Science Needs for Bird Habitat Conservation in the Upper Mississippi / Great Lakes Joint Venture Region 3 | F22AS00315

Opportunity Information: Apply for F22AS00315

Science Needs for Bird Habitat Conservation in the Upper Mississippi / Great Lakes Joint Venture Region 3 (Funding Opportunity Number F22AS00315) is a discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (CFDA 15.637) focused on strengthening science-based bird habitat conservation across the Upper Mississippi/Great Lakes Joint Venture (UMGLJV) geography. The project area centers on Michigan and Wisconsin and also includes portions of Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Ohio. The core purpose is to help Joint Venture partners carry out habitat conservation that is grounded in solid evidence by filling key information gaps and testing assumptions that underlie existing conservation plans.

The opportunity is aimed at monitoring and applied research projects that directly improve understanding of what limits the abundance of UMGLJV "focal species." Competitive proposals are expected to tackle practical, management-relevant questions such as how land-use patterns, habitat conditions, and environmental variation are affecting bird populations, including pressures linked to climate change. The Joint Venture has already outlined priority evaluation needs (referenced through the UMGLJV science priorities webpage), and the program is clearly designed to fund work that answers those specific needs rather than general bird research.

Beyond biological monitoring, the grant also encourages projects that connect bird habitat conservation to the ecological services those habitats provide and to the human dimensions of conservation decision-making. That can include work that supports or improves decision support tools used by the Joint Venture and its partners, especially where social concerns, stakeholder priorities, or implementation barriers influence where conservation can realistically happen and how it is targeted.

A major emphasis is alignment with established planning documents. Proposals should explicitly tie their objectives to information needs identified in UMGLJV Habitat Conservation Strategies and also highlight how the work addresses priorities in State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs). Applicants are expected to clearly name the relevant plan or plans, spell out which evaluation objectives they are addressing, and cite the specific information needs identified by the JV and/or SWAPs. In other words, reviewers want to see a direct line from a documented planning need to the proposed research or monitoring approach and then to on-the-ground conservation decisions.

Applicants are also expected to present the full scope of the project, not just the portion paid for with JV funds, and to explain how this funding will be leveraged alongside partner contributions. This leverage concept is important: proposals should show how JV dollars fit into a broader collaborative effort and how other investments (time, matching funds, complementary datasets, partner-led fieldwork, or implementation capacity) will help ensure the overall project succeeds and that results are usable for conservation action in the region.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and local governments; special districts; federally recognized Tribal governments; public and private institutions of higher education; and nonprofits (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) organizations). The funding instrument is a grant, with an award ceiling of $100,000. The opportunity was originally posted on April 13, 2022, with an original closing date of May 31, 2022. Proposals developed in coordination with UMGLJV bird-group committees are specifically noted as being viewed more favorably, signaling that collaboration with the JV science and species/habitat groups, and clear integration into JV planning and implementation, is a key competitiveness factor.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Science Needs for Bird Habitat Conservation in the Upper Mississippi / Great Lakes Joint Venture Region 3" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.637.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-04-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-05-31. (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 $100,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), 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, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for F22AS00315

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