Applications open for Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Program (US)

The outreach of interest functions as an outreach mechanism to cultivate relationships and connect with potential partners. This OOI is intended to solicit responses to explore future projects meeting the needs and interests of potential partners through partnership agreements within legislative authority with USDA Forest Service.

The program seeks to increase representation, including from diverse and underserved backgrounds. New partnerships will foster co-stewardship between the USDA Forest Service through better representation of the publics the agency serves, and with a shared commitment to wildlife conservation on USDA Forest Service and adjacent lands.

Your submission signals an opportunity for USDA Forest Service to explore with you your ideas/projects/programs and potential partnership opportunities. USDA Forest Service is committed to fostering a strong, collaborative partnership that benefits their fisheries, plants and wildlife resources, and their habitats. This collaboration is vital to wildlife conservation.

Aims

• Increases in the frequency, intensity, and scale of natural disturbance such as wildfire, drought, and disease, along with habitat degradation from development and other human based activities continue to stress numerous wildlife species. Wildlife habitat enhancement projects that create artificial habitat structures (e.g., nest boxes, brush piles, supplemental water), mitigate erosion or re-vegetate important plants are one way the USDA Forest Service can supplement lost habitat for terrestrial and aquatic species. While not a replacement for natural wildlife habitat, these management actions have the potential to mitigate habitat loss and increase wildlife abundance or productivity.
• This partnership would help the USDA Forest Service meet its stewardship responsibilities for at-risk species while also helping to keep common species common. Focal taxa could include both terrestrial and aquatic species; nongame and game species, and species that are socially and culturally important to the USDA Forest Service, its partners, tribes, and local communities. It would also support the agencies Wildfire Crisis, Reforestation and Climate Adaptation Strategies. The project would engage community members and cultivate a vested interest in long term success and shared ownership in final outcomes; provide opportunities for job training, personal development, conservation service, and natural resource appreciation while cultivating the next generation of natural resource stewards. Wildlife habitat enhancement projects generated through this partnership could also increase recreational opportunities such as birding, hunting, and nature viewing.

Objectives

• The purpose of partnerships would be to enhance wildlife habitat through building, installing, and designing various wildlife habitat enhancement projects, dependent on local expertise and site-specific needs. Project design features would be informed by current science, natural history and habitat needs of specific species. Selection of projects would be of mutual interest to local USDA Forest Service units and partners, but ultimate site selection and approved design would be the responsibility of the agency. USDA Forest Service would provide project oversight and facilitate cross program coordination with other program areas as needed, such as watersheds, botany, silviculture, rangeland management, tribal relations, and other relevant partners.
• The objectives for potential projects would include:
  • Build and or install structures for common life history needs such as nesting, roosting, and basking. For example, nesting cavities/chambers, nest boxes/platforms and bat boxes.
  • Native plantings, re-vegetation and or brush piling to increase or enhance forage, browse, cover, nesting and or pollinator habitat.
  • Wildlife waters and or riparian habitat improvement such as guzzler development and maintenance, clean and repair of dirt tanks, beaver dam analogs, fish barrier construction or removal (i.e., legacy structures).
  • Erosion mitigation and stream bank stabilization.

Priorities

• USDA Forest Service is interested in projects designed to support the following:
  • Enhance sustainable recreation opportunities;
  • Improve water quality and quantity and integrity for wildlife
  • Support the conservation of indigenous species;
  • Restore resilient landscapes; nurture thriving communities;
  • Assist with wild land fire fuel management; promote safety;
  • Build diversity and inclusion; and identify workforce development opportunities in conservation stewardship and natural and cultural resources;
  • Support, benefit, or engage communities that are historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality (pursuant to Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved
  • Communities through the Federal Government).
  • Informs fuels reduction activities under the Wildfire Crisis Strategy and re-vegetation under the Reforestation Act.
  • Informs or complements ongoing habitat enhancement work including projects supporting migratory joint ventures, grassland restoration, bat conservation and nonnative invasive species removal.
  • Benefits special status species and or culturally significant species.

Duration

• Awards under this announcement are typically 1 to 5 years in length. Projects of greater  complexity may be awarded for a longer period, not to exceed 5 years.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible applicants include for profit; non-profits; institutions of higher education; federal, state, local, and Native American tribal governments; foreign governments and organizations and special purpose districts (public utility districts, fire districts, conservation districts, school districts, and ports).

For more information, visit Grants.gov.