F24AS00053 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Conservation Planning Assistance

The Conservation Planning Assistance Grant program provides funding to States to support the development of new Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs), Safe Harbor Agreements (SHAs), and Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAAs). Funding may also be used to support the renewal or amendment of existing HCPs, SHAs, and CCAAs. The development of HCPs that include only candidate or at-risk species (i.e., no Federally listed species covered by the HCP), such that the HCP would be in place if the species is listed, is also supported through this program. Funding may be used to support development and planning activities such as document preparation, public outreach, baseline species surveys, habitat assessments, and inventories. The preparation of environmental compliance review documents, such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), is also an eligible use of grant funds.