North American Great Plains Temperate Grassland Landscape Conservation | F16AS00194

Opportunity Information: Apply for F16AS00194

The North American Great Plains Temperate Grassland Landscape Conservation opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F16AS00194) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) cooperative agreement focused on large, connected, landscape-scale planning for grassland conservation across the Great Plains. The work is designed to build on data that had already been collected and analyzed under the award, using those existing datasets to develop practical conservation "designs" for the region and to explore alternative ways of making those designs more resilient over time. Although it is presented as a grant opportunity, the notice clearly states that the recipient had already been selected at the time of posting.

The core purpose of the project is to translate prior scientific work into decision-ready conservation planning products that agencies and partners can actually use. The geography is broad and explicitly cross-border, spanning the Canadian Prairies through the central Great Plains and south into the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico. Within that footprint, the recipient is expected to focus on the conservation and restoration needs of major North American temperate grassland types and the species that depend on them, with an emphasis on representing and sustaining the full range of grassland ecosystems rather than concentrating only on a few well-known locations.

A central deliverable is the identification of Grassland Priority Conservation Areas (GPCAs). These priority areas are intended to support the objectives of the North American Inter-Governmental Committee on Cooperation for Wilderness and Protected Areas Conservation (NAWPA), especially objectives related to ecosystem representation and resilience. Representation in this context means ensuring that each of the 12 major North American grassland types included in the project area is adequately captured within the portfolio of priority areas, while resilience emphasizes the ability of these ecosystems and associated wildlife populations to persist despite stressors such as habitat fragmentation, land-use change, invasive species, and climate-related shifts.

The process described is deliberately expert-driven and iterative. The selected recipient is expected to engage the expert community and conduct a series of analyses that lead to draft GPCAs, then coordinate a rapid review of those draft areas by local wildlife biologists, ecologists, botanists, and other relevant specialists. Feedback from this review is not merely advisory; it is meant to be incorporated to refine and finalize the proposed priority areas. The project also requires documenting the conservation values associated with the newly identified GPCAs, essentially explaining why each area matters, what it contributes to grassland representation and resilience, and how it supports key species and restoration opportunities.

The major end product is a conservation atlas that compiles the finalized GPCAs and supporting information. This atlas is positioned as an input to subsequent decision-making by USFWS and partner organizations, meaning it is intended to guide future investments, coordination, and on-the-ground actions rather than remain a purely academic assessment. Because the instrument is a cooperative agreement, it also implies ongoing federal involvement and collaboration during the project rather than a hands-off grant relationship.

Administratively, this was a discretionary opportunity in the Environment and Natural Resources category, listed under CFDA 15.669. Eligibility was limited to nonprofits with IRS 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). The original closing date was May 5, 2016, and it anticipated a single award with a ceiling of $240,528. The notice date indicates the posting was created April 29, 2016, reinforcing that this was a narrowly targeted award where selection had already occurred.

The legal authorities cited reflect the conservation and species-protection mission of USFWS and provide the statutory basis for funding and implementing this type of work. These include the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. Collectively, those authorities support actions that conserve fish and wildlife resources, improve habitat planning and management, and strengthen protections for threatened and endangered species, which aligns with the project goal of developing a continent-spanning grassland conservation blueprint grounded in existing science and validated by regional experts.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "North American Great Plains Temperate Grassland Landscape Conservation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.669.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-04-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-05-05. (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 $240,528.00 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.

Apply for F16AS00194

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: