Sport Fish Restoration Grant Program | F18AS00069

Opportunity Information: Apply for F18AS00069

The Sport Fish Restoration Grant Program is a federal funding program created under the Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950, also known as the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777-777m). It was intentionally patterned after the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, with the idea of building a similar, dedicated funding stream for sport fish in the same way Pittman-Robertson supports wildlife restoration. In practical terms, the program exists to help states manage, conserve, restore, and improve sport fishery resources, while also expanding public benefits tied to those fisheries, including education about aquatic resources and access for boating and fishing on public waters.

A key feature of this opportunity is how it is funded. Instead of relying primarily on annual discretionary appropriations, the program is supported by user- and industry-linked revenues that flow into the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund. Those revenues come from several sources: federal excise taxes on sport fishing equipment, as well as on items like electric motors and sonar; import duties on fishing tackle, yachts, and pleasure craft; and a portion of the federal gasoline tax that is attributable to motorboats and small engines. These receipts are deposited into the trust fund and then appropriated from that fund for program purposes, which helps create a more stable funding base connected to boating and recreational fishing activity.

The money is then distributed to eligible participants through an annual apportionment process based on a formula set in law. Eligible applicants are state governments, specifically State Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which receive their shares and use grant funds to support on-the-ground work and public-facing improvements. The activities supported are broad but centered on outcomes such as restoring, conserving, managing, or enhancing sport fish populations; increasing and improving opportunities for the public to use and benefit from aquatic resources; educating the public about aquatic ecosystems and fisheries; and developing or improving boating access to public waters, which can include infrastructure and access-related projects that make recreational boating and fishing more feasible and safer.

Administratively, the opportunity is issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. It is categorized as a mandatory grant program and aligns with the funding activity areas of education and natural resources. The listing associated with it is CFDA 15.605. The posted opportunity information for this specific notice includes an opportunity number of F18AS00069, a creation date of January 11, 2018, and an original closing date of August 31, 2019. The notice also lists an award ceiling of $5,000,000 and shows expected awards as 0, reflecting the fact that this is an apportionment-based program where funding is distributed by formula to eligible state agencies rather than awarded through a typical competitive process with a fixed number of selections.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a long-running, formula-driven partnership between the federal government and state fish and wildlife agencies. It channels boating- and fishing-related tax and duty revenues back into fishery conservation, public access, and education, with the goal of sustaining sport fisheries and ensuring the public can continue to benefit from healthy aquatic resources and well-supported recreational boating and fishing opportunities.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the education, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Sport Fish Restoration Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.605.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 11, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 31, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

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