Need help to make improvements on your property to enhance wildlife habitat? You should explore whether you would be eligible for a MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant.
The MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant Program provides assistance to private and municipal owners of protected lands to enhance wildlife habitat, while promoting public access for outdoor recreation.
The MHMGP program encourages landowners to engage in active habitat management on their properties to benefit wildlife.
MHMGP objectives:
- Improve habitat(s) for Species of Greatest Conservation Need, as identified in the 2025 Massachusetts State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), with emphasis on MESA-listed species.
- Enhance habitat in ecological communities that are disproportionally susceptible to climate change.
- Contribute to improving habitat in a landscape that is high priority for biodiversity conservation.
- Promote access to nature and outdoor recreation opportunities, such as hiking, birding, fishing, hunting, and trapping.
What Types of Practices Can Qualify for Funding?
Examples of eligible habitat management practices include (but are not limited to):
Mowing, brush hogging, mulching, chipping, clearing of trees, contract grazing, control of invasive plants, fencing for habitat protection, prescribed burning, woodland enhancements (thinning, cutting, or girdling of trees to favor viable habitat, food, or cover resources), tree planting of genetically-modified species approved by MassWildlife (e.g., back-crossed American chestnut seedlings) beneficial to wildlife, nest site creation or installation of nesting structures, seeding/planting of native species, stream channel and pond shoreline restoration, floodplain connectivity, water quality improvement.
Who is Eligible for MHMGP Funding?
Owners of private or municipal conserved lands in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are eligible to apply for funding.
Conserved land is defined as property protected by a Conservation Restriction or Easement, an Agricultural Protection Restriction, land enrolled in Chapter 61 or 61A/B, land owned in fee by a non-profit organization whose primary mission is the conservation of land, or municipal land in town forests or land under control of the town’s Conservation Commission.
How Much Funding is Available?
Applicants are eligible to receive between $5,000 and $75,000 per grant towards their approved habitat management project.
Application Deadline
Applications are due by July 6, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.
Project Deadline
All work must be completed and all awarded funds expended by June 30, 2027. There are no extensions possible under this program.
Want to Know More?
For more information, see MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant Program | Mass.gov
- Learn about grant eligibility, types of projects the program supports, allowable costs and activities, and the application and review process by watching a recorded webinar presentation.
- Consider submitting a pre-filing consultation and species information request to MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program. Early coordination with NHESP review staff can help identify needed conditions or revisions to ensure compliance with MESA.