Deadline: 15-Apr-24
The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation is currently accepting applications for the Habitat Acquisition Grant.
The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation accepts grant applications from land trust organizations looking to purchase properties to protect important habitat for BC’s fish and wildlife. Proposed acquisitions are evaluated on criteria such as species richness, connectivity, conservation planning priority, habitats, and impending threats to these values. Financial factors such as partnership funding, stability of the proponent organization, cost per hectare and level of community support are also carefully considered. Because Habitat Acquisition grants are funded with licence surcharge money, properties that also include public fishing and hunting opportunities are generally given priority consideration.
Priorities
- For 2024, HCTF will continue to prioritize acquisition applications that seek to increase conservation outcomes for fish, wildlife and their habitats, provide access for a variety of uses such as hunting, fishing, and non-motorized recreation and fit one or more of the following criteria:
- Contribute to the conservation of wetland or grassland wildlife habitats.
- Increase connectivity to adjacent protected lands or important habitats to further build complexes of intact habitat.
- Contribute to the conservation of habitats near urban settings to increase opportunities to connect people to nature.
- Demonstrate resiliency to climate change and/or address stressors linked to climate change impacts.
- Consider habitats that provide important and productive areas for a variety of fish and wildlife (not only Species at Risk).
Funding Information
- Habitat Acquisition Grants provide funding for direct acquisition costs and may also include a request for initial management costs and/or property management endowment contribution. The HCTF Board sets aside a budget of $500,000 for this program each year and generally funds 2-3 projects. There is currently no matched funding requirement, but HCTF prefers to see that other funders will be contributing to an acquisition project.
Eligibility Criteria
- Habitat Acquisition Grants provide funds to secure land for the long-term conservation of fish and wildlife habitat in BC. Properties must be located within British Columbia. Properties with intact ecosystems are generally given priority over those requiring significant restoration. Preference is given to lands with conservation values and very limited to no infrastructure. Proposals that do include infrastructure that will be maintained versus removed, should clearly demonstrate how the priority will be on managing conservation values of the land rather than infrastructure. Proposals should clearly articulate what benefits any existing infrastructure provides.
- Organization Eligibility
- HCTF accepts Habitat Acquisition Grant proposals from many types of organizations including municipal, regional, and provincial governments, First Nations, land trusts, and community organizations.
- HCTF prefers to receive proposals directly from the organization that will hold title and manage the property, but they recognize that sometimes multiple organizations are involved at different stages of an acquisition project—for example, a local community group might coordinate the acquisition of a property, but a larger land trust will ultimately hold title. If the organization submitting the proposal will not be the one holding title or managing the property, be sure to include information on both the applicant organization and the intended title holder and/or manager. Please note that if the applicant is not going to be managing the land, the applicant may still apply for land management/endowment funding; however, HCTF may grant the management funds directly to the organization incurring costs to manage the land.
- HCTF will not fund property acquisitions where the proponent organization is already the owner of the property and is looking to finance debt recovery or pay off the mortgage.
For more information, visit Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation.