Nebraska Game & Parks Commission

Nebraska Game & Parks Commission Budget And Fiscal Division, a child entity of the State of Nebraska, receives federal grant funding as a recipient (99% of recent awards) to deliver endangered species monitoring, wildlife management, and outdoor recreation infrastructure development across Nebraska, with subsidiary state agencies and nonprofit conservation partners as sub-recipients. The commission operates as a state fish and wildlife agency without federal contract prime awardee status but with substantial federal grant funding that reaches $41.2 million in combined potential value across 949 awards, reflecting nearly $575 million in obligated dollars.

The commission's grant portfolio centers on wildlife conservation and outdoor recreation. Recent representative work includes a $738,029.55 firm-fixed-price delivery order from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District (awarded December 31, 2025) for pallid sturgeon monitoring on Missouri River segments; a $4.55 million WaterSMART Project Grant from the Bureau of Reclamation (September 16, 2025) for decommissioning two dams at Fort Robinson State Park to restore the Soldier Creek watershed; and a $5.52 million Wildlife Restoration formula grant from the Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6 (July 1, 2025) for coordinated management and maintenance of approximately 281 state wildlife management areas across 185,520 acres. The commission also received a $1.124 million Coast Guard formula grant (October 1, 2025) for Nebraska's State Recreational Boating Safety Program, funding boating safety education, enforcement, and emergency response capabilities statewide.

Customer concentration aligns heavily with the Department of the Interior. The top five funding agencies account for approximately 84% of awards by count, with the Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6 leading at 395 awards (though the source reports only $27 thousand combined potential value for this set, a data anomaly suggesting many small or multi-year recurring awards). By potential dollar value, the Department of the Army Corps of Engineers dominates at $35 million across 32 awards. The commission works across 22 distinct customer agencies, with secondary concentrations at the National Park Service (82 awards for outdoor recreation projects) and the Bureau of Reclamation.

The commission's grant vehicles are primarily formula grants and project grants under Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (CFDA 15.611), Sport Fish Restoration (CFDA 15.605), State Wildlife Grants (CFDA 15.634), Land and Water Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.916), and specialized programs including WaterSMART, Great American Outdoors Act deferred maintenance, and boating safety assistance. The source does not identify named federal contract IDIQs for the Budget and Fiscal Division's work; awards are structured as delivery orders and task orders against three named Army Corps indefinite-delivery contracts (W9128F10D0016, W9128F15D0011, W9128F20D0024) totaling $14.9 million combined value across 35 task orders.

Subgrant recipients reflect the commission's conservation partnership model. Named sub-recipients include the Department of Military Nebraska (state fish hatcheries and recreation area infrastructure), University of Nebraska and University of Georgia Research Foundation (wildlife surveys, fisheries research, and geospatial analysis), Pheasants Forever Inc. (habitat management and landowner technical assistance on private lands), Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (bumble bee conservation atlas), Ducks Unlimited (wetland habitat restoration), Northern Prairies Land Trust and Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (private land conservation and monitoring), National Audubon Society (habitat program management), and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (tallgrass prairie and rangeland restoration initiatives).

The portfolio spans endangered species monitoring (pallid sturgeon, salt creek tiger beetle, piping plover, eastern black rail, whooping crane), aquatic invasive species management (zebra mussels, carp), sport fisheries research and hatchery operations, habitat restoration on Wildlife Management Areas, hunter and boating safety education, and outdoor recreation facility development—reflecting NGPC's statutory role as Nebraska's principal state wildlife and outdoor recreation agency. Activity has remained relatively flat across the past five years (52 to 74 awards annually), with 60 awards totaling $738 thousand scheduled for completion within the next twenty-four months, representing moderate recompete exposure.