Kansas Department Of Wildlife And Parks

Kansas Department Of Wildlife And Parks Federal Aid Division, a U.S. state government entity within the State of Kansas, receives and administers federal grants and manages mitigation sites for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a recipient and prime awardee across wildlife conservation, habitat restoration, outdoor recreation, fisheries management, and natural resource programs. The division operates exclusively in grant-funded and federal assistance roles rather than as a federal contractor competing for procurements.

The division's footprint centers on formula grants and project grants from the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6 and the National Park Service, with secondary support from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Of 661 total awards documented, 637 (96 percent) are prime grants or agreements; 24 (4 percent) are sub-awards flowing through the Kansas Adjutant General Department or State Department of Education. The top five funding agencies by award count account for 86 percent of all awards and are overwhelmingly Fish and Wildlife Service programs. However, dollar concentration diverges: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Kansas City Engineering District anchors the largest potential value at $5.2 million across 11 awards, followed by the Army Corps at $8.3 million across 10 awards, while Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6's 283 grants carry formula and project structures with smaller individual ceilings.

The division's core capability portfolio spans four linked federal grant programs. Under the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety program (CFDA 15.611), the division conducts species-specific research—including investigations on greater prairie chicken breeding ecology, western small-footed myotis acoustic surveys, river otter population monitoring, terrestrial small mammal distribution studies, and avian species breeding success assessments—alongside habitat restoration, hunter education delivery, shooting range development and operation, and private lands incentive programs. Under Sport Fish Restoration (CFDA 15.605), the division operates four state fish hatcheries (Farlington, Meade, Milford, Pratt) and a satellite rearing pond; manages 40 state fishing lakes (4,300 acres), 25 federal flood control reservoirs (166,000 acres), and provides technical advisory services to 212 community-owned impoundments; and delivers programs including urban catfish stocking, winter trout programs, angler surveys, and aquatic resource education. Under the Land and Water Conservation Fund State and Local Assistance Program (CFDA 15.916), the division serves as prime recipient and subawards funds to cities and counties for park development, playground upgrades, campground enhancements, and recreation facility construction. Under the State Wildlife Grants program (CFDA 15.634), the division funds nongame species data collection and conservation planning to inform Kansas' Wildlife Action Plan.

Recent grant activity reflects sustained federal investment in fish, wildlife, and outdoor recreation. Fourteen formula grants awarded September 1, 2025 by Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6 under CFDA 15.611 total approximately $8.8 million combined ceiling value and address erosion reduction through watershed habitat specialists, greater prairie chicken prescribed fire research, furbearer population monitoring, least tern and piping plover breeding ecology, terrestrial small mammal investigations, river otter surveys, sandsage prairie grassland restoration protocols, Western small-footed myotis ecology, hunting access lease programs on private lands, hunter education program administration, and shooting range equipment modernization. National Park Service Land and Water Conservation Fund project grants totaling $5.2 million support park development subawards to cities of Pratt, Roeland Park, Coffeyville, Goddard, Sublette, Arkansas City, Kingman, and Kansas City for infrastructure improvements, pickleball courts, walking trails, restroom facilities, and splash pads. Coast Guard Boating Safety Financial Assistance awards ($1.159 million through September 2028) fund recreational boating safety education, enforcement, emergency response facilities, and waterway markers. The division also receives cooperative agreements from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for avian influenza wild bird surveillance and SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in cervid populations.

The Army Corps of Engineers contract vehicle represents the division's sole federal procurement footprint. A single-award indefinite delivery contract (W912DQ24D1000) valued at $4 million, awarded October 1, 2024, extends through September 29, 2027 and provides mitigation site administration services for the Missouri River Recovery Program. Task orders issued under this IDV address land management, site operations, habitat management, and administrative support at Kansas wildlife areas and mitigation sites, with delivery orders totaling $297,553.69 (FY26) and $252,727.28 (FY26) issued July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027. Work is performed in Topeka, Kansas.

Activity volume reflects stable federal investment with 661 total awards spanning 2002 to July 2026. Award counts per year show 49 in 2022, 41 in 2023, 44 in 2024, 53 in 2025, and 9 in 2026 (partial year through July). Combined potential value across all awards reaches $13.6 million, though combined dollars obligated across all awards total $564.8 million—a 4,153 percent ratio reflecting significant multi-year funding from formula grants that carry large annual appropriations. Forty-nine awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months with combined potential value of $298 thousand, representing modest recompete exposure relative to the stable, recurring nature of federal formula grant programs that renew annually or biennially.

The division's parent organization is the State of Kansas Office of Accounts And Reports. Sub-award activity flows primarily through the Kansas Adjutant General Department (23 sub-awards for community disaster recovery and facility improvements) and the State Department of Education (2 Americorps-formula sub-awards). The division does not hold standing positions on government-wide contract vehicles (GWACs, BPAs, or agency IDIQs) and does not function as a subcontractor to other federal primes. All federal work is direct grant or agreement administration to the division as a state wildlife agency recipient.