Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) has announced a Habitat Restoration Grant opportunity. GOCO funding for habitat restoration aims to improve and restore Colorado's rivers, streams, wetlands, and critical habitat. The program offers $500,000 in available funding. Previous habitat restoration grants targeted river habitat, but the current program includes all types of ecosystem restoration and enhancement, from forests and grasslands to rivers and wetlands. Applications are available upon request. For more information about this grant visit the GOCO website. Applications are due on September 23, 2016.

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) Program provides direct technical assistance and financial assistance in the form of cooperative agreements to private landowners to restore and conserve fish and wildlife habitat for the benefit of federal trust resources. The PFW Program is delivered through more than 250 full-time staff, active in all 50 States and territories. Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program staff coordinate with project partners, stakeholders and other Service programs to identify geographic focus areas and develop habitat conservation priorities within these focus areas. Geographic focus areas are where the PFW Program directs resources to conserve habitat for federal trust species. Project work plans are developed strategically, in coordination with partners, and with substantial involvement from Service field staff. Projects must advance their mission, promote biological diversity, and be based upon sound scientific biological principles. Program strategic plans inform the types of projects funded under this opportunity. Applicants seeking funding under this program should review the program strategic plan and also contact the regional PFW Program office prior to submitting an application for funding. Current Closing Date for applications is Sep 30, 2016. For more information go to www.grants.gov.

EPA has announced the Fifth Annual Campus RainWorks Challenge Prize Competition. This competition encourages students to design green infrastructure for their campus. This year, the student teams will incorporate climate resiliency and consider community engagement in their stormwater management designs. Teams will be able to submit in either the master plan or demonstration project categories. Registration for this year’s competition will be open from September 1-30, 2016. For more information go to epa.gov/green-infrastructure.

The Grassroots Communities Mining Mini-Grant Program, sponsored by the Indigenous Environmental Network and the Western Mining Action Network, provides support to community-based organizations and tribes or tribal programs in the U.S. and Canada. The goal of the program is to support the capacity building efforts of mining-impacted communities to assure that mining projects do not adversely affect the human, cultural, and ecological health of communities. Requests must be project-specific for an immediate need such as legal assistance, organizing and outreach, development of campaign materials, etc. Grants of up to $3,000 are provided. Requests are reviewed three times per year; the next application deadline is October 1, 2016. Visit the Western Mining Action Network website to download the application form.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative is accepting proposals for its SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships grant program. SFI works to foster partnerships between organizations working to improve forest management in the United States and Canada and responsible procurement globally. The program addresses issues such as improving wildlife habitat management and conservation of biodiversity, avoiding controversial sources of fiber such as those resulting from illegal logging, and assisting local communities through forest education programs and green-building projects for low-income families. Qualified organizations may apply for Conversation grants or Community grants. Conservation grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded in support of projects that measure, demonstrate, or establish methodologies to demonstrate the conservation-related values of SFI-certified forestlands, or such values as result from application of the SFI Fiber Sourcing standard. A secondary priority will be given to projects related to the application of the SFI Forest Management or Fiber Sourcing standards, particularly in the areas of forest health, wildlife, fish, biodiversity, or which support the growth of SFI certification within the aboriginal/tribal community or enhance the capacity of this community to assess and manage natural and cultural resources. Community grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded for projects focused on educating youth, promoting respect for traditional indigenous values, helping provide sustainable housing for low-income families, and funding other projects to build understanding of the importance of responsible forestry. For complete eligibility and application guidelines as well as summaries of previously funded projects, see the SFI website. Deadline October 10th, 2016.

National Science Foundation’s Environmental Sustainability Program Grants for research that affect more than one chemical or manufacturing process or that takes a systems or holistic approach to green engineering for infrastructure or green buildings. Improvements in distribution and collection systems that will advance smart growth strategies and ameliorate effects of growth are research areas that are supported by Environmental Sustainability. Innovations in management of storm water, recycling and reuse of drinking water, and other green engineering techniques to support sustainability may also be fruitful areas for research. Application deadline is October 20th, 2016. For details visit grants.gov.

Applications are being accepted for the Colorado Corn FFA Grant program. The National FFA Organization was founded in 1928, and, with its focus on middle school and high school classes that promote and support ag education, is the largest of the career and technical student organizations in U.S. schools. For a fourth year, the Colorado Corn Administrative Committee is accepting applications from FFA chapters around the state as part of its Colorado Corn FFA Grant Program. The Colorado Corn FFA Grant Program assists FFA chapters in Colorado on projects that lack funding within their school district's budget. The deadline to apply is November 15th, 2016. Click HERE for more information.

Conservation Alliance Invites Nominations for Conservation Projects. The Conservation Alliance is a group of outdoor businesses that seeks to protect threatened wild places throughout North America for their habitat and recreational values. As a group of outdoor industry companies, alliance recognizes its responsibility to help protect the wild lands and waterways on which our customers recreate and wildlife thrives. Grants of up to $50,000 will be awarded for projects that seek to secure permanent and quantifiable protection of a specific wild land or waterway. Priority will be given to landscape-scale projects that have a clear benefit for habitat. In addition, campaigns should engage grassroots citizen action in support of the conservation effort and must have a clear recreational benefit. Nominations must be received no later than November 1, 2016. Upon review, selected nominees will be invited to submit full proposals by December 1, 2016. Visit the Conservation Alliance website for program guidelines, information about how to be nominated by an alliance member, and application procedures.