What We Do
Our Services
The North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant program approves matching grants to public-private partnerships in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, consistent with the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, an international agreement that provides a strategy for the long-term protection of wetlands and associated upland habitats needed by waterfowl and other migratory birds in North America. This program operates in two cycles per year. Each cycle, eligible proposals are reviewed and ranked by the North American Wetlands Conservation Council (the Council). The Council may directly approve Small Grants and recommends Standard Grants projects to the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, a seven-member commission authorized by NAWCA. This program has helped in conserving much of the nation’s most important migratory bird habitat and in establishing or enhancing many of the country’s most popular destinations for waterfowl hunting and birding.
Our Projects and Initiatives
Since 1991, more than $2.1 billion in grants have gone to over 3,300 projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Over 6,800 partners have contributed another $4.3 billion in matching funds, affecting over 32 million acres of wetlands and associated uplands that benefit waterfowl and other wildlife.
You can learn more about the projects by visiting our project database.
The most recently approved project summaries (2024-Cycle 1) can be found here.
Our Laws and Regulations
The North American Wetlands Conservation Act authorizes the grant program and establishes broad guidelines for its management.
Latest Stories and Topics
Our Services
The NAWCA program provides grants to wetlands conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico through both a Standard and a Small Grants Program. This competitive grant program also requires grant requests to be matched by partner contributions at no less than a 1-to-1 ratio.
