Wetlands Protection and/or Restoration Grant

Protection and/or Restoration of Wetlands and Habitats in Great Salt Lake’s Surrounding Ecosystem to Benefit the Hydrology of Great Salt Lake.

The Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust and the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands are excited to announce the awardees of the 2024 Wetlands Protection and Restoration Funding Opportunity!

Four projects from state and non-governmental entities were awarded a total of $5,479,914 in funding over the next two years for projects that will protect and/or restore wetlands and benefit the hydrology of Great Salt Lake.

Spanning nearly 6,000 acres of wetlands and habitat surrounding Great Salt Lake, applicants and partners are providing at least $1,698,164.65 in matching contributions for these projects.       

These grants will help protect and promote the incomparable services that wetlands provide—wildlife habitat and food, water filtration, flood control, and recreation—while also benefiting the hydrology of Great Salt Lake and the surrounding communities.

Zoom in and click on the orange dots to learn more about the 2024 wetland projects and the blue dots to learn about the ongoing 2023 wetland projects

The Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust and the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands are pleased to work with so many others in preserving Great Salt Lake and its wetlands and to use these funds to support this essential work. A Technical Review Committee comprised of Great Salt Lake ecosystem experts reviewed and scored each proposal to ensure the projects would provide hydrologic, ecosystem, and public benefits. Final award decisions were made by non-applicant members of the Trust Advisory Council.

Thank you to everyone who applied to this funding opportunity! If you were unable to submit to this funding opportunity or you have an idea or concept for a Wetlands Protection and/or Restoration Project that is not at a stage that would support an application for funding at this time, GSLWET is seeking high-level Indications of Interest for future Wetlands Protection and/or Restoration projects that benefit the hydrology of Great Salt Lake. Such information will help inform understanding or future funding needs. Indications of Interest are not eligible to receive awards or funding for 2024.

Parties interested in providing an Indication of Interest should email gslwet@audubon.org with your name, paragraph detailing the project, and an estimated project cost.

  • The Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL) and the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust (the Trust) announced that up to $6.5 million in grant funding was available to eligible organizations with projects that will protect and/or restore wetlands and habitats in Great Salt Lake’s surrounding ecosystems to benefit the hydrology of Great Salt Lake. 

    Of the available funding, $1.5 million was provided through the Trust, which awarded $8.5 million in funding in 2023 to eight projects that are currently in process. The additional $5 million was funded through FFSL, which received funding from the Utah legislature in 2024 to support wetland protection/restoration projects in the Great Salt Lake region.

    The application period opened on August 15, 2025 and closed on October 7, 2024. 

  • Entities eligible to apply for this Protection and/or Restoration of Wetlands funding included:

    1. Public/Governmental - State of Utah agencies, Tribal governments, local governments (e.g., municipal, county, or other political subdivisions of the state) or federal agencies.

    2. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – Non-profit organizations registered as Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

    3. Private landowners, private entities, or institutions of higher education (whether governmental or private) – Only eligible if working in partnership with a public/governmental entity or a non-governmental organization (i.e., category 1 or 2 above), and if the public/governmental entity or non-governmental organization serves as the Lead Project Applicant (“Lead Applicant”).

    Projects could have multiple partners, but one entity had to take on the responsibility of the Lead Applicant.

  • Applications that met all eligibility requirements and Required Criteria underwent a detailed review by a Technical Review Committee (TRC) comprised of several Utah natural resource experts.  The TRC scored each application based on their performance against the Required Criteria and the TRC made funding recommendations for GSLWET’s nine-member Trust Advisory Council (TAC). The TAC considered these recommendations, approved projects that received funding from GSLWET’s funding pool, and made recommendations to FFSL on what projects should receive funding from FFSL’s funding pool. FFSL retained the authority to make any final decision concerning project awards to be funded by FFSL.

Additional Questions? Email us at GSLWET@audubon.org