This cooperative agreement will serve to facilitate work within the idaho partners for fish and wildlife (PFW) strategic plan 2022 2026 2027 2031 priority conservation implementation on private…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Department of the Interior, Region 1 awarded a $225,000 Cooperative Agreement to the Idaho Fish & Wildlife Foundation Inc. under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (CFDA 15.631), effective September 1, 2025, through August 30, 2030. This agreement supports strategic habitat conservation and implementation on private lands across Idaho in alignment with the Idaho Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) Strategic Plan 2022–2031. The foundation will facilitate local-scale conservation projects developed by PFW biologists stationed throughout Idaho in coordination with project partners and private landowners within designated focus areas. Annual spring meetings will determine specific project funding priorities to maximize conservation benefits to the landscape while addressing identified threats to federal trust species.

The agreement leverages the foundation's demonstrated success in implementing on-the-ground conservation efforts while incorporating new and emerging technologies. Funding will support habitat restoration activities benefiting priority habitat targets across Idaho's diverse ecological systems. The foundation serves as a critical partnership vehicle for coordinating federal, state, and local conservation resources, building on prior funding cycles (FY22–24) that achieved significant leveraging of multiple funding sources across all focus areas. This cooperative agreement enables continued strategic habitat conservation planning and implementation at biologically and ecologically relevant scales across Idaho's private lands.

This cooperative agreement will serve to facilitate work within the idaho partners for fish and wildlife (PFW) strategic plan 2022 2026 2027 2031 priority conservation implementation on private lands without this agreement strategic habitat conservation planning and implementation would be less effective among these biologically andecologically relevant scales and boundariesprojects will be developed at the local scale by PFW biologists located across the state of idaho projects will be developed in close coordination with the project partners and landowners within focus areas in idaho the idaho PFW team of biologists will meet annually every spring to determine specific projectfunding funds will be utilized to maximize the overall conservation benefit to the landscape ultimately bolstering the continuation of historic on the ground conservation efforts and looking to utilize new and emerging technologies to address identified conservation threats to trust SPECIESFY22 24 has proven the success of this partnership as we have significantly leveraged local state and national funds across all of the focus areas with a strong diversity of projects for all of our priority habitat targets the idaho fish and wildlife foundation is well positioned to serve as a strong partner delivering these conservation priorities