Congress allocates funding annually for bird, wildlife and habitat conservation programs in this country through its State Wildlife Grant program. Each state is responsible for implementing its own plans and management strategies for effective wildlife conservation based on its State Wildlife Action Plan.

States use these funds in a variety of creative and cost-effective ways to stop the decline of species. For example, some states have initiated programs to identify Important Bird Areas, and others have identified effective strategies to fight invasive species. Click here to see how Arkansas has used its state wildlife grants. To obtain an application for a grant under the State Wildlife Grant program, click here.

The need to protect many species has never been greater. For decades, federal funding has focused primarily on conservation of important game species, and those programs have been enormously successful. At the same time, the population of many non-game species – those species that are not hunted or fished - has fallen dramatically. The declines are due, in large part, to a lack of attention and resources to conserve these species.

The federal dollars needed now to protect or restore the populations of non-game wildlife is far greater than what would have been required to prevent their decline in the first place. Furthermore, thousands of species will continue to decline in the future unless Arkansas takes proactive efforts before they reach the endangered status.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission began receiving State Wildlife Grants (SWG) funding in October 2001. Since then the Commission has received the following SWG grants:

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