Priority Conservation Area (PCA) Grants

The 2025 PCA Grant Program Letter of Interest submission period is now closed. 

2025-2026 Call for Proposals for Priority Conservation Area Grant Program materials:

• Program overview
• Grant guidelines and call for proposals
• Letter of interest form
• Table of 2025 Adopted PCA Nominations and Amendments
• PCA Grant Program Frequently Asked Questions

Informational Webinar

Staff held a webinar on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 with details for prospective applicants:

• Webinar presentation
• Webinar video recording
• Webinar transcript

Available Funds: MTC will provide $8 million in local and federal funds. Grants may range from $200,000 to $1 million. 

Geographic Scope: Projects must be located in designated PCAs.  Multi-county projects are allowed and encouraged. A map of designated PCAs is available here.

Eligible Applicants: Local governments (cities, towns and counties), county transportation agencies, state agencies, Tribes, water/utility districts, resource conservation districts, park and/or open space districts, land trusts and other nonprofit and community-based organizations are invited to apply. Applicants are strongly encouraged to collaborate and partner on project applications.

Planning and design, implementation and acquisition projects may consist of one or more of the following activities within a designated PCA. 

• Protection, Restoration or Enhancement of Natural Resources, Open Space or Agricultural Lands: Acquisitions of or easements over natural landscapes, habitats and ecosystems, agricultural lands, parks and open space and natural resources. Restoration or enhancements for parks and open space, climate resilience, environmental facilities or natural resources such as listed species, identified priority habitat, wildlife corridors, watersheds or agricultural soils of importance. Projects that support agricultural land protection by enhancing the agricultural economy, including farm-to-market infrastructure. Land acquisition projects must involve willing sellers.
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities: Pedestrian and bicycle trails, on-road bicycle facilities, sidewalks, bicycle infrastructure, pedestrian and bicycle signals, pedestrian and bicycle bridges, traffic calming, lighting and other safety-related infrastructure, staging areas, improvements to trails to improve accessibility for people with disabilities, and conversion and use of abandoned rail corridors for pedestrians and bicyclists.
• Urban Greening: Protection or enhancement of potential or existing green spaces in urban areas to improve community health, provide recreation and educational opportunities, increase habitat connectivity and address stormwater.
• Planning Activities: Planning associated with the PCA program goals including, but not limited to, natural resource protection, restoration or enhancement, wildlife connectivity, public access to open space and parklands, support for the region’s agricultural economy and advancing nature-based solutions to enhance climate resilience. 

Program Goals: Projects should meet one or more of the PCA Program objectives identified in the PCA Framework Refresh. 

Regional Significance: Projects should serve a greater than-local need. Indicators of regional significance include a project’s consistency with state, regional and jurisdiction-wide plans. Projects that propose innovative strategies to address and overcome common challenges — and share lessons learned to help others — can also be an indicator of regional significance.

Partnerships: Identify how project partners, including community-based organizations and Tribes, will be engaged or involved in project implementation and/or benefit beyond the grant period.

Likelihood of Success: Demonstrate the programmatic capability to deliver the project. Matching funds are not required but applicants should identify how the project will leverage other resources, including existing initiatives and/or other local/state/federal funding. Grant funded tasks should be completed by 2030. 

The 2025 PCA Grant Program Letter of Interest submission period is now closed. 

The PCA Grant Program follows a two-step application and evaluation process that will be overseen by an evaluation committee consisting of staff from SFEP, MTC, and the State Coastal Conservancy.

Step 1: Interested applicants submit a Letter of Interest form providing a concise overview of the project scope, schedule, and budget and how the project aligns with PCA Program Objectives. 

Step 2: Selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal for further evaluation, which will include a more detailed project description, scope of work, budget, schedule, maps and images.