Apply for a grant
The Highlands Conservation Act grants program is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Conservation Investment. Grants are awarded to state agencies within the Highlands region, which spans Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Federal entities are ineligible to receive funding.
Projects must be in areas identified as having high conservation value based on the program’s resource priorities — forest, water, agriculture, recreation, biodiversity and cultural resources. Explore our interactive map to view resource priorities for specific properties.
There are two types of Highlands grants:
- Base funding is distributed evenly among states that submit a proposal narrative and a list of priority projects. Notice of Funding Opportunity
- Competitive funding is distributed through ranking of individual projects submitted by all four states, based on published criteria that reflect the conservation goals of the Highlands Conservation Act. Notice of Funding Opportunity
We publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity for each of the grant types in late summer. The states, in partnership with local governments, conservation organizations and private landowners, submit proposals for land conservation projects that meet grant criteria and eligibility requirements. The deadline for proposals is in late fall.
Land conservation proposals must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- The project must identify the nonfederal entity that will own, hold or manage the land or interest in land acquired using Highlands Conservation Act funding. A nonfederal entity is any state, county or municipal agency in the Highlands region — defined under the act as Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania — that has authority to own and manage land for conservation purposes, including the Palisades Interstate Park Commission.
- The federal share of the cost shall not exceed 50% of the total cost of the land conservation project. The source of funds for the nonfederal share must be identified.
A panel of experts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service reviews and ranks proposals in early winter and announces grant awards by late winter.
