15.664, Fish and Wildlife Coordination and Assistance Programs | F19AS00353

Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00353

This grant opportunity (CFDA 15.664, Fish and Wildlife Coordination and Assistance Programs; opportunity number F19AS00353) is a discretionary grant offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. It supports a targeted, technical project in Interior Alaska: creating a wetland credit-debit methodology that plugs into the Wetland Ecosystem Services Protocol for Interior Alaska (WESPAK-INT). In practical terms, the funding is meant to help build a consistent, defensible way to quantify wetland impacts (debits) and mitigation benefits (credits) so agencies and applicants can evaluate whether proposed mitigation adequately offsets unavoidable wetland losses.

The need for this work comes from how wetland permitting and compensatory mitigation operate. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers relies on credit and debit concepts when it reviews projects that unavoidably affect wetlands and when it oversees mitigation banks or in-lieu fee programs that generate credits. In many regions, established methods exist for calculating those credits and debits, which helps make mitigation decisions more transparent and comparable across projects. The opportunity notice states that Alaska’s compensatory wetland mitigation framework is poorly developed, which leaves the Fish and Wildlife Service at a disadvantage when it provides mitigation recommendations. The proposed methodology is intended to close that gap for Interior Alaska by giving stakeholders a shared set of rules for measuring losses and gains in wetland function and ecosystem services.

A central feature of the project is collaboration and usability. The credit-debit methodology is expected to be developed with input from stakeholders and the Corps, signaling that the end product should be aligned with real-world permitting needs and acceptable to the primary regulatory decision-maker. The intended outcome is an improved mitigation process for Interior Alaska, meaning better consistency in mitigation determinations, clearer expectations for project proponents, and a more credible basis for comparing mitigation options (such as permittee-responsible mitigation versus mitigation banking or in-lieu fee approaches).

From an administrative standpoint, the award is small and focused. The maximum award amount (ceiling) is $30,000, and only one award is expected, suggesting a single, discrete deliverable rather than a broad, multi-year program. The opportunity was posted on August 26, 2019, with an original closing date of August 31, 2019, indicating a short application window typical of specialized or narrowly scoped solicitations. The eligible applicants include special district governments and other entities as specified in the opportunity’s additional eligibility information, and the activity category is listed under environment, natural resources, and regional development.

Overall, the opportunity funds the development of a technical accounting framework for wetland mitigation in Interior Alaska: a credit-debit method tied to WESPAK-INT that can be used alongside Corps mitigation decision-making. The goal is to strengthen how wetland impacts and compensatory actions are quantified and recommended in a region where mitigation practice is currently underdeveloped, improving both the efficiency and credibility of wetland mitigation outcomes.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment, natural resources, regional development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "15.664, Fish and Wildlife Coordination and Assistance Programs" 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 Aug 26, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 31, 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 $30,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Special district governments, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for F19AS00353

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