Fish and Wildlife Coordination and Assistance Program | F19AS00385

Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00385

The Fish and Wildlife Coordination and Assistance Program grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F19AS00385) is a discretionary grant offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under CFDA 15.664. Its legal foundation comes from several long-standing conservation statutes, including the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661-666), the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 as amended (16 U.S.C. 742a), the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 2901-2911), and related Congressional direction typically provided through annual Interior and Environment appropriations. In practical terms, the program supports targeted science and conservation work that fits the agency mission, using research and monitoring to inform wildlife and habitat management decisions.

This specific award focuses on migratory shorebird monitoring and conservation, centered on expanding the International Shorebird Survey (ISS) into South America, particularly Brazil and Argentina. The ISS began in 1974 as a volunteer-based citizen science effort organized by Manomet to collect consistent information on shorebird populations and the wetlands they depend on. Along with the Atlantic Canada Shorebird Survey, it represents one of the longest-running citizen science shorebird monitoring efforts in North America, and its long-term dataset has become a key input for U.S. shorebird conservation planning. The problem the opportunity is trying to solve is that comparable monitoring coverage in South America is limited, leaving major gaps in understanding population trends and migration patterns across the full Atlantic Flyway. Those gaps make it harder to evaluate where conservation action is most needed and whether management interventions are actually working.

The project described in the opportunity is designed to strengthen and broaden the ISS participant network in Brazil and extend systematic monitoring into Argentina. Past funding helped build an initial base of participants mainly in southern Brazil, and this effort aims to maintain that momentum while expanding the number of monitoring sites and volunteers. The objectives are threefold: first, to discover, document, or report additional sites that are important to shorebirds; second, to take an opportunistic and practical approach to establishing new ISS monitoring locations and producing useful migration data despite the logistical challenges of shorebird surveys; and third, to improve the flow of information back to partners and practitioners through timely and effective data management. A key feature of the data approach is using downloads from eBird to populate Manomet's publicly accessible mapping tool, helping translate volunteer observations into shareable, decision-relevant products.

A notable deliverable implied by the scope is that expansion into Argentina would directly support the launch and implementation of the Argentine Shorebird Conservation Plan by contributing site-level monitoring data. The opportunity is also framed as serving broader departmental priorities by advancing science-based conservation stewardship (Priority 1), strengthening collaboration and trust with local communities and partners (Priority 3), and providing information that supports balanced regulatory decisions (Priority 7). The reference to the ESA-listed Red Knot highlights an important cross-border conservation driver: better data from non-U.S. portions of the species' range can influence assessments and decisions made in the United States, especially for migratory species whose survival depends on habitats across multiple countries.

Administratively, the opportunity was limited to nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). The anticipated funding level was modest and targeted: one expected award with a maximum award ceiling of $50,000. The opportunity was created on September 11, 2019, with an original closing date of September 16, 2019. Overall, this grant is best understood as a focused investment in international, citizen-science-driven monitoring infrastructure meant to fill critical data gaps along the Atlantic Flyway and convert field observations into actionable conservation planning support for shorebirds and their habitats.

• 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 Wildlife Coordination and Assistance Program" 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 11, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 16, 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 $50,000.00 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.

Apply for F19AS00385

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: