State & Tribal Wildlife Grants (SWG) Program

History

In 2000, at the urging of the Teaming with Wildlife (TWW) coalition, Congress created the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants (SWG) program to assist States and their partners with the conservation of more than 12,000 species of fish and wildlife that are at-risk. This is the only federal program with the explicit goal of PREVENTING endangered species listings. This program continues the long history of cooperation between the federal government and the States for managing and conserving wildlife species, going back to landmark laws like the 1937 Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act and the 1950 Dingell-Johnson Sportfish Restoration Act. As a condition for receiving SWG funding, each State and territorial fish and wildlife agency developed a State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP). These plans were approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and are being implemented using the SWG program. Click here for SWG Allocation History by state.

SWG Publications

SWG: 10 Years of Success

This report includes examples from every State that demonstrate the program’s success in preventing endangered species listings. September 2011

Effectiveness Measures

This report recommends a framework with effectiveness measures for States to improve performance reporting for the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants (SWG) program. April 2011

SWG 5-Year Accomplishment Report

Five years into the SWG program, this report examines the proactive and cost-effective projects that are being undertaken by State fish and wildlife agencies and their partners with these federal dollars. It also includes success stories from every State. April 2006

SWG Fact Sheet

This one-pager provides basic facts about the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants (SWG) program.

SWG Fact Sheet

Congressional Outreach

Every spring, the TWW coalition holds a Fly-in Day in Washington, DC to communicate to Congress the importance of the SWG program and other wildlife conservation legislation. The Fly-in includes an advocacy training, meetings with members Congress and their staff, a TWW coalition reception, and a congressional reception with awards ceremony near the U.S. Capitol. During the meetings, members of Congress are asked to sign a Dear Colleague letter in support of funding for the SWG program in annual appropriations bills. Please click here to view the Dear Colleague letter archive.

Threat to SWG

In February 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR1, which would have eliminated funding for the SWG program for FY11. The TWW coalition immediately launched a campaign to restore funding for the SWG program. While we were successful in restoring $62 million for SWG in FY11, it was still a 31% cut—resulting in the lowest funding level since the inception of the program— which has left many State wildlife diversity programs in jeopardy. It also represents a new era of national fiscal austerity that leaves the future of the SWG program hanging in the balance. Part of the campaign to save the SWG program was the circulation of two sign-on letters in support of SWG funding for FY11 and FY12.

Attachment	Size
FY13 Dear Colleague Letter Signers 3/9/12.pdf	268.89 KB
FY12 SWG Apportionment Letter from USFWS.pdf	70.2 KB
SWG Allocations for 2001-2012.pdf	175.91 KB
FY11 SWG Apportionment Letter from USFWS.pdf	130.63 KB
SWG Overview.pdf	43.32 KB