Fish and Wildife Coordination and Assistance Programs | F19AS00381

Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00381

The Fish and Wildlife Coordination and Assistance Programs opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F19AS00381) was a Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notice tied to a single-source cooperative agreement. It was issued as a notification-only announcement, meaning it was not a broadly competed grant round but rather an intent to make one targeted award. The posting was created on September 10, 2019, with an original closing date of September 14, 2019. The award ceiling was $40,000, with one award expected. The assistance listing is under CFDA 15.664, and the activity focus is science and technology and other research and development. Eligible applicants were nonprofit organizations, including both 501(c)(3) nonprofits and non-501(c)(3) nonprofits, as long as they were not institutions of higher education.

The project focus centered on Laguna Merin, a large lagoon near the Atlantic Ocean on the Uruguay-Brazil border. The lagoon and its wetlands sit within the UNESCO Banhados del Este Biosphere Reserve and are recognized as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance (Banhados del Este y Franja Costera). Despite these high-profile conservation designations, the opportunity notes that relatively little is known about Laguna Merin as wildlife habitat, particularly for migratory shorebirds. Recent work funded through the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act identified nearby ranches that support notable concentrations of Buff-breasted Sandpipers and American Golden-Plovers, and the area has also recorded other shorebirds, including the Red Knot.

The core goal of the proposed work was to collaborate directly with private landowners to move the lagoon area toward designation as a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) site. To get there, the project laid out four practical objectives: first, working with ranch owners to include their lands in a WHSRN nomination; second, implementing or supporting habitat management that conserves ranch lands and wetlands; third, estimating local population sizes of Buff-breasted Sandpipers and American Golden-Plovers on participating ranches; and fourth, documenting the broader suite of migrant shorebirds using these landscapes in and around Laguna Merin. In effect, the award was intended to blend relationship-building with on-the-ground habitat stewardship and field-based monitoring, using survey data to strengthen the scientific case for site-level recognition and long-term conservation planning.

The announcement also tied the work to several Department of the Interior priorities. It aligned with Priority #1 by emphasizing conservation stewardship grounded in sustainable use and best-available science, specifically through shorebird survey and monitoring data that can guide management. It aligned with Priority #3 by explicitly engaging private landowners and local communities, aiming to build trust and create more direct communication channels for developing conservation solutions collaboratively rather than top-down. Finally, it supported Priority #7 by contributing information relevant to regulatory decision-making, particularly because the Red Knot is listed under the Endangered Species Act; better documentation of its use of the area can inform balanced, evidence-based decisions.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fish and Wildife Coordination and Assistance Programs" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.664.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 10, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 14, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $40,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

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