The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is seeking proposals (pdf) from states or territories for federal grants from the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (Fund) for voluntary conservation projects that benefit candidate, proposed, or listed species.

The Fund is authorized under Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and provides four different grant programs: 1) Conservation Grants, which help implement conservation projects; 2) Recovery Land Acquisition Grants, which fund the acquisition of habitat in support of approved or draft species recovery plans; 3) Habitat Conservation Planning (HCP) Assistance Grants, which support development of HCPs; and 4) HCP Land Acquisition Grants, which fund the acquisition of land associated with approved HCPs.

To receive grant funds, a state or territory must make a minimum contribution of 25 percent of the project’s total cost, or 10 percent when two or more states implement a joint program. Additionally, the state or territory must enter into, or currently have, a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of Interior.

The estimated budget for 2014 is $56 million. The Service is accepting grant proposals for 2014 until March 14th.