National Wetlands Inventory
Active
- Assistance listing
- 15.665
- Agency
-
Fish and Wildlife Service
Department of the Interior
- Grant awards
- 45 $6,562,037 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Also known as
- NWI
- Assistance types
-
- Cooperative Agreement
- Project Grant
- Treasury account
-
- 14-1611-0-1-302
- More information
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service funds mapping and digitization of the nation's wetlands and deepwater habitats under the National Wetlands Inventory program, CFDA 15.665, with the most recent grant award dated July 1, 2025.
The program exists to satisfy the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act statutory requirement to map wetlands nationwide, digitize those maps, archive and distribute the data, and produce status and trends reports to Congress. Awarded grants fund remote-sensing image analysis, field verification, and production of Federal Geospatial Data Committee (FGDC) compliant spatial datasets covering specific watersheds, regions, or habitat types. Representative recent awards include mapping updated NWI spatial data for one HUC 8 watershed in Erie, Pennsylvania ($40 thousand), developing long-term environmental monitoring plans on Department of Defense lands in Alaska in collaboration with University of Alaska Anchorage ($32.25 thousand), updating NWI data for 20 HUC 10 watersheds in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley ($315.493 thousand), mapping the Prairie Pothole Region ($273.583 thousand), and generating updated inventory data for approximately 1.5 million acres in Michigan's Northern Saginaw Bay with Ducks Unlimited ($145 thousand). One notable award funded wetland mapping in Alaska coastal areas with a 2-to-5-year performance period and multi-iteration quality control protocols ($905.039 thousand).
Over the past 15 years, the program has distributed 45 cooperative agreements and one project grant totaling $6.6 million in federal dollars obligated. Awards have concentrated heavily in cooperative agreements (98 percent of awards). The funding cadence has declined: the program issued 7 awards in 2021, but only 2 in 2025. Among four distinct funding federal agencies active under the program, the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 9 Headquarters dominates, awarding 22 agreements totaling $3.1 million federal dollars obligated, followed by Region 7 with 5 awards and $1.8 million, and the departmental headquarters with 16 awards and $1.3 million.
No grant opportunities have been posted since September 2019. The most recent solicitation (F19AS00336, closed September 30, 2019) was open to state governments and sought cooperative agreements for NWI mapping and digitization. Applicants must demonstrate prior experience producing standard-compliant wetland data according to Federal Geospatial Data Committee standards; new applicants are expected to contact the NWI Program Manager to verify mapping capability before submission. Eligible applicants include qualified nonprofit and for-profit corporations, institutions, domestic organizations, and Federal, State, Tribal, Territorial, and local agencies with expertise in image interpretation for wetlands mapping, wetlands mapping delivery, or supporting activities such as mapping standards training.
Objective and description
- Objective
Emergency Wetlands Resources Act - National Wetlands Inventory, 16 U.S.C. §3901 and §§3931-3932. The Emergency Wetlands Resource Act requires the National Wetlands Inventory Program (NWI) to map wetlands of the nation, digitize the maps, archive and
- Description
The purpose of this listing is to enable the National Wetlands Inventory Program to work with cooperators to help meet its statutory requirements to provide information to the public on the extent and status of the nation's wetland and deepwater habitats, as well as changes to these habitats over time. This information is available to the public through two resources: the Wetlands Geospatial Dataset and Wetlands Status and Trends reports. These provide complementary information on wetland and deepwater habitat type, location, and trends to support decision makers. The NWI dataset is unique in its national scope and standardization, enabling a wide variety of uses from watershed planning to streamlined permitting to energy development.
Eligibility
- Applicant eligibility
Organizations receiving financial assistance must be experienced in image-interpretation for wetlands and for arid western riparian for targeted ecosystems using National standards (Cowardin et al. 1979 and Wetlands Mapping Standard 2009); in wetlands mapping or delivery research or technologies, or in supporting activities (e.g. mapping standards training or analysis) for wetlands mapping; or have the project-specific imagery or ancillary data needed for wetlands mapping. Based on Agency need, financial assistance, in general, is available to qualified Americans, profit or nonprofit corporations or institutions, domestic organizations, and Federal, State, Tribal, Territorial, and local agencies.
- Beneficiary eligibility
The American public, and Federal, State, Tribal, Territorial, and local agencies, profit and nonprofit corporations or institutions benefit from having wetlands geospatial data to help inform decision making for clean water, fish and wildlife conservation, wetlands conservation, landscape-level planning, as well as urban and rural, infrastructure planning and construction, and energy development.
- Uses of assistance
Recipients are required to map wetlands using available aerial and satellite imagery according to the Federal Geospatial Data Committee wetland mapping and classification standards. Draft data must undergo quality control before being submitted to the program for final review. Funding cannot be used for land purchase and/or construction projects.
- Use restrictions
Recipients are required to map wetlands using available aerial and satellite imagery according to the Federal Geospatial Data Committee wetland mapping and classification standards. Draft data must undergo quality control before being submitted to the program for final review. Funding cannot be used for land purchase and/or construction projects.
- Length and time phasing of assistance
Assistance is available once the FWS budget becomes law. The performance period is two years.
How to apply
- Criteria for selecting proposals
Before, an award is granted, the applicant must demonstrate the ability to map wetlands according to the Federal Geospatial Data Committee's wetland mapping and classification standards. New applicants seeking guidance on how to demonstrate the ability to map standard compliant wetland data should contact the Program Manager.
- Award procedure
Awards are approved by the program based on the applicant's past submission of standard compliant wetland data according to the Federal Geospatial Data Committee and, when applicable, past performance.
- Deadlines
Contact the NWI Branch Manager. See: https://www.fws.gov/program/national-wetlands-inventory/contact-us
- Time to approval or disapproval
30 days.
- Renewals
10 days.
Grant opportunities
Show all 19
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 45 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint Marys University Of Minnesota | $3,010,465 | 46% |
| 2 | Ducks Unlimited, Inc. | $2,099,447 | 32% |
| 3 | Ducks Unlimited, Inc. | $611,000 | 9% |
| 4 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University | $355,049 | 5% |
| 5 | University Of Maryland, College Park | $165,172 | 3% |
| 6 | University Of Montana | $98,846 | 2% |
| 7 | Regents Of The University Of Minnesota | $59,030 | 1% |
| 8 | Wisconsin Department Of Natural Resources | $43,254 | 1% |
| 9 | South Dakota State University | $38,250 | 1% |
| 10 | University Of Alaska Anchorage | $32,250 | <1% |
10 of 13 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2025 | $640,616 |
| FY2024 | $1,017,710 |
| FY2023 | $187,201 |
| FY2022 | $298,843 |
| FY2021 | $1,201,739 |
| FY2020 | $138,000 |
| FY2019 | $368,699 |
| FY2018 | $777,833 |
| FY2017 | $348,496 |
| FY2016 | $558,282 |
| FY2015 | $90,325 |
| FY2014 | $175,275 |
| FY2013 | $189,400 |
| FY2012 | $569,619 |
Show all 14
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 15.665?
Assistance Listing 15.665 is National Wetlands Inventory, a federal grant program run by Fish and Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior).
What is the CFDA number for National Wetlands Inventory?
Its CFDA number is 15.665: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 15.665 awarded?
45 grant awards under 15.665 have obligated $6,562,037 in federal funds to 13 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 15.665?
The recipients obligated the most under National Wetlands Inventory are Saint Marys University Of Minnesota ($3,010,465), Ducks Unlimited, Inc. ($2,099,447) and Ducks Unlimited, Inc. ($611,000).
How much did 15.665 obligate in fiscal year 2025?
Grants under 15.665 obligated $640,616 in federal funds in fiscal year 2025.
Are there open grant opportunities under 15.665?
No opportunity listed under 15.665 is open now. The latest, 15.665 The Emergency Wetlands Resources Act National Wetlands Inventory, 16 U.S.C 3901 39031 thru 39032., was posted on August 14, 2019.
On GovTribe
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