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The Department of the Interior (DOI) and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced the 2023 Request for Proposals for the America the Beautiful Challenge, which offers grants to local conservation projects that align with the America the Beautiful initiative. The program, initially launched in 2022, is dedicated to funding locally-led landscape-scale conservation and restoration projects that implement existing conservation plans across the nation. The 2023 program will award up to $116 million, an increase from the $91 million awarded in 2022. It will prioritize Indigenous-led projects by setting aside funding specifically to support Tribal Nations’ and territories' efforts.
The Challenge is a partnership between the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and Defense, NFWF, and Native Americans in Philanthropy which consolidates funding into a single resource. This makes securing funding more accessible and efficient, as applicants can apply for multiple grant programs through a single application.
“The America the Beautiful Challenge created a one-stop shop to help communities access funding for conservation and restoration initiatives,” said White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory. “This collaborative effort has and will continue to advance locally-led projects aligned with the President’s ambitious America the Beautiful initiative, conserving our lands and waters while also expanding access to the outdoors across the country.”
Recipients of the 2022 America the Beautiful Challenge grants are pursuing projects that will reconnect 1,300 miles of streams and rivers, improve the management of 26 million acres of land, and restore 1,900 acres of wetlands. This year's proposals are due April 20, 2023.
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We cannot just grow anywhere and everywhere and as much as we want and still sustain every kind of economy and economic growth that we want, we have to make choices.”
