Population Survey for the Gopher Tortoise within its Eastern Range in Alabama | F17AS00448

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00448

The grant opportunity titled "Population Survey for the Gopher Tortoise within its Eastern Range in Alabama" (Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00448) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service effort to fill a major gap in statewide wildlife data for Alabama's eastern population of gopher tortoises. It sits within the Department of the Interior and is listed under CFDA 15.615, with program activities tied to environmental work, scientific research and development, and information and statistics. The basic purpose is straightforward: collect reliable population information where Alabama currently lacks coverage, then use those results to strengthen conservation planning and on-the-ground management decisions for the species across the state.

This notice is not a standard open solicitation. It is explicitly a notice of intent to make a single-source award, meaning the Service already intends to select one specific recipient rather than run a competitive application process. Because of that, there is no full funding announcement attached, and the public-facing posting functions mainly as a formal transparency step rather than an invitation for proposals. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary and would be issued as a cooperative agreement, which typically means the federal agency expects to be substantially involved in the project through coordination, technical input, or shared implementation responsibilities, rather than simply providing funds and stepping back.

The planned work centers on conducting field surveys using line transect distance sampling (LTDS), a widely used wildlife survey approach designed to estimate animal abundance or density while accounting for the fact that not every individual is detected during surveys. The description indicates that neighboring states have already been using LTDS to collect comparable data across a mix of land ownerships, including state, federal, and private lands. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have been conducting this type of work and incorporating their results into a broader conservation strategy for the gopher tortoise. Alabama, by contrast, is described as having major data gaps in many areas, which limits the ability of managers to understand population status, trends, and priority locations for habitat protection or restoration.

In practical terms, the project is meant to bring Alabama's survey data up to the same general standard and compatibility as data being gathered elsewhere in the eastern portion of the tortoise's range. By generating population estimates across under-sampled parts of the state, the Service and its partners can compare conditions across the region and make more defensible decisions about conservation actions. These decisions can include where to focus habitat management, how to evaluate potential impacts from land use change, how to prioritize conservation lands, and how to coordinate with other states on range-wide planning. The emphasis in the notice is less on producing a one-time report and more on creating foundational, decision-ready data that can be integrated into a larger strategy already being built with multi-state inputs.

Administratively, the posting lists an expected single award (Expected Awards: 1) and shows an Award Ceiling of 1 as displayed in the source, though the notice itself does not clearly present a dollar amount in the text provided. The opportunity was created on September 6, 2017, with an original closing date of September 13, 2017, which aligns with the idea that this is a short-window notice associated with an intended single-source action rather than an extended competitive funding round. Eligibility is labeled "unrestricted" at a high level, but since the Service states it intends to award to a single source and there is no full announcement, that eligibility language does not function in the typical way for open competitions.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a targeted, agency-led effort to close a known information gap for a high-priority species by funding standardized population surveys in Alabama. The outcome the Service is aiming for is clearer statewide understanding of where gopher tortoise populations are doing well, where they may be declining or fragmented, and how Alabama's portion of the eastern range fits into the broader regional conservation picture being assembled from LTDS efforts in surrounding states.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment, information and statistics, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Population Survey for the Gopher Tortoise within its Eastern Range in Alabama" 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 Sep 06, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 13, 2017 THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD TO A SINGLE SOURCE ANNOUNCEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS NOTICE.. (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 $1.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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