Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program: $80M in the Final FY 2026 Round

FHWA has opened the FY 2026 Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program (WCPP) — approximately $80 million in competitive grants for projects that reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and, in doing so, reconnect habitat for terrestrial and aquatic species. Counties, cities, MPOs, regional transportation authorities, transportation districts, Tribes, and State DOTs can all apply, there is no minimum or maximum award, and at least 60 percent of each year's funds must go to rural areas. The NOFO describes this as the final application period for FY 2026 funds — the last year of the $350 million the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act set aside for the program. Applications are due through Grants.gov by November 16, 2026. One structural rule decides whether a local application can be funded at all: your State DOT has to agree to administer the grant.

What Is the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program?

The NOFO frames WCPP as a motorist safety program first. Its stated purpose is to promote greater adoption of wildlife-vehicle safety countermeasures to reduce the tens of thousands of serious injuries and approximately 200 fatalities that occur each year from more than 1,000,000 wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs). The statutory goal is to reduce the number of WVCs and, in doing so, improve habitat connectivity for terrestrial and aquatic species.

Both construction and non-construction projects are eligible — the scoring criteria explicitly contemplate research projects that produce recommendations — but the NOFO says twice that DOT may prioritize awards to construction projects. The application template also allows bundled projects covering more than one facility.

This is a new NOFO that replaces the one published on June 6, 2024. FHWA lists five changes from the prior version:

• References to rescinded Executive Orders were removed.
• The NOFO was aligned with current Executive Orders and administration priorities.
• The application evaluation criteria were updated.
• The application template changed from optional to mandatory.
• The earlier multi-year NOFO is rescinded, and this notice opens the final application period for FY 2026 funds.

If you drafted an application against the 2024 notice, do not reuse it as written. The criteria and the required format are both different.

Who Can Apply

Eligible applicants are:

• State Departments of Transportation (State DOTs)
• Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs)
• Units of local government, as defined at 2 CFR § 200.1
• Regional transportation authorities
• Special purpose districts or public authorities with a transportation function
• Indian Tribes
• Federal Land Management Agencies (FLMAs)
• A group of any of the above

Eligible partners can receive funding through the applicant under the grant agreement. The partner list is wider than the applicant list: it adds foundations, nongovernmental organizations, institutions of higher education, and Federal, Tribal, regional, or State government entities. A land trust, a university research center, or a State wildlife agency cannot apply on its own, but any of them can be a funded partner on a county's application. The applicant must establish measures to verify that partners comply with WCPP conditions, and it remains responsible for the grant agreement either way.

Joint applications name a lead applicant, describe each party's role, and should be signed by every applicant. There is no limit on the number of applications an entity may submit; if you send more than one, mark your funding priority on each cover page. DOT is not required to honor that ranking.

Your State DOT Has to Say Yes Before FHWA Can Award

This is the rule most likely to end a local application, and it appears in two separate places in the NOFO.

First, consultation at the application stage. Any applicant other than a State DOT or an FLMA must include documentation that the State highway agency (or its equivalent) was consulted during development of the application. For Tribes, consultation is required only for projects not located on Tribal lands. DOT will not review applications that fail to provide sufficient documentation of consultation.

Second, administration at the award stage. If the recipient is anyone other than a Tribe or an FLMA, the State DOT for the State where the project sits must administer the grant — either delivering the project on the recipient's behalf or overseeing it as a pass-through entity. These recipients may not ask FHWA to administer the grant directly, and the NOFO is blunt about the consequence: FHWA cannot award a grant to these recipients if the State DOT does not agree to administer it.

So a county, city, MPO, or transportation district needs more than a courtesy email to its State DOT. It needs the DOT's commitment to take on administration, and the application template asks you to list any State DOT support letters among your attachments. With a November 16 deadline, that conversation should start this week. (Tribes and FLMAs work the other way: FHWA administers their grants directly, and they may not ask the State DOT to do it.)

Cost Share: 20%, With Real Exceptions

WCPP requires a 20 percent non-Federal cost share. Applications that do not provide at least the required share will be determined ineligible. Non-Federal sources include State funds from State or local revenue programs and private funds.

The NOFO identifies three ways the Federal share can go higher:

• Certain safety construction projects: under 23 U.S.C. 120(c)(1), the Federal share for certain safety projects may be 100 percent of construction cost.
• Sliding-scale States: 23 U.S.C. 120(a) and (b) authorize an upward adjustment to the Federal share in States containing Federal and nontaxable Indian lands, based on the percentage of those lands in the State. FHWA publishes the specific share allowed in each State.
• Tribes and FLMAs: may use other Federal funds for their match, such as those allowable under 23 U.S.C. 120(k).

One limit applies to everyone: DOT will not count previously incurred costs, or previously expended or encumbered funds, toward the match. Design work you already paid for does not reduce what you owe. The budget must list the amount and percentage of both the Federal request and the non-Federal funds.

What the Program Will Not Pay For

The NOFO does not publish a list of unallowable activities. The boundaries it does draw are about timing and payment:

• Pre-award costs. Unless DOT authorizes them in writing after selections are announced, costs incurred before DOT obligates funds are ineligible for reimbursement and ineligible as cost share. A selection notice is not authorization to start work or incur costs.
• Up-front cash. State DOTs, MPOs, local governments, regional transportation authorities, and transportation districts are paid on a reimbursement basis, only for costs incurred after a grant agreement is executed and found allowable, reasonable, and allocable under 2 CFR Part 200. Alternative payment methods are considered case by case. Tribes and FLMAs are primarily paid in advance.
• Non-compliant materials. Awards are subject to FHWA's Buy America requirements for steel, iron, and manufactured products and to the Build America, Buy America requirement for construction materials.

Recipients must also accept the award conditions in Section H, including the certifications tied to Executive Order 14173 on Federal anti-discrimination law and a showing, before the grant agreement is signed, that physical and cyber security risks were considered. If DOT finds a recipient out of compliance with Federal requirements, it may terminate the award and disallow costs already incurred.

How Applications Are Rated

There are no points. Each criterion gets a label, and the labels combine in a fixed way.

Primary merit criteria

• Criterion 1 — Reduction of WVCs. Reviewers look for four things: (A) data on current and projected collisions in the project area, including the species involved and the number, severity, and cost of collisions with and without the project; (B) landscape context, including migratory or movement corridors and other factors contributing to collisions; (C) the specific actions that will reduce collisions and their expected effectiveness; and (D) evidence that the area has a high number of collisions, involves large mammals that cause greater human harm, or involves species of local or regional significance. Addressing all four earns Highly Responsive; A through C earns Responsive.
• Criterion 2 — Improvement of Terrestrial and Aquatic Habitat Connectivity. The application must show, quantifiably or qualitatively, that the project will reconnect isolated populations or fragmented habitats across roadways, facilitate safe migration along known corridors, or safely connect animals to food or water where a roadway is a barrier. Two or more of those earns Highly Responsive; one earns Responsive.

The primary rating is High if you are Highly Responsive on both, or Highly Responsive on one and Responsive on the other; Medium if Responsive on both; Low if Non-Responsive on either. A Low rating stops the review.

Secondary criterion

Criterion 3 has five statutory considerations: non-WCPP contributions to the project; local and regional economic benefit, such as attracting visitors to wildlife viewing, hunting, or fishing; innovative technologies; educational and outreach opportunities; and a monitoring and research plan with a way to share findings. Meeting four of the five is Highly Responsive; three is Responsive; fewer than three is Non-Responsive and ends the review.

Project readiness

Applications that survive both merit stages are scored 1 to 3 on three readiness assessments:

• Technical: staffing and technical resources, compliance with Federal requirements, a credible schedule, and technical feasibility.
• Financial completeness: funding estimates based on recent design, a plan for cost overruns, reasonable availability of all other funding, and — for construction projects — how future operation, maintenance, and preservation will be paid for.
• Permitting risk: NEPA status, permits, public engagement, and disclosure of any open litigation, public controversy, or agency opposition on environmental grounds.

Readiness is High with at least two 3s and no more than one 2, Medium with one 3 and two 2s, and Low when every item is a 2 or a 1.

Overall rating and selection

Highly Recommended requires a High primary rating plus High or Medium on both the secondary criterion and readiness. Recommended requires Medium primary plus High or Medium on the other two. A Low anywhere means Not Recommended. Among similarly rated projects, DOT may then prioritize:

• applications with a high readiness rating or a high merit rating;
• construction projects;
• geographic distribution;
• a broad range of recipients rather than repeat awardees;
• projects that improve the travel experience for American families; and
• projects that decrease roadway congestion without limiting roadway capacity for motor vehicles or creating artificial chokepoints.

DOT also states it will prioritize projects aligned with DOT Order 2100.7, on sound economic analysis, and DOT Order 2100.9. A Technical Review Team rates applications, a Senior Review Team decides which advance, and DOT leadership makes final selections. DOT may also offer a reduced award.

Submission Mechanics and Timeline

1. SAM.gov: you must be registered before submitting and hold a valid Unique Entity Identifier. The NOFO warns that SAM registration takes several weeks.
2. Grants.gov package: SF-424, the Grants.gov Lobbying Form, and SF-LLL for every project; SF-424A and SF-424B for non-construction projects; SF-424C and SF-424D for construction projects.
3. WCPP Application Template: mandatory, attached to Item 15 of the SF-424. DOT treats an application without the completed template as incomplete and will not review it. The template sets page limits by section: Summary 3 pages, Project Information 3, Budget and Funding 3 (excluding attachments), Merit Criteria 6, Project Readiness 3, and DOT Priority Considerations 3.
4. Format: single-spaced, 12-point standard font, 1-inch margins, PDF unless otherwise specified. Location files such as Shapefile or KML/KMZ are accepted.
5. Deadline: 11:59 PM EST on November 16, 2026. Late, duplicate, or incomplete applications are not reviewed, and DOT will not ask for information to perfect an incomplete one.

To find the package, search Grants.gov for opportunity number FHWA-WCPP-26-002 or Assistance Listing 20.290. DOT expects to announce awards in March 2027. After award, recipients submit semi-annual progress reports and semi-annual SF-425 financial reports, with final reports due within 120 days of the agreement ending. FHWA will set two to four performance measures per grant, such as the change in WVCs from a baseline, and expects performance reporting to continue for several years after construction is complete.

Practical Guidance for FY 2026 Applicants

• Call your State DOT first. Local applicants need documented consultation to be reviewed and the DOT's agreement to administer the grant to be awarded. Neither can be arranged in the last week.
• Build the application around collision data. Criterion 1 asks for the number, severity, and cost of collisions with and without the project, by species. Crash records, carcass counts, and State wildlife agency movement data are the core of a Highly Responsive rating.
• Count your Criterion 3 considerations before you write. You need three of five to stay in the review and four of five for the top rating. A monitoring plan and an outreach component are usually the cheapest two to add.
• Budget for reimbursement. Your finance office will carry project costs until FHWA or the State DOT reimburses them, and nothing spent before obligation counts.
• Show how maintenance is funded. For construction projects, a Complete financial rating requires an explanation of who pays for operation, maintenance, and preservation.
• Be candid about permitting. The permitting assessment penalizes undisclosed risk more than disclosed risk with a schedule that accounts for it.
• Treat this as the last round. The NOFO calls this the final application period for FY 2026 funds, which are the last authorized under the current law.

Contact Information

• Program questions and debrief requests: Wildlifecrossings@dot.gov (Attn: Daniel Buford, FHWA Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty)
• Previous awards and selection announcements: FHWA Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program page
• Grants.gov applicant resources: grants.gov/applicants

How Avila Can Help

This is a five-week application that depends on other institutions: a State DOT willing to administer the grant, a wildlife agency with the collision and movement data, and a finance office ready for a 20 percent match on a reimbursement schedule. Avila helps counties, cities, and regional agencies find opportunities like this early, decode NOFO requirements, and draft responses organized around the criteria reviewers actually rate. Book a demo to see how public works and transportation teams use Avila on this kind of application.

For related federal transportation guides, see our posts on FHWA PROTECT resilience grants, the Culvert Aquatic Organism Passage program, and Safe Streets and Roads for All. For registration prerequisites, see SAM.gov registration and Grants.gov registration.