Project Grant F24AP02201

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $101,180 Project Grant under the Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance program (CFDA 15.683) to the North Slope Borough in Alaska. The grant will support the borough's ongoing marine mammal harvest monitoring and stranding response program for key subsistence species like walrus and polar bears. Specifically, the funding will enhance active surveillance testing for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in stranded marine mammals, provide additional data on causes of morbidity and mortality, and contribute to understanding the health and body condition of Pacific walruses and polar bears in the rapidly changing Arctic environment. This effort builds upon the borough's previous experience responding to walrus mortality events and conducting disease investigations for other Arctic marine mammals. The grant award period runs from June 1, 2024 to July 30, 2025.