Wetlands Protection and/or Restoration Grant

To receive an application, budget template, and conflict of interest form, email gslwet@audubon.org. Once completed, submit your applications via email to gslwet@audubon.org.  If your application package is too large for email, please send a link to a shared folder (Box.com or similar) to allow the reviewers access and download materials.

The Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL) and the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust (the Trust) are excited to announce that up to $3 million in grant funding is available to eligible organizations with projects that will protect and/or restore wetlands and habitats in Great Salt Lake’s surrounding ecosystems to benefit the hydrology of Great Salt Lake. 

Of the available funding, $1 million will be provided through the Trust in its third year of consecutive funding. The additional $2 million will be funded through FFSL.

The application period opened July 23, 2025 and will closed at 11:59 p.m. MDT on January 16, 2026. 

Entities eligible to apply for this Protection and/or Restoration of Wetlands funding include:

1. Public/Governmental - State of Utah agencies, Tribal governments, local governments (e.g., municipal, county, or other political subdivisions of the state) or federal agencies.

2. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – Non-profit organizations registered as Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

3. Private landowners, private entities, or institutions of higher education (whether governmental or private) – Only eligible if working in partnership with a public/governmental entity or a non-governmental organization (i.e., category 1 or 2 above), and if the public/governmental entity or non-governmental organization serves as the Lead Project Applicant (“Lead Applicant”).

Projects may have multiple partners, but one entity must take on the responsibility of the Lead Applicant.

• July 23, 2025: Public release of the Protection and/or Restoration of Wetlands funding request for applications.

• January 16, 2025: Application closing date.

• First Quarter 2026: End of evaluation period and notification of successful Lead Applicant(s).

The application period began with the release of the request for applications and concludes with notification of the awards for successful projects. A description of key milestones in the application period was provided.

The Trust awarded project performance period will last for 2 years from the date of executed agreement with the awardee. The FFSL funded project performance period will also last two years from July 1, 2026, until June 30, 2028. Recipients awarded money from FFSL will work closely with FFSL to ensure funding is spent and invoiced on FFSL-specific timelines. Jointly awarded projects must comply with these same project timelines. In cases where an award is funded through FFSL and the Trust, FFSL, the Trust, and the award recipient will coordinate to ensure the period of performance and invoicing schedule guidelines are followed.

Applications that met all eligibility requirements (found in General Information) and Required Criteria underwent a detailed review by a Technical Review Committee (TRC) comprised of Utah natural resource experts. The TRC scored each application against the Required Criteria and made funding recommendations for GSLWET’s Trust Council. The Trust Council considered these recommendations, approved projects that received funding from GSLWET’s funding pool, and made recommendations to FFSL on projects to receive funding from FFSL. FFSL retained the authority to make any final decision concerning project awards to be funded by FFSL. Successful Lead Applicant(s) were notified at the conclusion of the evaluation process. Incomplete applications did not undergo a detailed review.