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Wilderness Stewardship Performance (WSP) Funding Program

Wilderness Stewardship Performance is the suite of activities the Forest Service uses to measure their wilderness stewardship accomplishments. Wilderness Stewardship Performance (WSP) guides much of the wilderness work the Forest Service and its wilderness stewardship partner organizations do by informing performance goals and identifying needs for funding to support them.

2025 Wilderness Stewardship Performance Grants*

Application Period Opens: October 18, 2024
Application Period Closes: EXTENDED DEADLINE! December 16, 2024
Funding Available: $125,000
Funding Amounts: $2,000 - $20,000 per organization
Project Period: Projects completed between February 1 – December 31, 2025

*You must be a current NWSA Member Organization to apply

Overview

The National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance (NWSA), in partnership with the USDA Forest Service, is proud to bring our members this funding opportunity to support their work with Forest Service partners on Wilderness Stewardship Performance (WSP) activities on National Forest Wilderness Areas across the U.S. Approximately $125,000 is available for work completed between February and December of 2025 and award amounts will range between $2,000 and $20,000 per organization. Projects that support volunteers receive additional emphasis. The application period opens October 18, 2024 and closes December 5, 2024. Awards will be announced by January 30, 2025.

This funding program is for 501(c)(3) organizations working with Forest Service partners to complete wilderness stewardship activities that contribute to overall improvement in Wilderness Stewardship Performance scores for individual national forest wilderness areas to help the agency to meet their performance goals. There are a variety of activities that qualify for consideration. See the Forest Service Wilderness Stewardship Performance Guidebook for more detailed information about these and other activities.

Program Requirements

  • Must be a 501(c)(3) organization in good standing to qualify for funding.
  • Must be a current NWSA Member Organization to apply (JOIN OR RENEW)*.
  • Projects must contribute to Forest Service Wilderness Stewardship Performance scoring and meet all Qualifying Projects criteria.
  • Applicants must provide a signed letter(s) from local Forest Service personnel to demonstrate collaboration and support.
  • Minimum 20% match requirement (can be combination of cash and in-kind contributions)
  • Maximum award amount is $20,000.
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion components are strongly encouraged.
  • WSP activities chosen must match with the local unit’s chosen 10 elements for each wilderness.

*Membership requirements may be waived for applicants from Federally Recognized Tribes. Please contact [email protected] if this applies to you.

Application Materials*

The WSP application is now online. You will see a link to the application when the application period opens. We are no longer accepting applications via email. If you are unable to submit your application online and or require special accommodations, please contact [email protected].

Please note: This is NWSA's first year using a new online system to collect and review grant applications and there are bound to be glitches to fix. Please be patient and let us know if you experience any issues with the online application or supporting documents right away so we can get issues fixed promptly. 

Access the Application

The following documents will be helpful or needed to complete your application. Please be sure to review them carefully: 

*If you are having trouble using the features on the WSP Metrics Worksheet or downloading any of these documents due to software issues, please contact [email protected].

WSP Resources

 

Webinar: 2025 Wilderness Stewardship Performance Funding webinar

Powerpoint: 2025 Wilderness Stewardship Performance Funding webinar slides

Visit Wilderness Connect for complete information on Wilderness Stewardship Performance and explore these resources:

Read about the awards and see a list of the organizations we funded in the 2024 WSP Funding Round HERE.

Questions

Questions about the National Forest Wilderness Stewardship Performance Partnership Funding may be addressed to Joelle Marier, Executive Director at [email protected].

Stay Updated!

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