← All grants

Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program

Forest Service · Opportunity USDA-FS-2026-CFP

Who can apply

• City or township governments
• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• Nonprofits with 501(c)(3), other than higher education

Eligible local governments are any municipal government, county government, or other local government with jurisdiction over local land use decisions. Eligible Indian Tribes are federally recognized Indian tribes and Alaska Native Corporations. Qualified nonprofit organizations eligible for this opportunity are organizations that are consistent with Section 170(h)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and operates in accordance with one or more of the conservation purposes.

About this opportunity

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, State, Private & Tribal Forestry, is requesting applications for the Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program (Community Forest Program or CFP). CFP is a competitive grant program that provides financial assistance to Indian Tribes, local governments, and qualified conservation non-profit organizations to establish community forests through the fee simple acquisition of private forest land. The purpose of the program is to establish community forests by protecting forestland from conversion to non-forest uses and provide community benefits including public recreation, environmental and economic benefits, and forest-based educational programs. Public access is required for all projects. Applications are not submitted electronically via Grants.gov. The full Notice of Funding Opportunity and supporting documents (including scoring guidance and FAQs) are available under the 'Related Documents' tab of this listing and can be downloaded. To apply, interested local government and nonprofit applicants must submit applications to the State Forester where the property is located. Tribal applicants must submit applications to equivalent Tribal government officials. All applications must be received by State Foresters or Tribal governments by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. All applicants must also send an e-mail to SM.FS.CFP@usda.gov to confirm that an application has been submitted. State Foresters or Tribal government officials must forward applications to the appropriate Forest Service Regional office or International Institute of Tropical Forestry by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Projects must conform to laws and authorities in Section 7A of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act ([16 U.S.C. 2103d] Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program) as amended.

Award history — Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program (CFP) (Assistance Listing 10.689)

This program made 17 new awards in FY2025.

New awards recorded on USAspending.gov under the federal program that funds this opportunity. FY2025 figures may still be incomplete. Forest Service does not publish how many applications it receives, so a true success rate cannot be computed for this program — no one can honestly sell you that number.

Apply on grants.gov →

Don't want to hunt for grants like this one? Get free deadline alerts for your state and focus areas.

Consultant or grant writer? See the client-ready Opportunity Brief for this grant — actual award sizes vs. the advertised ceiling, who wins, printable "prepared for your client" version.

Similar grants still open