Fish & Boat Commission, Pennsylvania

Fish & Boat Commission, Pennsylvania is a state government entity and recipient of federal grants that delivers fish and wildlife conservation, recreational fisheries management, boating safety programming, and aquatic habitat restoration services to the federal government. As a prime recipient of federal grants administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Homeland Security Coast Guard, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Commission operates as a state agency without federal contracting authority or participation in federal procurement vehicles; all federal funding flows through formula grants and project grants under established wildlife and boating safety assistance programs.

The Commission's federal grant footprint spans 244 awards across 13 customer agencies, with 96 percent structured as prime recipient work. The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 dominates the portfolio, accounting for 110 awards, followed by the broader Fish and Wildlife Service (90 awards), the Department of Homeland Security Coast Guard (20 awards), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (10 awards), and subordinate amounts from the Forest Service and other agencies. The Commission's grant work centers on State Wildlife Grants formula funding (CFDA 15.634), Sport Fish Restoration funding (CFDA 15.605), Boating Safety Financial Assistance funding (CFDA 97.012), and project-specific cooperative agreements. Recent representative awards include a $384 thousand State Wildlife Grants Formula Grant effective July 2026 through June 2031 for Nongame Section endangered, threatened, and candidate species conservation and database management with Western Pennsylvania Conservancy as a sub-awardee; a $7.66 million Sport Fish Restoration formula grant for January through December 2026 supporting comprehensive fisheries management, Delaware River striped bass monitoring, Lake Erie rehabilitation, and angler surveys; a $2.28 million Sport Fish Restoration award for maintenance of 251 public access facilities statewide including launch ramps, docks, dredging, and parking lot resurfacing; a $2.846 million Coast Guard Boating Safety Financial Assistance formula grant for October 2025 through September 2028 funding boating safety education, law enforcement training, vessel numbering and titling, and emergency search-and-rescue facilities; and a $361 thousand Project Grant from NOAA under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (CFDA 11.474) continuing the Susquehanna River Basin bio-monitoring initiative for American shad and river herring populations since 1995, including adult and juvenile alosine surveys and hatchery evaluations.

Activity has remained steady at 9 to 16 awards annually over the past five years, with 11 awards and 12 awards in 2025 and 2024 respectively. Ten awards reach ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months. The Commission also acts as a sub-recipient on National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grants channeling support to municipalities and nonprofit organizations for Delaware River Watershed boating facility rehabilitation and freshwater mussel habitat restoration. Work is performed throughout Pennsylvania with coordination on multi-jurisdictional species involving neighboring states and federal agencies; headquarters are located at 1601 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Commission is a child entity of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and holds no independent federal contract authority, contracting vehicle participation, or set-aside designation — all federal engagement flows through grant programs administered to state fish and wildlife agencies under statutory wildlife conservation and boating safety authorities.