NORTH AMERICAN WETLANDS CONSERVATION ACT PROPOSAL SUMMARY | F15AS00456

Opportunity Information: Apply for F15AS00456

The NORTH AMERICAN WETLANDS CONSERVATION ACT PROPOSAL SUMMARY (Funding Opportunity Number F15AS00456) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) notice stating the agency's intent to make a single-source award under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA). This is not an open grant competition and there is no full funding announcement attached to the notice. Instead, USFWS is signaling that it plans to issue one cooperative agreement to a specific recipient, resulting in one expected award.

The core purpose of the planned cooperative agreement is to permanently protect a strategic tract of land made up of forested palustrine wetlands and bring that tract into National Wildlife Refuge ownership and management. In practical terms, the project is about acquiring key parcels so they can be managed as part of the refuge system over the long term, rather than remaining vulnerable to development or incompatible land uses. The notice emphasizes permanence: the intent is to secure lasting protection and integrate the property directly into refuge operations and stewardship.

A central feature of the project is leveraging partnerships and conservation easement lands to complete these acquisitions for the USFWS Lowcountry Refuge Complex. The goal is to use NAWCA funds alongside partner contributions and existing conservation tools (such as easements) to assemble or secure strategically important parcels. The project is framed as supporting climate change adaptation and resilience, meaning the lands being protected are expected to help wildlife and habitats better withstand or adjust to climate-driven pressures such as sea-level rise, changing hydrology, stronger storms, and shifting species needs. By targeting wetlands, which provide natural flood storage, water filtration, carbon storage, and habitat connectivity, the project aligns land protection with broader resilience benefits.

Geographically, the project is located within the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture (ACJV), specifically in the Upper Waccamaw Waterfowl Focus Areas. That location matters because Joint Ventures are regional conservation partnerships that implement national bird conservation priorities, and focus areas are identified as especially important for sustaining bird populations. The notice also states that the project will significantly contribute to national and regional bird conservation plans, indicating that the acquisitions are expected to provide measurable benefits for waterfowl and other wetland-dependent birds by protecting habitat quantity, quality, and landscape connectivity.

Administratively, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary and uses a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument, which typically implies substantial involvement by the federal agency in carrying out the project compared to a standard grant. The funding activity category is listed broadly (Education, Environment, Science and Technology, and other Research and Development), and the associated CFDA number is 15.650. The eligible applicants field is marked "Unrestricted," but that does not functionally open the door to applicants in this case because the notice explicitly states it is not a request for applications.

The decision not to compete the award is justified by departmental policy cited in the notice (505 DM 2.14, B(2)), and the agency notes that this determination is within its discretion. The posting dates indicate the notice was created on 2015-09-11 with an original closing date of 2015-09-18, which in this context functions more as an administrative timeline for the notice rather than an application deadline. The award ceiling is shown as 0 in the source data, which often reflects that the specific funding amount is not being publicly listed in the notice or is handled outside of a typical competitive posting format.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the education, environment, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NORTH AMERICAN WETLANDS CONSERVATION ACT PROPOSAL SUMMARY" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.650.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2015-09-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2015-09-18. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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