NAWCA Funding

The NAWCA provides a mechanism to leverage NAWCA Funds with non-federal U.S. funds and provide this funding to Canada in support of wetland projects that benefit waterfowl and other wetland-dependent or wetland-associated migratory birds as supported but NAWMP. NAWCA proposals from Canada must have at least a one-to-one match of U.S non-federal funds to the NAWCA Funds being requested through the Act. Under the 2010 Amendment to the NAWCA, these “Match funds”, can now include U.S. non-federal funding and/or Canadian (federal or non-federal) funding. It is important to note that the Canadian portion may comprise up to 50% of the total Match funds.

In Canada, NAWCA proposals support a broad scale programmatic wetland conservation program and must align with Joint Venture Implementation Plans. The federal government, Joint Ventures, provincial governments and NGO’s each play a role in the proposal process. The Habitat Joint Ventures develop multi year implementation plans that set out measurable goals for wetland securement, enhancement and management, and determine the activities that will best help Joint Ventures reach these goals to contribute to the larger NAWMP goals.

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Proposals are developed at the Partner level and writers work closely with the Joint Venture Coordinators and delivery agencies for their region. Partners can jointly determine what activities are of highest priority, will contribute most effectively to provincial and Joint Venture goals, and will be practical to achieve given financial limitations. In this way, conservation efforts are based on pre-established priorities and contribute to a comprehensive program. The Partner organization who writes a proposal and who would receive NAWCA funding is referred to as the “Grantee”. 

Proposals must be submitted through the Canadian structure established to ensure comprehensive review. To allow sufficient time for the Canadian process to take place, the official call for Canadian NAWCA proposals generally occurs in the spring of the funding fiscal year. The process occurs over a 4 month time period from the call to submission. Once proposals have been written, they are reviewed by the Joint Venture Boards, which includes provincial government, federal government and NGO members. Once Joint Venture Boards recommend proposals go forward, they go to the NAWCC (Canada) Secretariat for a primarily technical and administrative review to ensure that they follow the requirements set out in the Call for Canadian NAWCA Proposals document. The Secretariat is responsible for presenting a slate of proposals to the NAWCC (Canada) for endorsement. After Canadian review, the proposals are reviewed by Staff of the NAWCC (US), and then by the U.S. Council. If they recommend the proposals for approval, they are considered for funding by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, a committee of the U.S. Congress. Once proposals are approved for funding, grant agreements are developed between the Grantees and the USFWS and funds can be accessed. As projects are implemented, Grantees and funding partners must provide reports both to the USFWS and to Environment Canada.

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