payment of project expenses incurred. PF will maintain a record of expenses incurred and payments made under this project and work with the iwjv to ensure financial solvency for the project.iwjv habitat programs require a variety of services provided through consultants, vendors, government agencies, universities, non-profits, and other entities to achieve its goals and objectives. PF will act as the primary contracting agent for iwjv habitat programs providing the structural framework for the procurement of goods and services, the templates for agreements, and enforcement of agreement terms to ensure services are provided as required and to protect interests of the iwjv and FWS.PF brings a sophisticated and important set of organizational expertise to the project in addition to filling the critical roles of fiscal and contracting agent. PF has played a major role in the field delivery capacity component of iwjv habitat programs by employing and cost sharing 12 positions. PF also employs the iwjv sagebrush field delivery capacity specialist, who coordinates the field delivery capacity positions working on sagebrush habitat conservation collectively known as the sage capacity team. Finally, PF staff are members of the iwjv management board and sagebrush conservation committee which provide guidance and vision to iwjv habitat programs.FWS and iwjv staff will direct and oversee all major activities associated with habitat program work including establishing and maintaining of field delivery capacity positions, facilitating the transfer of technical information to habitat program partners, deploying strategic communications tracking, and reporting on outcomes and cultivating relationships with federal, state, and private stakeholders. FWS and iwjv staff will manage the cooperative agreement and will provide administrative support as needed to ensure successful implementation of the project. This includes contract and sub award development and management, budget tracking, budget management, and payment approval.