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DEC partners with the Land Trust Alliance (the Alliance), a non-profit land conservation organization, in administering two different grant opportunities to increase the pace of protecting forests and open space in New York State.
Forest Conservation Easements for Land Trusts (FCELT)
The fourth round of the Forest Conservation Easements for Land Trusts program is now open. Up to $1.35 million from the Environmental Protection Fund will be available for grants protecting forestland through conservation easements. The program is administered by the Land Trust Alliance in coordination with DEC.
Interested applicants must submit an overview of their proposed project by May 9, 2025. After project proposals are reviewed, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application. These applicants will be notified of their invitation to submit a full application by June 13, 2025, and full applications are due by July 28, 2025.
2024 Grant Awards
In 2024 $1.26 million in grants was awarded to four Land Trusts resulting in the protection of 1,314 acres of forestland.
These grants are intended to provide community benefits, advance ecosystem benefits and climate resilience, and work towards goals identified in the New York State Open Space Plan, the New York State Wildlife Action Plan, the New York State Forest Action Plan, and/or other local, regional or statewide land protection plans.
Complete details about this grant opportunity including eligibility requirements, how to apply, and other program elements, and grant awards from previous years can be found on the Alliance's website.
New York State Conservation Partnership Program (NYSCPP)
The 2025 grant round is now closed.
The NYSCPP has five grant categories:
- Capacity and Excellence - grants to develop land trust programs and build organizational capacity to increase impact and sustainability of non-profit conservation organizations.
- Conservation Catalyst - grants to support collaborative projects that “catalyze” new partnerships and community-supported conservation, stewardship and outreach initiatives.
- Professional Development (by invitation only) - grants for land trusts looking to professionalize and strengthen programs and services by adding permanent staff.
- Stewardship and Resource Management - grants for land trusts seeking to make a substantial capital investment in public access improvements and on the ground stewardship of conserved properties.
- Transaction - grants that help cover the indirect costs associated with new conservation easements and fee-acquisition projects that result in strategic, permanent protection of environmentally significant lands in New York.
Created in 2002, the NYSCPP is a public-private partnership between DEC and the Land Trust Alliance that invests in New York land trusts. Grants are funded through the New York State Environmental Protection Fund annually and are administered by the Alliance in coordination with DEC.
From 2002 through 2024, the NYSCPP program has awarded 1,208 grants totaling more than $31 million to 94 land trusts. Cumulatively, the state's investment has leveraged $32 million in additional funding from local and private sources.
NYSCPP is nationally recognized as a model for leveraging public and private funding for building capacity of land trusts to help advance open space protection, farmland preservation, and resource conservation goals included in the 2016 New York State Open Space Plan. Complete details about this grant opportunity can be found on the Alliance's NYSCPP webpage.
2024 Grant Awards
On May 7, 2024, DEC and the Land Trust Alliance awarded $3.075 million in NYSCPP 64 grants to 44 nonprofit land trusts across the state.
- 2024 Grant Award Descriptions (PDF)
- 2024 Grant Awards by Region (PDF)
- 2024 Grant Distribution Map (PDF)
Details about grant awards from previous years are available on the Alliance's NYSCPP webpage.
