The following activities are eligible for funding in these programs and subprograms under the Wildlife Restoration Act:

(a) Traditional Wildlife Restoration program. The following wildlife restoration projects and other associated activities are eligible for funding under apportionments authorized at 16 U.S.C. 669c(b).

(1) Restoring and managing wildlife for the benefit of the public.

(2) Conducting research on the problems of managing wildlife and its habitat if necessary to administer wildlife resources efficiently. This research may include social science activities.

(3) Obtaining data to guide and direct the regulation of hunting.

(4) Acquiring real property suitable or capable of being made suitable for:

(i) Wildlife habitat or management;

(ii) Providing public access for hunting or other wildlife-oriented recreation; or

(iii) Supporting other eligible activities described under this paragraph (a), including maintaining and operating property under the ownership or management control of the State fish and wildlife agency and that support eligible activities under the Wildlife Restoration Act.

(5) Wildlife restoration projects for restoring, rehabilitating, improving, managing, or maintaining areas of lands or waters as wildlife habitat.

(6) Building structures or acquiring equipment, goods, and services for:

(i) Restoring, rehabilitating, or improving lands or waters as wildlife habitat;

(ii) Supporting wildlife management;

(iii) Providing public access for hunting or other wildlife-oriented recreation; or

(iv) Supporting other eligible activities described under this paragraph (a), including maintaining and operating equipment under the ownership or management control of the State fish and wildlife agency and that support eligible activities under the Wildlife Restoration Act.

(7) Acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing public target ranges following the requirements of § 80.60 when combining up to 10 percent of annually apportioned Traditional Wildlife Restoration funds (16 U.S.C. 669c(b)) with Enhanced Hunter Education and Safety funds (16 U.S.C. 669h-1). When Traditional Wildlife Restoration funds are committed to the Wildlife Restoration for Public Target Ranges 90/10/5 subaccount, they are no longer eligible for Traditional Wildlife Restoration activities.

(8) Communicating with the public (see § 80.52(h)), including:

(i) Outreach and sharing information on award activities, accomplishments, performance, or other communication related to meeting the objectives of an award;

(ii) Providing the public with information on Wildlife Management Areas; public access for hunting or other wildlife-associated recreation; notices on safety, rule changes, and topics of interest to the public related to wildlife management; and other opportunities available to the public as a result of a Traditional Wildlife Restoration award;

(iii) Liaising with the media or other venues to provide public information related to the objectives of an award; or

(iv) Other forms of communication that support a State's wildlife restoration and management objectives in an award.

(9) Public relations, advertising as a form of outreach, and marketing that are associated with achieving eligible objectives require prior approval of the Service. These activities are allowable only when included in the approach of an approved award to accomplish eligible activities and meet award objectives. Communication that solely benefits the agency is unallowable public relations and is not eligible for funding under the Act.

(b) Basic Hunter Education and Safety subprogram and Hunter Recruitment and Recreational Shooter Recruitment. (1) The following activities are eligible under the Basic Hunter Education and Safety subprogram for activities authorized at 16 U.S.C. 669g(b):

(i) Teaching the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to be a responsible hunter.

(ii) Developing and improving access to public target ranges by:

(A) Acquiring real property suitable or capable of being made suitable for public target ranges, including through licenses or third-party binding agreements that provide assurances for public access (see § 80.58).

(B) Constructing, upgrading, or restoring public target ranges to a useful condition.

(C) Operating or maintaining public target ranges.

(D) Acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing public target ranges as 90/10/5 projects following §§ 80.60 and 80.62.

(E) Constructing, operating, or maintaining educational facilities to support Hunter Education.

(2) The following activities are eligible when directly supporting recruiting, retaining, or reactivating hunters or recreational shooters (R3), as authorized at 16 U.S.C. 669c(c)(4).

(i) Communicating with hunters, recreational shooters, and the public about hunting and recreational shooting and associated opportunities by:

(A) Promoting conservation and the responsible use of the wildlife resources of the United States as part of an effort to recruit, retain, or reactivate hunters or recreational shooters.

(B) Promoting a State's R3 program, special events, and opportunities.

(C) Providing outreach on public target range availability, access, and locations.

(D) Marketing, publications, press releases, and media relations for content directly related to R3 activities.

(ii) Interpreting, translating, printing, or disseminating published State hunting regulations to inform and educate the public about their responsibilities to comply with laws, orders, and regulations.

(iii) Using a State fish and wildlife agency's website, cell phone or software products, online support systems, or other appropriate communication tools to engage the public in activities supporting a State's R3 efforts (see § 80.55(c) for exclusions related to income-producing activities).

(iv) Supporting the scope and impact of a State's R3 program by:

(A) Reducing barriers to hunting and recreational shooting opportunities;

(B) Furthering safety in hunting and recreational shooting;

(C) Providing education, mentoring, field demonstrations, and other similar opportunities to recruit, retain, or reactivate hunters or recreational shooters;

(D) Constructing, operating, or maintaining educational facilities to the extent they support R3 activities;

(E) Supporting programs for hunting or recreational shooting that have been developed or are delivered by other entities; and

(F) Offering activities that support R3 for youth and beginner hunters or recreational shooters, such as R3 camps and mentoring programs.

(v) Constructing, operating, or maintaining public target ranges, including mobile public target ranges.

(vi) Educating the public about the role of hunting and recreational shooting in funding wildlife conservation.

(vii) Supplying services that support R3 activities, such as hunt guides, trainers for shooting, and celebrity endorsements.

(viii) Acquiring supplies that enhance the experience and skills for hunters and recreational shooters.

(ix) Engaging in other allowable activities that directly support recruiting, retaining, or reactivating hunters or recreational shooters.

(c) Enhanced Hunter Education and Safety program. The following activities are eligible under Enhanced Hunter Education and Safety for activities authorized at 16 U.S.C. 669h-1:

(1) Enhancing programs for hunter education, hunter development, and firearm and archery safety. Hunter-development programs introduce individuals to and recruit them to take part in hunting, bow hunting, target shooting, or archery.

(2) Enhancing interstate coordination and developing hunter-education and public target range programs.

(3) Enhancing programs for education, safety, or development of firearm and bow hunters and recreational shooters.

(4) Enhancing development, construction, upgrades, rehabilitation, and improved safety features at public target ranges.

(5) Acquiring real property suitable or capable of being made suitable for public target ranges.

(6) Enhancing operation and maintenance of public target ranges.

(7) Enhancing access for hunting and recreational shooting opportunities.

(8) Acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing public target ranges following the regulations at § 80.60.

(9) Enhancing the hunter and recreational shooter R3 activities listed at paragraph (b)(2) of this section.

The following activities are eligible for funding in these programs and subprograms under the Sport Fish Restoration Act:

(a) Sport Fish Restoration program. The following fish restoration and management projects and other associated activities are eligible for funding under apportionments authorized at 16 U.S.C. 777c(c)(1).

(1) Restoring and managing sport fish for the benefit of the public.

(2) Conducting research on the problems of managing fish and their habitat and the problems of fish culture if necessary to administer sport fish resources efficiently. This research may include social science activities.

(3) Obtaining data to guide and direct the regulation of fishing. These data may be on:

(i) Size and geographic range of sport fish populations;

(ii) Changes in sport fish populations due to fishing, other human activities, or natural causes; and

(iii) Effects of any measures or regulations applied.

(4) Developing and adopting plans to restock sport fish and forage fish in the natural areas or districts covered by the plans and obtain data to develop, carry out, and test the effectiveness of the plans.

(5) Raise, acquire or stockfish for recreational purposes.

(6) Acquiring real property suitable or capable of being made suitable for:

(i) Sport fish habitat, as a buffer to protect that habitat, or sport fish management;

(ii) Providing public access for sport fishing; or

(iii) Supporting other eligible activities described under this paragraph (a).

(7) Implementing fish restoration and management projects to restore, rehabilitate, improve, manage, or maintain:

(i) Aquatic areas adaptable for sport fish habitat; or

(ii) Land adaptable as a buffer to protect sport fish habitat.

(8) Building structures or acquiring equipment, goods, and services for:

(i) Restoring, rehabilitating, or improving aquatic habitat for sport fish or land as a buffer to protect aquatic habitat for sport fish;

(ii) Supporting sport fish management;

(iii) Providing public access for sport fishing; or

(iv) Supporting other eligible activities described under this paragraph (a).

(9) Constructing, renovating, operating, or maintaining pumpout and dump stations. A pumpout station is a facility that pumps or receives sewage from a type III marine sanitation device that the U.S. Coast Guard requires on some vessels. A dump station, also referred to as a “waste reception facility,” is specifically designed to receive waste from portable toilets on vessels.

(10) Communicating with the public (see § 80.52(h)) to include:

(i) Conducting outreach and sharing information on award activities, accomplishments, performance, or other communication related to meeting the objectives of an award;

(ii) Providing the public with information on sport fish management areas; public access for fishing or other sport fish-associated recreation; notices on safety, rule changes, and topics of interest to the public related to sport fish management; and other opportunities available to the public as a result of a Sport Fish Restoration award;

(iii) Liaising with the media or other venues to provide public information related to the objectives of an award; or

(iv) Engaging in other forms of communication that support a State's sport fish restoration and management objectives in an award.

(11) Conducting public relations, advertising as a form of outreach, and marketing that are associated with achieving eligible objectives require prior approval of the Service. These activities are allowable only when included in the approach of an approved award to accomplish eligible activities and meet award objectives. Communication that solely benefits the agency is unallowable public relations and is not eligible for funding under the Act.

(b) Sport Fish Restoration—Recreational Boating Access subprogram. (1) Conducting projects and activities that may include those for motorized or nonmotorized vessels and users.

(2) Acquiring real property, including water rights, suitable or capable of being made suitable for:

(i) Building, renovating, or improving facilities to create or enhance public access to the waters of the United States;

(ii) Improving the suitability of these waters for recreational boating; or

(iii) Providing benefits for recreational boating.

(3) Constructing a broad range of recreational boating access facilities that also may provide services or amenities to recreational boaters. “Facilities” includes auxiliary structures necessary to ensure safe use of recreational boating access facilities.

(4) Conducting surveys to determine the adequacy, number, location, and quality of facilities providing access to recreational waters for all sizes of recreational boats.

(5) Developing new, or redeveloping or expanding existing, boating access sites.

(c) Sport Fish Restoration—Aquatic Resource Education subprogram. Enhancing the public's understanding of water resources, aquatic life forms, and sport fishing, and developing responsible attitudes and ethics toward the aquatic environment.

(d) Sport Fish Restoration—State Outreach and Communications subprogram.

(1) Improving communications with anglers, boaters, and the public on sport fishing and boating opportunities.

(2) Interpreting, translating, printing, or disseminating published State fishing regulations to inform and educate the public about their responsibilities to comply with laws, orders, and regulations.

(3) Increasing participation in sport fishing and boating through R3 programs and activities.

(4) Advancing the adoption of sound fishing and boating practices including safety.

(5) Promoting conservation and responsible use of the aquatic resources of the United States.

The following activities, when supporting other eligible activities under a program or subprogram and costs are allocated to the appropriate funding source, are eligible for funding:

(a) Conducting planning and compliance activities such as engineering, designing, surveying, obtaining permits or appraisals, and conducting environmental and archeological assessments.

(b) Engaging in oversight activities related to an award, such as:

(1) Monitoring, evaluating, and reporting;

(2) Investigating noncompliance or diversions; and

(3) Protecting property rights for real property that is carrying out the purposes of the Acts.

(c) Maintaining and operating facilities and equipment under the ownership or management control of the State fish and wildlife agency, or under a third-party binding agreement, that support eligible activities under the Wildlife Restoration Act or Sport Fish Restoration Act.

(d) Covering costs associated with State electronic data systems (SEDS), when appropriately allocated and approved by the Service. A SEDS is an electronic system used by a State fish and wildlife agency to sell licenses or support other financial transactions, collect and manage data, and communicate information. The functions and abilities of a SEDS may vary depending on the State fish and wildlife agency needs and organization.

(e) Administering awards (see also § 80.54) and coordinating awards in associated programs and subprograms.

(f) Providing technical assistance.

(g) Making payments in lieu of taxes on real property under the control of the State fish and wildlife agency when the payment is:

(1) Required by State or local law; and

(2) Required for all State lands, including those acquired with Federal funds and those acquired with non-Federal funds.

(h) Communicating with the public on eligible activities in an award, when allowable under 2 CFR part 200, subpart E. This communication may include using various forms of media and technology and does not require prior approval (see also §§ 80.50(a)(8) and 80.51(a)(10)).

(i) Advertising (see 2 CFR 200.421) to hire personnel for eligible activities, for procuring goods or services for an eligible activity, or to inform the public or a target audience about events or opportunities that support purposes of the Acts.

Yes. An activity may be eligible for funding even if the regulations in this part do not explicitly designate it as an eligible activity if:

(a) The State fish and wildlife agency justifies in the project statement how the activity will help carry out the purposes of the program or subprogram under the Wildlife Restoration Act or the Sport Fish Restoration Act;

(b) The activities are allowable under 2 CFR part 200; and

(c) The Regional Director concurs with the justification.

Yes. Administrative costs in the form of overhead or indirect costs for State central services outside of the State fish and wildlife agency are eligible for funding under the Acts and must follow an approved cost-allocation plan. These expenses must not exceed 3 percent of the funds apportioned annually to the State under the Acts.

The following activities are ineligible for funding under the Acts, except when necessary to carry out project purposes approved by the Regional Director:

(a) Law enforcement activities (see definition at § 80.2).

(b) The formal administrative process for establishing State fish and wildlife agency regulations. This process:

(1) Begins when boards, commissions, or other policymakers receive information and recommendations from State fish and wildlife agencies and use this input to develop and implement public policy.

(2) Involves official filing and publication of regulations, including State administrative procedures to officially adopt rules and laws to meet authoritative requirements.

(3) Includes printing and distributing the official code of regulations, or State equivalent, except as provided for under §§ 80.50(b)(2)(ii) and 80.51(d)(2) (which pertains to the agency's interpretive guides and regulatory resources for the public) for the purposes of R3.

(c) License sales and other activities conducted for the primary purpose of producing income. These activities include processes and procedures directly related to the sale of items listed at § 80.20(a).

(d) Activities, projects, or programs that promote or encourage opposition to the regulated taking of fish, hunting, or the trapping of wildlife.

(e) Activities or projects that do not provide public access when access is a purpose of the funding or an objective of the award (see § 80.58).

Yes. A State fish and wildlife agency may receive an award to carry out part of a larger project that uses funds unrelated to the award. The part of the larger project funded by the award must:

(a) Result in an identifiable outcome consistent with the purposes of the grant program;

(b) Be substantial in character and design (see § 80.57);

(c) Meet the requirements of §§ 80.130 through 80.137 for any real property acquired under the award and any capital improvements completed under the award; and

(d) Meet all other requirements of the grant program.

A proposed project qualifies as substantial in character and design if it:

(a) Describes a need consistent with the Acts;

(b) States a purpose and sets objectives, both of which are based on the need;

(c) Uses a planned approach, appropriate procedures, and accepted principles of fish and wildlife conservation and management, research, construction, wildlife- and fish-associated-recreation participation and access, communication, education, or other eligible purposes; and

(d) Is cost effective.

(a) Public access is required for some eligible activities (see §§ 80.50 and 80.51) when supporting the purpose of an award.

(b) The State fish and wildlife agency has the authority, within the purposes of the Acts, to establish parameters for public access and may limit or restrict public access when the management of natural resources and public access are not compatible. Additionally, the agency may limit or restrict public access when the funded project or facility is closed for business or temporarily closed due to an emergency, repairs, construction, or as a safety precaution.

(c) When public access is required for projects and facilities that are under the ownership or management control of a third party, the State fish and wildlife agency, following its own State laws and processes, must ensure a legally binding instrument setting forth the terms and conditions, such as a subaward or third-party agreement, is in place as follows:

(1) The instrument must be sufficient to ensure public access is provided as expected by the agency and described in the approved award from the Service.

(2) The third-party binding agreement must include or reference agency approval for reasonable fees, any rules and requirements for use, circumstances for temporary closure or reduction to public access, duration of the agreement and any useful life expectations, and procedures for any modifications to the agreement.

(3) The Service does not have authority to approve or reject a State's third-party binding agreement but will include a special award term and condition to require minimum standards and that third-party binding agreements be maintained in agency award files and provided to the Service, upon request, for all awards where funds under the Acts are being used for renovating, constructing, operating, or maintaining property that a third party owns or controls.