Combating Wildlife Trafficking

The goal of this grant program is to provide financial assistance to innovative projects that advance counter-wildlife trafficking activities (wildlife defined to include terrestrial and aquatic species and timber). The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (

Non-domestic (outside of the United States) government agencies responsible for combating wildlife trafficking and any other U.S.- based or non-domestic public or private non-governmental organization or institution or individual with demonstrated experience in the activities proposed.

Funds provided under this program will not be used for: the purchase of firearms or ammunitions; buying of Intelligence information or paying informants; gathering information by persons who conceal their true identity; law enforcement operations that prompt suspects to carry out illegal activities so they may be arrested (entrapment); or any activity that would circumvent sanctions, laws or regulations of either the U.S. or the country in which the activity would occur. Funds may not be used to provide material support or resources to individuals, entities, or organizations of countries that have been identified by the U.S. Department of State as state sponsors of terrorism. These funds may not be used towards training U.S. Federal Government personnel. Program will fund projects that link directly to the National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking: Implementation Plan (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/nationalstrategywildlifetrafficking.pdf). Funds will not be used for projects that support the government of a country determined by the U.S. Department of State in the 2018 Trafficking in Persons report as 1) not fully meeting the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victim Protection Act (TVPA), 22 U.S.C. § 7101 et seq., and 2) not making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with such standards (countries classified as Tier 3), unless exempted from restrictions based on a waiver issued in accordance with the TVPA. For more information on countries that fall under this designation for FY 2023, please consult the Tier 3 classification in the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report (https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-trafficking-in-persons-report/) and the Presidential Determination of November 29, 2018 (https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-memorandum-secretary-state-15/).

Program will include any special award terms and conditions in the notice of award.

See the program's Funding Opportunity on Grants.gov for pre-application requirements and procedures.

2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. The pre-application announcement and program announcement, and application instructions for this program can be found at the Grants.gov website: http://www.grants.gov. Complete application information can also be found at https://www.fws.gov/program/combating-wildlife-trafficking or, if unable to access the website, by emailing cwt@fws.gov or requesting a paper copy from the Division of International Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS:IA, Falls Church, Virginia, 22041, Telephone: (703) 358-1754. An application will not be considered complete if required elements are not submitted as instructed.

Review criteria can be found in the Notice of Funding Opportunity posted at https://www.fws.gov/program/combating-wildlife-trafficking

Pre-applications and subsequent full applications are reviewed and competitively selected for funding based on established criteria. Review criteria can be found in the Notice of Funding Opportunity posted on the Internet at https://www.fws.gov/program/combating-wildlife-trafficking. Once a proposal has been selected for funding, an FWS approving official executes an Assistance Award between the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Recipient. Fully executed awards are sent to the Recipient electronically.

Decisions on Pre-applications are made within 90 days from the submission deadline. Decisions on full applications are typically made within 180 days after the receipt of the application, but not later than September 30 each year.

Recipients may request funding for a subsequent year/cycle of a currently funded project. However, these requests are subject to the same submission, review, and approval requirements as all new applications. This program will fund any approved renewal application as new award, not as an amendment to an existing award. Recipients may request approval for budget and project plan revisions of funded projects, including period of performance and reporting due date extensions, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.