Wisconsin Department Of Natural Resources

Wisconsin Department Of Natural Resources, a U.S. state government entity, is the primary recipient of federal grants for environmental conservation, natural resource management, fish and wildlife restoration, water quality protection, and forestry stewardship across Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region. WDNR operates as a grant recipient under 43 distinct federal customer agencies, with nearly all awards (99%) structured as prime grants rather than subawards; the agency is a child entity within the State of Wisconsin Governors Office organizational structure.

WDNR's federal grant footprint concentrates in environmental stewardship and regulatory administration. The Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has awarded 200 grants focused on water quality management, brownfield remediation, emerging contaminants in drinking water (PFAS and lead service line replacement), wetland monitoring, and state revolving fund capitalization for clean water and drinking water infrastructure. The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 has awarded 264 grants supporting wildlife habitat restoration, hunter education, shooting range development, boating safety, and species conservation—including significant formula grants under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act and State Wildlife Grants Program. The Department of Agriculture Forest Service Region 9 (Eastern Region) has awarded 99 grants totaling $472 thousand in combined potential value for forest health, urban and community forestry, landscape restoration, cooperative fire assistance, and forest stewardship across Wisconsin's non-federal forest lands. Representative recent work includes a $4.25 million Coast Guard boating safety formula grant (CFDA 97.012) through September 2028 supporting the state recreational boating safety program; a $79.9 million EPA Clean Water State Revolving Fund capitalization grant (CFDA 66.458) through June 2029 providing low-interest financing to municipalities for water quality infrastructure; a $51.47 million EPA CWSRF capitalization grant through June 2029; a $38.76 million U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education formula grant (CFDA 15.611) through June 2026 for comprehensive wildlife management on 1.8 million acres of public land; and a $1.33 million USDA Forest Service Good Neighbor Authority cooperative agreement through September 2035 for forest and watershed restoration on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

Activity shows consistent engagement: 100–106 awards annually from 2022–2024, declining to 93 in 2025 and 9 in early 2026. The combined dollars obligated ($4.38 billion) substantially exceed the combined potential value ($1.8 million) owing to multi-year formula grants carrying large historical obligations. A recompete cliff of 114 awards with completion dates in the next twenty-four months signals substantial opportunity for federal grant renewals across water quality, wildlife, forestry, and boating safety programs. WDNR subcontracts minimally (1% of awards) but receives subawards from academic and conservation organizations: the University of Wisconsin System for citizen science wildlife monitoring (Snapshot Wisconsin), Ducks Unlimited for wetland habitat acquisition ($122,200 subaward for three parcels in 2025), and Michigan Technological University for woodland vernal pool conservation research. Top NAICS categories are Environmental Consulting Services (28 awards) and All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (9 awards); top PSC codes center on environmental services and special studies in animal and fisheries management.