NWTF’s Waterways for Wildlife 2025 Application Period Closing Soon
EDGEFIELD, S.C. — Conservation partners seeking to receive funding for water-related conservation projects through the NWTF’s Waterways for Wildlife Initiative are urged to submit proposals before the application deadline, Feb. 7, 2025.
The NWTF has implemented a new proposal submission format through Survey123. Proposals should be submitted here.
For the fourth year, the NWTF’s Waterways for Wildlife Initiative has opened funding opportunities for projects that occur in riparian (water-related) systems benefiting wildlife and water resources within the initiative’s ten-state region (see map below).
Funding for projects that have been awarded funds through Waterways for Wildlife will be available starting April 1, 2025. Applications must be completed in full to be considered for funding and should be submitted via the Survey123 proposal form along with any supporting documentation, such as maps, photos, budget table, etc.
Eligible parties for funding in 2025 include federal, state and local agencies and entities; conservation organizations; colleges/universities; and private landowners currently working through an existing recognized federal, state or locally sponsored conservation assistance program.
In 2022, the NWTF’s Waterways for Wildlife Initiative, with partner match, allocated $2.8 million to its first 14 conservation projects. A year later, the NWTF and partners added 20 additional projects under the Waterways for Wildlife umbrella with a $5.3 million collaborative investment. This year, the NWTF’s Waterways for Wildlife Initiative and its partners devoted $16.2 million to the 16 new projects.
For 2025, the landscape-scale initiative is again accepting applications for financial assistance in support of vital projects that improve wildlife habitat in riparian systems. Projects with a direct benefit to water conservation are highly encouraged, and proposals that expand the long-term or large-scale restoration of riparian ecosystems are also encouraged.
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
Since 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation has invested over half a billion dollars into wildlife conservation and has positively impacted over 24 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. The NWTF has also invested over $10 million into wild turkey research to guide the management of the wild turkey population and to ensure sustainable populations into perpetuity. The organization continues to deliver its mission by working across boundaries on a landscape scale through its Four Shared Values: clean and abundant water, healthy forests and wildlife habitat, resilient communities, and robust recreational opportunities.