F24AS00232-Great Lakes Restoration Initiative – Joint Venture Habitat Restoration and Protection | F24AS00232

Opportunity Information: Apply for F24AS00232

F24AS00232, titled "Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) - Joint Venture Habitat Restoration and Protection," is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (CFDA 15.637) focused on on-the-ground conservation for migratory birds in the Great Lakes basin. The core purpose is straightforward: fund projects that protect, restore, or enhance habitat, with success measured in tangible habitat outcomes such as acres directly benefited by GLRI investment. The program is built to implement established bird conservation priorities, particularly those laid out in the Upper Mississippi/Great Lakes Joint Venture Implementation Plan and the Lower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Plan for Bird Conservation Region 13, along with other relevant bird conservation plans and State Wildlife Action Plans.

The geographic scope is limited to the U.S. watershed of the Great Lakes as defined by the EPA, and projects must be located within Great Lakes-bordering states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In practice, this means proposals need to clearly demonstrate that the project site sits within the EPA-defined Great Lakes basin boundaries and that the work directly supports habitat objectives for migratory birds and associated wildlife in that landscape.

Fundable work under this opportunity is centered on direct habitat conservation actions. Eligible activities include habitat restoration and enhancement (for example, improving wetlands, grasslands, coastal systems, or other priority habitats) and habitat protection through acquisition. Acquisition can include fee title purchase, permanent conservation easements, and donations of real property interests, as long as the result is durable habitat conservation consistent with joint venture priorities. What the program does not fund is research or monitoring as stand-alone project work, because those activities are not considered direct habitat delivery for the purposes of the joint venture plans. Any monitoring or assessment components would generally need to be clearly secondary and tied to implementing the habitat work rather than being the central purpose of the request.

Award sizing and project structure are also clearly defined. Requests must fall between $25,000 and $300,000, with $300,000 as the ceiling. Applicants must bring matching contributions of at least 25 percent of the federal share requested, meaning the proposal needs a credible partner funding package (cash and/or allowable in-kind, as applicable) that meets or exceeds the minimum match threshold. The project timeline is designed for near-term implementation: the anticipated completion date must be no more than 24 months from the date of award, so proposals should be ready to move quickly into design and construction/implementation once funded.

A key restriction is that the grant cannot reimburse completed or currently ongoing work. Only activities that begin after the grant agreement is signed are eligible to be charged to the award. The notice does allow certain pre-planning costs (such as engineering, soil testing, land surveying, and similar site evaluations) to be included in the proposed budget if they are clearly identified and quantified, but applicants are cautioned that pre-award costs are not guaranteed to be reimbursed unless they are explicitly authorized under an approved award. In other words, planning work can be part of the project package, but applicants should not assume they will be repaid for any costs incurred before the award is fully executed.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and city/township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; tribal organizations; and 501(c)(3) nonprofits (excluding universities in that nonprofit category). Applications must be complete and include all required documentation described in the notice. For applicants that are not explicitly conservation-based organizations, there is an extra expectation: they must make a clear case for how their organizational mission and priorities align with GLRI and the joint ventures, and they must explain how the benefits of the GLRI-funded work will be maintained over time. That emphasis on long-term stewardship and durability is especially important for protection projects and any restoration work that requires ongoing management to keep habitat functioning as intended.

Administratively, the opportunity was created on January 18, 2024, with an original application closing date of March 18, 2024. Overall, this funding opportunity is best suited for partners that can deliver measurable habitat acres in the Great Lakes basin within a two-year window, with a defined match commitment and a project plan that is tightly aligned to joint venture and regional bird conservation priorities rather than research-driven objectives.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F24AS00232-Great Lakes Restoration Initiative – Joint Venture Habitat Restoration and Protection" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.637.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-01-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-03-18. (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.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for F24AS00232

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