Migratory Bird Joint Venture | F17AS00377

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00377

The Migratory Bird Joint Venture grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00377) is a U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) funding notice announcing the agency's intent to make a single cooperative agreement award, on a sole-source basis, to the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) in The Plains, Virginia. The purpose of the award is to support continued implementation of the Appalachian Mountain Joint Venture (AMJV) Operational Plan, originally approved by the AMJV Management Board in 2015 and updated through subsequent revisions. In practical terms, the funding is aimed at keeping the AMJV partnership functioning effectively while it carries out coordinated, science-informed habitat and bird conservation work across the Appalachian region.

The work supported by this award is tied to AMJV priorities for calendar years 2017 through 2022. Those priorities center on building and maintaining a healthy, "dynamic" forest landscape that can support bird species across many forest types and across all seral stages, meaning from early successional habitat through mature forest conditions. The plan also emphasizes broad habitat conservation and on-the-ground delivery across the full suite of Appalachian forest habitats, rather than focusing narrowly on a single habitat type. Another major focus is expanding conservation investment beyond breeding areas to include wintering grounds and migratory stopover sites for AMJV priority species, reflecting the reality that migratory birds depend on connected habitats throughout their annual life cycle. The Operational Plan also includes goals that are organizational and public-facing: improving AMJV internal performance and capacity, and strengthening communications, education, and outreach so that partners, stakeholders, and the public are better informed and more engaged in migratory bird conservation.

From an administrative and eligibility standpoint, this is a discretionary federal funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement, which typically implies active involvement and collaboration between the federal agency and the recipient during project implementation. The activity category is listed under Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 15.637. Eligible applicants in general are nonprofits with IRS 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education), but the notice makes clear that the FWS Northeast Region intends to issue only one award and to do so directly to ABC rather than through a competitive process.

The notice explains the legal authorities supporting the award: funding is provided under the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, as amended (16 U.S.C. 742a-754), and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 709a). These statutes underpin federal involvement in migratory bird conservation and provide the basis for financial assistance to support projects and partnerships that further those conservation purposes.

A key point in the announcement is why ABC was selected for a sole-source award. The FWS states that this project continues activities ABC has already been funded to perform in support of AMJV operations, and that ABC has unique qualifications to complete the work successfully. Specifically, AMJV staff are ABC employees and have led the joint venture's vision, mission, and operations since the partnership began; as a result, the agency describes them as the most qualified to continue implementing the AMJV Operational Plan. The funding details in the source data indicate an award ceiling of $600,000 and an expectation of one award. The opportunity was created on August 8, 2017, with an original closing date of August 14, 2017, reflecting that it functioned primarily as a formal public notice of the intended sole-source cooperative agreement rather than an open, multi-applicant competition.

• 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 "Migratory Bird Joint Venture" 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 Aug 08, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 14, 2017. (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 $600,000.00 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.

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