F24AS00195 FY 2024 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund Traditional Conservation Grants Program Region 1 | F24AS00195

Opportunity Information: Apply for F24AS00195

F24AS00195 is a FY 2024 discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, specifically the Traditional Conservation Grants Program for Region 1. The central purpose of this program is to strengthen and help carry out state-led conservation programs that conserve and recover species that are threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and that fall under FWS jurisdiction. In practical terms, the funding is meant to help states do the on-the-ground work and supporting science needed to move species toward recovery, stabilize declining populations, or reduce threats early enough that listing under the ESA can be avoided.

Grant funds can support projects that provide a direct benefit to species or their habitats. The opportunity is not limited to currently listed species; it also supports work for candidate species, at-risk species, and species that have been recently delisted (often meaning they still need continued attention to prevent backsliding). Eligible project types are broad and can include management actions (such as habitat restoration, threat reduction, or implementation of conservation measures), research (for example, studies that resolve key uncertainties limiting recovery actions), monitoring (population surveys, trend tracking, effectiveness monitoring, or post-delisting monitoring), and outreach (education, stakeholder engagement, or coordination efforts), or any combination of these activities. A strong application is expected to clearly connect proposed activities to measurable conservation outcomes, explaining specifically how the work will contribute to species recovery objectives or how it will prevent the need to list a species in the first place. Proposals that make a clear, direct link between the work plan and tangible benefits to the species or its habitat are positioned to be most competitive.

Eligibility is limited to state governments, specifically state agencies that have entered into a cooperative agreement with FWS pursuant to ESA section 6(c). If an agency does not already have such an agreement in place, it must enter into or reconfirm the agreement within 30 days of the application deadline to be considered eligible. Additionally, FWS must have a complete and signed cooperative agreement before it can obligate federal funds to a project, consistent with the cited federal regulations (including 50 CFR 81.3, 50 CFR 81.5, and 43 CFR 12.50(b)(3)). While only states can receive awards as the direct grantee, the program allows for partnerships: other entities such as counties, local governments, tribes (depending on state arrangement), universities, or conservation organizations may participate by working through an eligible state agency and carrying out portions of the project as subgrantees, as long as the project remains aligned with the state’s cooperative agreement and the overall program goals.

Key administrative details from the notice include: the funding instrument is a grant; the activity category is environment; the CFDA (assistance listing) number is 15.615; and the issuing agency is the Fish and Wildlife Service. The original closing date listed is April 29, 2024, and the opportunity was created on November 30, 2023. The award ceiling shown for this opportunity is $4,731,296. The notice also indicates “Expected Awards:” but does not provide a number in the provided text, suggesting that the count of awards may vary or was not specified in the excerpt. Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a mechanism for FWS to invest in state-designed and state-implemented conservation actions that have clear, defensible biological benefits for imperiled species and that directly support recovery or proactive conservation outcomes under the ESA framework.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F24AS00195 FY 2024 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund Traditional Conservation Grants Program Region 1" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.615.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-11-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-04-29. (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 $4,731,296.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F24AS00195

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