SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is now accepting applications for grants through the Illinois Habitat Fund and the State Pheasant Fund, both of which are part of the Illinois Special Wildlife Funds Grant Program.
The Illinois Habitat Fund provides grants to appropriate not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities for projects aimed at enhancing game and non-game wildlife habitat. Grants through the Illinois Habitat Fund are competitive and are evaluated for their merit, supporting activities and programs undertaken to preserve, protect, acquire, manage and maintain high quality habitat for future generations. Goals include improving habitat quality and connectivity. High quality habitat can be characterized by type, native diversity, size, structure, scarcity and location. Connectivity is defined as linkage with neighboring habitat, whether existing or potential. Illinois’ habitat includes all wetlands, bodies of water, woodlands, grasslands and agricultural lands, natural or altered, that support or have the potential to support populations of wild animals in any or all phases of their life cycles. See 520 ILCS 25/10 for full text of the Habitat Endowment Act.
The State Pheasant Fund provides grants to appropriate not-for-profit organizations for projects to help conserve wild pheasant. Grants through the State Pheasant Fund are competitive and are evaluated for their merit. Grant funding through the State Pheasant Fund supports activities and programs undertaken to preserve, protect, acquire, manage and maintain high quality habitat for wild pheasant conservation. See 520 ILCS 5/1.31 for full text of the Pheasant Fund Act.
Any prospective Special Wildlife Funds grant applicants can email
For more information and to download the grant application forms, see the IDNR website:
Habitat Grants, Application Deadline 5:00 p.m., August 19, 2019:
https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/grants/Pages/Habitat-Funding-Opportunity.aspx.
Pheasant Grants, Application
