Restore Colorado

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation administers the annual Restoration and Stewardship of Outdoor Resources and Environment, or RESTORE Colorado Program, in partnership with Great Outdoors Colorado, Chevron, Occidental, the Gates Family Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Terra Foundation, and the Trinchera Blanca Foundation. The program supports voluntary restoration, enhancement, and expansion of high priority wildlife habitat throughout Colorado. It is intended to accelerate restoration and improvement of critical wildlife habitat at scale and support proactive management of public and private lands for wildlife and local communities. For this funding round, priorities include watershed resilience, Eastern Colorado grasslands, sagebrush rangelands, big game winter range and migration corridors, and urban areas. Projects must occur entirely within Colorado. Competitive proposals are expected to directly and measurably contribute to one or more program priorities through voluntary on-the-ground conservation practices and/or increased organizational capacity for conservation activities. Preference is given to projects affecting multiple priority habitat types, improving ecological connectivity and resilience, and aligning with local, regional, or statewide strategies. Watershed projects may address wetlands, riparian areas, forests, uplands, floodplain connectivity, hydrology, aquatic habitat, barriers, and nature-based solutions. Grassland and sagebrush projects may include restoration, wildlife-friendly grazing, invasive species treatment, fence removal or modification, and mesic meadow restoration. Big game projects may improve winter range, migration corridors, transportation connectivity, and forage. Urban projects should increase wildlife habitat quantity and quality while improving access to thriving outdoor spaces and are generally expected to align with watershed resilience priorities. Capacity-building expenses may support new organizational positions or external partners providing technical assistance for habitat restoration and enhancement. The program expects to make awards to approximately 10 projects, with a minimum grant amount of 100000 dollars. No maximum award or total program funding amount is stated. Projects should begin within six months of the award date and be completed within three years of the agreed start date. Match and leverage are encouraged but are not required. They are evaluated as evidence of community support and project partnerships rather than based solely on the dollar amount contributed. Match may include cash, contributed goods and services, volunteer hours, or property used for the project during the period of performance. Leverage may include support for previous or current project phases and does not necessarily need to be assigned a dollar value. Grant payments are primarily reimbursable. Advances may be requested for imminent expenditures when supported by justification and a disbursement timeline, but monthly advances will not be considered. Eligible applicants include nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, political subdivisions of the state, local and municipal governments, Native Nations and Indigenous-led organizations, and educational institutions. Businesses and unincorporated individuals are ineligible. NFWF funds and matching contributions may not be used for prohibited purposes such as political advocacy, fundraising, lobbying, litigation, terrorist activities, or activities violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Grant funds also may not support ongoing efforts required merely to comply with legal requirements, although projects that enhance or improve baseline compliance efforts may be supported. Applicable projects may need to satisfy federal, state, and local environmental reviews, permits, and clearances before habitat-disturbing activities begin. Restrictions also apply to certain telecommunications equipment and, for federally funded activities, covered foreign-entity drones or uncrewed aerial systems. Applications must be submitted online through NFWF's Easygrants system. Applicants register or use an existing Easygrants account, select Apply for Funding, choose the applicable funding opportunity, and follow the system instructions to complete and submit the application. The source specifically identifies a proposal narrative for leverage, a Matching Contributions section for matching contributions, project metrics, spatial data, budget information, community and partnership information, and letters of support from community partners and collaborators. Proposals are screened for relevance, accuracy, completeness, and compliance. Evaluation considers alignment with program goals, quantifiable performance metrics, monitoring, partnership and community engagement, long-term sustainability, allowable and reasonable costs, matching contributions, cost effectiveness, technical feasibility, work plan and timeline, technical expertise, accurate spatial data, compliance planning, past grantee success, and transferability. The full proposal deadline is November 12, 2026, at 9:59 PM MDT or 11:59 PM EDT. The review period runs from November 2026 through March 2027, with awards expected to be announced from March through April 2027. The applicant webinar was scheduled for August 26 at 11:00 AM MDT or 1:00 PM EDT, and a recording is available. Because RESTORE Colorado is explicitly described as an annual program, another funding cycle is anticipated, although the next cycle's actual dates have not been announced. General inquiries and application support may be directed to Emma Wigger at Emma.Wigger@nfwf.org or Trevor Davis at Trevor.Davis@nfwf.org. Watershed resilience inquiries may be directed to Kirstin Neff at Kirstin.Neff@nfwf.org, and sagebrush, grassland, and migration inquiries may be directed to Chris West at Chris.West@nfwf.org. Easygrants technical assistance is available at Easygrants@nfwf.org or 202-595-2497 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET, Monday through Friday.

Demonstrate direct and measurable landscape-scale conservation outcomes; prioritize projects affecting multiple habitat types and improving ecological connectivity and resilience; align projects with local regional or statewide strategies; use relevant quantifiable performance metrics and appropriate monitoring; demonstrate meaningful community and partner engagement; provide accurate spatial data; present allowable reasonable and cost-effective costs; develop a technically sound feasible work plan; engage technical experts; plan early for permits environmental review and other compliance requirements; urban applicants should discuss potential projects with NFWF staff before applying because urban funding is limited