Kentucky Department Of Fish & WIL

The Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources (KDFWR), a state government agency operating under the parent Commonwealth of Kentucky and headquartered in Frankfort, Kentucky, is a federal grant recipient delivering fish and wildlife conservation, habitat management, recreational boating and fishing access infrastructure, and hunter education services to the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4 and the U.S. Coast Guard. KDFWR operates exclusively as a prime recipient—it holds no federal contracts and does not subcontract on federal awards.

KDFWR's federal grant portfolio concentrates almost entirely on two funding sources. The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4 funds the majority of KDFWR's work through multiple formula and project grant programs: the Sport Fish Restoration program (CFDA 15.605) supports fisheries district management across seven districts and two fish hatcheries, operation and maintenance of over 160 boating ramps and 30 fishing access sites, fish propagation and stocking, and aquatic habitat restoration; the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety program (CFDA 15.611) funds hunter education and safety certification, wildlife management area operations across 91 managed properties, land acquisitions, and species-specific conservation work; the State Wildlife Grants program (CFDA 15.634) supports implementation of Kentucky's State Wildlife Action Plan covering 527 species of greatest conservation need through habitat enhancement, species monitoring, and research; and the Fish and Aquatic Conservation - Aquatic Invasive Species program (CFDA 15.608) funds invasive carp management research and control efforts on the Ohio River and Kentucky/Barkley Lakes through contract commercial fishing subsidies and experimental gear development. The Department of Homeland Security U.S. Coast Guard provides formula grant funding (CFDA 97.012) for the State Recreational Boating Safety Program, supporting boating safety education, enforcement, facility acquisition and maintenance, and emergency search-and-rescue capabilities. Recent awards include a $5.4 million Sport Fish Restoration formula grant (April 2026) for fisheries district management, a $3.624 million Fish and Aquatic Conservation project grant (January 2025) for invasive carp research and management, a $2.053 million Wildlife Restoration formula grant (July 2025) for a 500-acre land acquisition adjacent to Veterans Wildlife Management Area in Scott County, a $1.47 million Coast Guard boating safety formula grant (October 2025), and a $1.247 million State Wildlife Grants award (July 2025) supporting conservation of imperiled species including insects, plants, and data-deficient species identified in the revised State Wildlife Action Plan.

KDFWR's recent award activity shows 323 total federal grants spanning the past five years, with concentration in the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4 (163 awards) and Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters (112 awards). The top five customer agencies account for 97% of awards. Award frequency has been relatively stable, ranging from 14 to 19 grants per year from 2022 through 2025. Twenty-two awards carry ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete activity concentrated in the Sport Fish Restoration, Wildlife Restoration, and State Wildlife Grants programs. KDFWR also holds minor grant relationships with the Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for chronic wasting disease surveillance and landscape genomics research, and with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for port security infrastructure grants that appear administratively misaligned with the agency's core wildlife mission.