Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program (WCPP)

Background

Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program (WCPP) is a competitive grant program. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-58, November 15, 2021, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or BIL) authorized a total of $350 million for FYs 2022 through 2026 to be awarded by DOT, through FHWA, for the competitive WCPP.  The WCPP is authorized under Section 11123(b) of BIL, and codified at 23 U.S.C. 171, with the goal of reducing WVCs while improving habitat connectivity and conservation for terrestrial and aquatic species (23 U.S.C. 171(b)). Grants are available for all project activities, including but not limited to research, planning, design, and construction.

Eligible Applicants:

•  A State department of Transportation (State DOT);
•  A metropolitan planning organization (MPO);
•  A unit of local government;
•  A regional transportation authority;
•  A special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function;
•  An Indian Tribe;
•  A Federal Land Management Agency (FLMA); or
•  Or a group of the above entities.

Type of Awards:

Non-construction and construction projects, ranging from statewide plans and corridor studies to design and construction.  

FY22-23 Grant Selections List

Application Deadlines:

FUNDING

• FY 2024 and FY 2025 Funding: up to $145 million
• FY 2026 Funding: up to $80 million

COST-SHARE

• The Federal share for projects under the WCPP is 80 percent of total project costs unless an exception applies (23 U.S.C. 120).This program operates using the same Federal share provision as is generally applicable to Federal-aid projects.See Section C.2 of the NOFO for more information on cost share requirements.

Grant Size

• There is no minimum or maximum award size; however, applicants are encouraged to submit applications for large-scale projects with total project costs of $200,000 or greater.

Types of Projects

FHWA seeks to award non-construction and construction projects10 under WCPP.  Examples of non-construction projects include, but are not limited to the following:

• Research on safety innovations to reduce WVCs;
• Research and monitoring on the effectiveness of WVC mitigation;
• Development of mapping tools to document WVCs;
• Analysis of impacts of WVCs and best practices to reduce WVCs;
• Planning studies to identify terrestrial and aquatic wildlife migration corridors and roadway barriers to habitat that lead to WVCs;
• Developing or updating Statewide Transportation and Wildlife Action Plans;
• Tracking wildlife and mapping WVCs; or
• Outreach activities to educate the public on the hazards of WVCs.

Examples of construction projects include, but are not limited to the following

• • Design and pre-construction of an underpass or overpass for wildlife passage;
• • Environmental permitting and right-of-way acquisition to construct a wildlife crossing structure;
• • Adaptation or replacement of a culvert or bridge structure to accommodate connectivity for terrestrial species that are experiencing WVCs;
• • Construction of a wildlife overpass or underpass and fencing;
• • Preservation or restoration of habitat necessary to secure the effectiveness of a crossing project; or
• • Construction of multiple crossing structures in an area to connect habitat for terrestrial or aquatic species.

Below you will find more helpful documents and links: