Science Applications | F18AS00367

Opportunity Information: Apply for F18AS00367

The Science Applications grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F18AS00367) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) discretionary grant announcement tied to natural resource management and applied wildlife science. It is specifically set up to issue single-source financial assistance awards to a defined group of western state governments: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The notice is primarily informational rather than a broad, open competition, and it reflects the federal government recognizing that these state wildlife agencies are the primary managers of wildlife within their borders and are well positioned to identify the most pressing research needs for sustaining strong populations of big game species, especially elk, deer, and pronghorn.

The underlying purpose of the funding is to support science that directly improves wildlife and habitat management decisions. USFWS frames this work within its broader mission to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the benefit of the American people. The opportunity emphasizes the agency's commitment to science-based decision-making and an adaptive approach to conservation, meaning decisions are informed by data, implemented in the field, monitored, and then adjusted as conditions change or as new evidence becomes available.

A central concept highlighted in the announcement is Strategic Habitat Conservation (SHC), the USFWS framework for setting and achieving broad-scale conservation objectives. SHC relies on adaptive management principles and uses population and habitat data, ecological models, and targeted monitoring and assessment to design strategies that can produce measurable outcomes for wildlife populations. In practical terms, this means the supported work is intended to help predict how wildlife populations will respond to environmental change and management actions, allowing USFWS and its partners to target habitat conservation and related efforts where they will have the greatest impact.

The announcement also stresses the need for focused, applied science that answers high-impact questions about threats to fish and wildlife resources, particularly where management actions or mitigation are necessary to keep species at healthy, sustainable levels. This is closely linked to USFWS responsibilities that involve regulatory decisions, biological opinions, and conservation recommendations provided to land managers. The grant opportunity underscores that these decisions must be defensible and grounded in the best available science, which is a key reason the agency invests in research and monitoring that can stand up to scrutiny and support clear management outcomes.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is issued by the Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, with eligible applicants limited to state governments. The assistance mechanism is a grant, and the relevant CFDA number listed is 15.670. The posting indicates an award ceiling of $300,000, with an expected total of 15 awards. The opportunity was created on September 21, 2018, with an original closing date of October 5, 2018, reinforcing that this was a time-bound, targeted funding action rather than an ongoing open solicitation. The statutory authority cited for these awards is the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661-666), which supports coordination and actions that benefit fish and wildlife conservation in connection with federal and partner activities.

Overall, this grant notice describes a targeted set of single-source awards to western state wildlife agencies to fund applied research, monitoring, modeling, and assessment activities that inform adaptive, landscape-scale conservation and sustain key ungulate populations. The emphasis is not on basic research for its own sake, but on producing usable scientific information that directly strengthens on-the-ground management and supports USFWS and partner decision-making under changing environmental conditions.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Science Applications" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.670.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 21, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 05, 2018. (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 $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

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