15.608 Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance | F19AS00283

Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00283

The Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance opportunity (CFDA 15.608), issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in Region 7 (Alaska), is a discretionary funding solicitation intended to support work that improves how fish, wildlife, and habitat are managed across Alaska at a landscape scale. The core focus is on creating and clearly communicating practical "landscape products" (think spatial datasets, maps, analyses, and decision-support tools) that managers can use to plan strategically across large areas rather than making isolated, site-by-site decisions. The work is framed around helping agencies and partners understand where environmental stressors are occurring, what is driving them, and what those patterns mean for habitat and wildlife over time.

A central technical goal of the project is to evaluate whether national drought indices are applicable and informative in Alaska. Many drought metrics and indices were developed for temperate or continental systems in the lower 48, and Alaska's climate, hydrology, seasonal patterns, and ecological responses can differ substantially. This grant aims to test whether those widely used indices can reliably capture Alaska-relevant drought conditions and, if so, how well they help explain the spatial distribution and underlying ecological drivers of drought-related impacts. In particular, the opportunity calls out drought-induced events such as insect outbreaks and stand-level tree mortality, both of which can be influenced by moisture stress and can occur in patterns that are only fully visible when analyzed at landscape scales.

The expected products are meant to link drought indicators to on-the-ground ecological outcomes. That includes identifying where drought stress aligns with insect activity or forest decline, exploring what environmental or landscape factors may be shaping those outcomes (for example, vegetation type, topography, soils, or other climatic variables), and translating that understanding into information that managers can act on. The notice specifically mentions management strategies like creating canopy breaks, implying an interest in examining how forest structure and connectivity affect drought resistance and the spread or severity of insect outbreaks. In practice, this kind of work can help target treatments or monitoring to places where forests and habitat are most vulnerable, and where interventions might reduce risk.

The opportunity also emphasizes why these drought-driven forest changes matter beyond the trees themselves. Stand-level mortality events can shift an area from forest to grassland ecosystems, which can substantially alter habitat availability and suitability for wildlife. Those transitions can affect food resources, cover, migration or movement corridors, and broader ecosystem function. The notice additionally highlights wildfire risk as a major concern: changes in vegetation and fuel profiles following widespread tree mortality can influence fire behavior and, by extension, risk to nearby communities. By improving understanding of where these transitions are likely and what drives them, the project is intended to support proactive planning for both wildlife conservation outcomes and community safety considerations tied to fire.

From an administrative standpoint, the award is structured as a cooperative agreement, which typically means USFWS anticipates being more actively involved than in a standard grant, often through collaboration on technical direction, coordination, or product development and review. The funding opportunity number is F19AS00283, with an anticipated single award (ExpectedAwards: 1) and a maximum funding amount (AwardCeiling) of $75,000. The program is categorized under Environment, and it was created on June 28, 2019, with an original application closing date of July 3, 2019, indicating a short turnaround in the original posting. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with clarification referenced in an additional eligibility text field, suggesting that non-traditional applicants or a range of partner types may have been considered depending on the detailed eligibility language.

Overall, this grant opportunity is about building Alaska-relevant, spatially explicit tools that connect drought metrics to ecological consequences like insect outbreaks and forest die-off, and then turning that information into usable guidance for landscape-scale fish and wildlife habitat management. The intended outcome is better strategic decision-making through improved mapping and analysis of vulnerability, drivers, and management options in a changing climate and disturbance regime.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "15.608 Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.608.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 28, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 03, 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 $75,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for F19AS00283

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