Foa_Content_of_F21AS00274.pdf

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

FWS - Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration https://www.fws.gov/wsfrprograms/subpages/grantprograms/swg/swg.htm

Fiscal Year 2021 Competitive State Wildlife Grant (C-SWG) Program Fiscal Year: 2021

F21AS00274

Due Date for Applications: 05/21/2021

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT:

OMB Control Number: 1018-0100, Expiration Date: 7/31/2021

We are collecting this information in accordance with the authorizing legislation identified above. Your response is required to obtain or retain a benefit. We will use the information you provide to conduct a competitive review and select projects for funding and, if awarded, to evaluate performance. We may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. We estimate that it will take you on average about 40 hours to complete an initial application, about 3 hours to revise the terms of an award, and about 8 hours per report to prepare and submit financial and performance reports, including time to maintain records and gather information. Actual time for these activities will vary depending on program-specific requirements. You may send comments on the burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

Table of Contents A. Program Description

A1. Authority

A2. Background, Purpose and Program Requirements

B. Federal Award Information

B1. Total Funding

B2. Expected Award Amount

B3. Expected Award Funding and Anticipated Dates

B4. Number of Awards

B5. Type of Award

C. Eligibility Information

C1. Eligible Applicants

C2. Cost Sharing or Matching

C3. Other

D. Application and Submission Information

D1. Address to Request Application Package

D2. Content and Form of Application Submission

D3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

D4. Submission Dates and Times

D5. Intergovernmental Review

D6. Funding Restrictions

D7. Other Submission Requirements

E. Application Review Information

E1. Criteria

E2. Review and Selection Process

E3. CFR – Regulatory Information

E4. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates

F. Federal Award Administration Information

F1. Federal Award Notices

F2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

F3. Reporting

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s)

G1. Program Technical Contact

G2. Program Administration

G3. Application System Technical Support

H. Other Information

A. Program Description

A1. Authority Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, PL 116-260 (H.R. 113, 116th Cong. Div. G, Title 1, State and Tribal Wildlife Grants)

15.634

A2. Background, Purpose and Program Requirements References to “you” in this announcement refer to the State fish and wildlife agency or regional association of fish and wildlife agencies completing the application and any potential subrecipient, if applicable. References to “we” or “us” in this announcement refer to the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service (Service).

The Competitive State Wildlife Grant (C-SWG) Program provides Federal grant funds to help you and your partners implement programs for the benefit of fish and wildlife and their habitats, including species that are not hunted or fished. Eligible activities include conservation planning and implementation. Planning activities must contribute directly to the development or modification of your Wildlife Action Plan (Plan) approved by the Director of the Service or other Service designee. Implementation activities are those that you carry out to execute your Plan. Priority for use of these funds must be placed on your identified species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) and their habitats, and should take into consideration the relative level of funding available for the conservation of these species. Ineligible activities include wildlife education and law enforcement activities, unless they are a minor or incidental component considered critical to the success of your project. Additional information about the C- SWG Program is available here.

WSFR’s mission is to work through partnerships to conserve and manage fish and wildlife and their habitats for the use and enjoyment of current and future generations. WSFR’s vision is of healthy, diverse, and accessible fish and wildlife populations that offer recreation, economic activity, and other societal benefits, in addition to sustainable ecological functions. WSFR’s guiding principle is that society benefits from conservation-based management of fish and wildlife and their habitats and opportunities to use and enjoy them. The C-SWG Program aligns with WSFR’s mission, vision, and guiding principle.

The C-SWG Program is successful when it leverages Federal funding through cost-sharing provisions with you and your partners to design and implement proactive conservation actions in a strategic fashion, as articulated in your Plan. In doing so, it helps protect your authority to identify, study, and conserve those species you deem most in need of conservation while helping to avoid more prescriptive Federal regulatory requirements associated with listing under the http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/SWG/SWG.htm

Endangered Species Act (ESA). A core principle of the C-SWG Program is the utilization of effective partnerships that demonstrate the spirit of cooperation and sharing of resources to achieve our common conservation goals.

Wildlife TRACS (Tracking and Reporting Actions for the Conservation of Species) is the tracking and reporting system used by WSFR to capture conservation and related actions funded by its grant programs. TRACS serves as the electronic repository system for all performance and accomplishment reporting related to those Federal awards. TRACS highlights program accountability by documenting program accomplishments and results. As outlined in this announcement, grant and project statement information and performance reporting data must be entered into TRACS as authorized under 2 CFR 200.102(c) and 200.302.

In FY 2021, the Service offers you the opportunity to apply for an award through the Plan Enhancement Subprogram. The purpose of this Subprogram is to support the implementation of Plan improvements recommended in the report, Best Practices for State Wildlife Action Plans (Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, 2012). Maximum awards, scoring criteria, and application requirements differ for Plan Enhancement Subprogram applications and awards (see Section C3. Other [Information on Eligibility]) of this announcement.

This announcement contains instructions to apply for both a C-SWG Program award and for a Plan Enhancement Subprogram award. You may submit one or more applications for the C- SWG Program and the Plan Enhancement Subprogram concurrently, but applications must be submitted separately and all the requirements described in this announcement must be met in each application.

Plan Enhancement applications must be submitted under one of the following themes:

Climate Adaptation: We support development of climate adaptation information and identification of adaptation strategies for wildlife and their habitats. Such activities may include but are not limited to:

Identification of best management practices to address climate-related threats to SGCN, their habitats, or ecological processes that affect them

Identification of climate-resilient priority conservation areas for SGCN/habitats Implementation of large-scale climate change vulnerability assessments for multiple

SGCN/habitats Alignment of Plan strategies with the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate

Adaptation Strategy, or with another published regional climate adaptation strategy

Classification and Prioritization: We support projects that will result in improved Plan classification and prioritization methods, especially those that advance large-scale, multi-jurisdictional SGCN conservation. Examples include but are not limited to:

Revision of Plan criteria for identifying or ranking SGCN, or collaboration among multiple States resulting in adoption of a unified selection or ranking procedure

Adoption of a unified nomenclature, standard lexicon, or other methodology for classification or prioritization of Plan elements. For example: NatureServe’s natural https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?node=se2.1.200_1102&rgn=div8 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=a32963af34d3c94b854882a21e8d77e9&mc=true&node=se2.1.200_1302&rgn=div8 https://www.fishwildlife.org/application/files/3215/1856/0300/SWAP_Best_Practices_Report_Nov_2012.pdf https://www.fishwildlife.org/application/files/3215/1856/0300/SWAP_Best_Practices_Report_Nov_2012.pdf https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/Assets/ecosystems/documents/NFWPCAS-Final.pdf https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/Assets/ecosystems/documents/NFWPCAS-Final.pdf https://www.natureserve.org/conservation-tools/standards-methods heritage methodology, N. Salafsky’s unified conservation threats and actions, International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, or the Service’s TRACS conservation strategies

Mapping: We support use of digital mapping technologies and techniques to delineate geographic areas presenting the best opportunities for conservation (such as focal areas or conservation opportunity areas). Partnerships of two or more States may utilize funds to align and unify geospatial information across State lines. We encourage use of a common platform that can be integrated across State fish and wildlife agencies and regional Associations of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

Database Enhancements: We support efforts to expand or enhance databases for Plan elements of one or more States. Databases may house SGCN information or related data on habitats, threats, conservation actions, and/or accomplishments.

Plan Accessibility: We support efforts to improve the accessibility of Plan information. For example, you may utilize funds to web-enable your Plan so that it is searchable and easily shared with and understood by partners. You may repackage and deliver Plan data to local or regional entities engaged in land-use planning or development, so that data is more accessible and relevant to towns, counties, private companies, or others.

Plan Evaluation: We support efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of a Plan, to determine the degree to which your agency or division is meeting your Plan’s goals and objectives, and to develop strategies to improve your Plan.

Whether you apply for a C-SWG Program or Plan Enhancement Subprogram grant, we encourage you to design and manage your project within an adaptive management framework.

Adaptive management in the context of natural resources conservation involves the integration of design, management, and monitoring to systematically test your assumptions in order to adapt and learn. Adaptive management is a form of structured decision-making that requires careful goal setting, identifying management objectives and causal hypotheses, taking action, measuring results, and evaluating, documenting, interpreting, and sharing outcomes of management actions.

We utilize the Strategic Habitat Conservation framework to improve our ability to define desired biological outcomes and articulate the consequences of site-scale actions on landscape-scale functions. Other, similar adaptive management frameworks may be used. For more information, see:

Strategic Habitat Conservation: Final Report of the National Ecological Assessment Team (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey, 2006)

The Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation (The Conservation Measures Partnership, 2013)

Measuring the Effectiveness of State Wildlife Grants (Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, 2011)

We award funds through the C-SWG Program for projects that will implement actions or strategies identified in Service-approved Plans, for surveys, monitoring, and related activities designed to determine whether to designate SGCN, for efforts to address documented emerging wildlife issues, or for Plan Enhancement activities consistent with the themes provided in this https://www.natureserve.org/conservation-tools/standards-methods https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18544093/ https://www.iucnredlist.org/ https://fawiki.fws.gov/display/WSFR/Standard+Project+Statements https://www.fws.gov/landscape-conservation/pdf/SHC-slide.pdf http://www.fws.gov/landscape-conservation/pdf/SHCReport.pdf http://www.fws.gov/landscape-conservation/pdf/SHCReport.pdf https://conservationstandards.org/ https://www.fishwildlife.org/application/files/3815/2278/1426/FINAL_Effectiveness_Measures_report.pdf announcement in Section A2. Background, Purpose, and Program Requirements. Although intended as Service policy and not regulation, you may wish to review the Service Manual Part 517 FW 10 for more information. In administration of the C-SWG Program, we adopt policies described in this chapter which are applicable to the non-competitive (Formula) SWG Program, except where such policies may conflict with information contained in this announcement.

We encourage you to engage with partners as appropriate in planning, executing, and evaluating your conservation project(s). Partners may include but are not limited to: other State fish and wildlife agencies or other State entities (in or out of State), Tribes, the Service or other Federal agencies, local governments or other jurisdictions, non-governmental organizations (including for-profit and nonprofit organizations), academic institutions, private landowners or other individuals, industry groups, and international partners.

B. Federal Award Information B1. Total Funding Estimated Total Funding $ 7,689,539

B2. Expected Award Amount Maximum Award $ 1,000,000 Minimum Award $ 50,000

B3. Expected Award Funding and Anticipated Dates Expected Award Funding Expected Award Date December 31, 2021

B4. Number of Awards Expected Number of Awards

B5. Type of Award Funding Instrument Type G - Grant

C. Eligibility Information http://www.fws.gov/policy/517fw10.pdf http://www.fws.gov/policy/517fw10.pdf

C1. Eligible Applicants Eligible Applicants 25 – Others (see text field entitled “Additional Information on Eligibility” for clarification) 00 – State governments Additional Information on Eligibility In addition to State fish and wildlife agencies, only the four Regional Associations of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA, MAFWA, SEAFWA, NEAFWA) are eligible to apply.

C2. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost Sharing / Matching Requirement Yes Percentage of Cost Sharing / Matching Requirement For the continental States, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Federal share of C-SWG Program grants may not exceed 75 percent of the total project cost. The total project cost includes the requested Federal funds plus eligible matching funds or other resources, but excludes other Federal funds that are ineligible for or not attributed as match. In accordance with 48 United States Code (U.S.C.) 1469(a), Amendment of Subsection (d), the Regional Director shall waive up to $200,000 of the required match for each grant awarded to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

You may meet your minimum required cost share through contributions from a third party. A third party is any individual or organization other than the State applicant, such as a partner or subrecipient. In order for your proposed cost share to be allowable, it must meet all the criteria listed in 2 CFR 200.306(b). As the primary State recipient, you are responsible for the full amount of the non-Federal cost share proposed, including any amount provided by one or more third parties, as listed on the Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424).

You may attribute some or all of your or a partner’s allowable indirect costs as voluntary committed cost-share/match; however, you may only charge to the Federal award the indirect costs calculated against the allowable direct costs charged to the Federal award.

You must document all third‐party matching funds or in-kind contributions with a signed letter of financial commitment from an authorized representative of the match provider. The letter must detail the amount of matching funds or value of donated land, equipment, volunteer or staff time, and/or services.

If you are using volunteer time to meet your cost share requirement, you must provide an estimate of the financial value of the in-kind contribution based upon rates or amounts your State normally pays for a similar product or service in the marketplace. For example, if your cost share consists of volunteer in-kind contributions, provide the required skill level of your volunteer(s) and link their duties to those of a wildlife technician or similar, comparable position in your https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2009-title48/pdf/USCODE-2009-title48-chap10-sec1469a.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2009-title48/pdf/USCODE-2009-title48-chap10-sec1469a.pdf agency. Provide the compensation rate for the equivalent State position, give the number of hours that you expect the volunteer(s) will contribute, and justify the necessity and reasonableness of the volunteer contributions for completion of project objectives. Estimates of the value of volunteer hourly contributions that are calculated by third parties do not sufficiently verify the value of such contributions.

Please note that any contributions from Federal sources are not eligible for use as non-Federal match unless authorized by Federal statute (such as the Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program or REPI funds).You are responsible for ensuring availability of the full amount of the non‐Federal match that you indicate on the SF‐424.

C3. Other Maximum Awards and Partnership Requirements

In 2018, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) recommended that WSFR adopt the four funding tiers and maximum Federal awards, as described in this section, for the administration of C-SWG Program funds. This flexible policy enables single State fish and wildlife agencies to apply for C-SWG Program and/or Plan Enhancement Subprogram grants while offering an incentive for multiple agencies to work together to design and implement large-scale conservation initiatives or Plan improvements across two or more States.

For C-SWG Program grants, the maximum award increases from $250,000 to $1 million per award based on the number of State fish and wildlife agencies actively participating in a project.

For Plan Enhancement Subprogram grants, the maximum award likewise increases from $125,000 to $400,000 per award. Partnership requirements of the contiguous States (including the District of Columbia) differ from requirements of Alaska and the island jurisdictions (Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealths of the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). These differing requirements address resource limitations and/or geographic isolation of the island jurisdictions and Alaska.

Eligibility for the funding tiers may only be met with documentation that a partner is an “active participant.” An active participant is defined as another project partner that is requesting and/or matching a significant amount of resources that are dedicated to completion of project objectives.

An active participant’s total combined Federal request and/or matching contribution must be equivalent to at least 10 percent of the total project costs. Such resources may be in the form of cash, real or personal property, staff time, or third-party cash or in-kind contributions. A State fish and wildlife agency active participant is defined as another partnering State fish and wildlife agency that is normally eligible to apply for and receive SWG Program funds, in addition to receiving and/or matching at least 10 percent of total project costs.

As applicable, please identify in your Project or Budget Narrative any State fish and wildlife agency or agencies and any other active participant(s) that you would like us to consider when determining the maximum award you are eligible to receive. All active participant(s) must be clearly documented in your project narrative, budget, and budget narrative along with a brief justification for the funding tier under which you are applying. Matching resources provided by any partner must be described in detail, appropriately valued, and documented in a letter signed by an individual with budgetary authority to commit the identified resources.

In 2014, Congress made C-SWG Program funds available to the four regional Associations of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (Associations) applying on behalf of eligible State fish and wildlife agencies. The purpose of this change was to provide eligible State fish and wildlife agencies with an alternative fiscal agent for distribution of C-SWG Program funds to partnering State fish and wildlife agencies and other entities. Involvement of an Association may add value to multi-state projects by promoting project cost efficiency (such as lower indirect costs), and by better enabling State fish and wildlife agencies to address conservation of species at larger scales.

As fiscal agents, the Associations are not considered State fish and wildlife agency active participants when determining eligibility for the funding tiers. The funding tiers are intended to encourage partnerships among State fish and wildlife agencies, and are not intended to give Associations a competitive advantage over eligible State agencies. The minimum partnership requirements for the Associations applying under the following tiers are therefore more rigorous than for State fish and wildlife agency applicants applying for C-SWG Program awards.

Association requirements are given separately in the following tier descriptions.

Tier 1 Maximum C-SWG Program award up to $250,000 Maximum Plan Enhancement Subprogram award up to $125,000 Agencies of the contiguous States must apply with at least one active participant partner, which may be any State or non-State entity. Alaska and the island jurisdictions do not need an active participant partner to apply at this Tier. Associations must apply on behalf of at least one State fish and wildlife agency active participant partner.

Tier 2 Maximum C-SWG Program award up to $500,000 Maximum Plan Enhancement Subprogram award up to $250,000 Agencies of the contiguous States must apply with at least one State fish and wildlife agency active participant partner. Alaska and the island jurisdictions may apply with any active participant partner, including non-State partners. Associations must apply on behalf of at least two State fish and wildlife agency active participant partners.

Tier 3 Maximum C-SWG Program award up to $750,000 Maximum Plan Enhancement Subprogram award up to $350,000 Agencies of all States including the island jurisdictions and Alaska must apply with at least two State fish and wildlife agency active participant partners. Associations must apply on behalf of at least three State fish and wildlife agency active participant partners.

Tier 4 Maximum C-SWG Program award up to $1,000,000 Maximum Plan Enhancement Subprogram award up to $400,000 Agencies of all States including the island jurisdictions and Alaska must apply with at least three

State fish and wildlife agency active participant partners. Associations must apply on behalf of at least four State fish and wildlife agency active participant partners.

Administration of Multi-State Projects Applications for a multi-State project are submitted by a Lead Entity. The Lead Entity must ensure that the application includes details on the contributions of each State fish and wildlife agency and other partners participating in the project (e.g., activities, cash, in-kind contributions) and expected uses for grant funds.

If the project is selected for an award, the Lead Entity may accept and administer the project as a single award. The Lead Entity may subaward funds or issue contracts to other State fish and wildlife agencies and/or partners for activities described in the project application. (Option 1). Under Option 1, the required match (if applicable) is provided for at the award level, under the single award issued to the Lead Entity. Match requirements for the single award can be met using any acceptable non-Federal source; subawards to States and partners do not need to individually meet match requirements, unless required as a condition of the subaward.

Alternatively, if a project is selected for an award, the Lead Entity and at least one other partner State or Association may accept portions of the project award for the designated amount of project funds described in the application and administer those funds as separate awards (Option 2). Each State or Association administering an award under the approved project must submit a separate set of application materials, including the SF-424, Budget, Budget Narrative, Project Narrative, and State-specific compliance information reflecting the portion of work it will complete under its award. Each individual State or Association award may include subawarded funds or contracts to support the project. Under Option 2, the same grant administration principles apply, but in this case, there is more than one award being administered to complete the project. Each award administered by a separate State or Association to support the project must include the required match at the individual award level for the portion of project funds in that award.

Any State or Association receiving grant funds under an individual award, whether they are the Lead Entity or not, is responsible for the financial and performance reporting requirements for those funds, including any funds disbursed through subawards or contracts. See Section F3.

Reporting, for additional information.

Foreign Entities or Projects:

This program does not provide funding to foreign entities or for projects conducted outside the United States.

Excluded Parties: FWS conducts a review of the SAM.gov Exclusions database for all applicant entities and their key project personnel prior to award. The Bureau cannot award funds to entities or their key project personnel identified in the SAM.gov Exclusions database as ineligible, prohibited/restricted or otherwise excluded from receiving Federal contracts, certain subcontracts, and certain Federal assistance and benefits, as their ineligibility condition applies to this Federal program.

D. Application and Submission Information

D1. Address to Request Application Package If you have access to GrantSolutions, we recommend you apply there. Log in and search for the announcement using Funding Opportunity Number F21AS00274, or search using the CFDA number (15.634) or grant program name, then follow the instructions to download required forms and complete and submit your application. To access the application package in Grants.gov, in the “Search Grants” tab, enter Funding Opportunity Number F21AS00274 or CFDA number (15.634). Downloading and saving the application package to your computer makes the required forms fillable and printable. Submit applications downloaded via Grants.gov in Grants.gov.

You will receive automatic confirmation of your application in GrantSolutions or Grants.gov.

We also receive system notifications that document you have submitted your application by the deadline. Applications received after the deadline will be rejected, unless you can demonstrate that a technical problem with GrantSolutions or Grants.gov resulted in late or incomplete submission of your application.

Although it is not a requirement, we encourage you to submit a single PDF copy of your entire application to your WSFR Regional Office in case you encounter difficulties in submitting your application through GrantSolutions or Grants.gov.

Please Note: The page limit for your entire application package is 50 pages. Any additional information beyond 50 pages will not be considered when reviewing your application. If all required information is not provided within the 50-page limit, your application may be rejected.

If you need a copy in another format, contact:

Paul Van Ryzin U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: WSFR Fall Church, VA 22041 703-358-1849 paul_vanryzin@fws.gov

Program Website Link https://www.fws.gov/wsfrprograms/subpages/grantprograms/swg/swg.htm

D2. Content and Form of Application Submission SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance Applicants must submit the appropriate Standard Form (SF)-424, Application for Federal https://home.grantsolutions.gov/home/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html

Assistance. Individuals applying as a private citizen (i.e., unrelated to any business or nonprofit organization you may own or operate in your name), must complete the SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance-Individual form. All other applicants must complete the standard SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. The required application forms are available with this announcement on Grants.gov. The SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance must be complete, and signed and dated. Please note: Enter only the amount requested from this Federal program in the “Federal” funding box on the SF-424 Application form. Include any other Federal sources of funding in the “Other” box and provide details on those Federal source(s) and funding amount(s) in the required Budget Narrative (see the “Budget Narrative” section below).

Assurances Submit the appropriate Assurances form. Use the SF-424D form for construction and real property acquisition projects and the SF-424B for all other projects. You may omit the Assurances form if a current copy is on file with your WSFR Regional Office or if you have submitted the SF-424B via SAM.gov and your project does not include construction or real property acquisition.

Project Summary

Briefly summarize your project in one page or less. Include the title of the project, geographic location, and a brief overview of the need for the project. You should also include goals, WSFR Standard Objectives, specific project activities, and anticipated outputs and outcomes in this summary.

Project Narrative The Service has implemented an electronic performance reporting system called TRACS (https://tracs.fws.gov) in order to document recipient performance and for reporting on national program accomplishments that deliver meaningful results consistent with the C-SWG Program’s authorizing legislation. You are required to enter grant and Project Narrative information in TRACS. We encourage you to enter grant and Project Narrative information in TRACS prior to applying in GrantSolutions. TRACS data entry will facilitate development of a complete Project Narrative. Once entered, TRACS will generate a Project Narrative that you may use as part of your application in GrantSolutions. If you decline to enter grant and Project Narrative information in TRACS prior to applying in GrantSolutions, you will be required to enter this information within 60 calendar days of the latter: (a) period of performance start date; or (b) the date the award was approved. If you need assistance, please contact your WSFR Regional Office (see Section G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts).

Your Project Narrative must include all of the following elements:

Need: Identify the need for the proposed project within the purpose of the C-SWG Program.

Your statement of need should address the following sub-elements:

1. Identify at least one targeted SGCN that will benefit from your proposed conservation actions, and describe the need for conservation actions to address it/them. Although it is not a requirement, we request that you identify any species named in the National Listing Workplan that you expect will benefit from your proposed conservation activities;

2. Provide baseline data and information, if available, on the current status of targeted SGCN; and https://www.fws.gov/endangered/what-we-do/listing-workplan.html https://www.fws.gov/endangered/what-we-do/listing-workplan.html

3. Include specific references to your Plan that identify priority conservation actions for targeted SGCN. Also include references to the Plans of any States participating in your project.

Objectives: The Service created Standard Objectives to standardize performance reporting and document national accomplishments that deliver results consistent with the C-SWG Program’s authorizing legislation. To avoid delay, your project narrative must only use one or more of the Standard Objectives listed in the TRACS Performance Matrix. We encourage you to work with your WSFR Regional Office if you have questions about the use of TRACS Standard Objectives in your Project Narrative. Please refer to the Service’s WSFR Training Portal site for example project statements that utilize TRACS Standard Objectives.

Approach: The approach identifies activities to be used in meeting the objectives, including specific procedures, methods, schedules or timelines, key personnel, and cooperators. Provide a description of the proposed actions in sufficient detail so we are able to evaluate compliance needs for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the ESA, and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Your approach should address the following sub-elements:

1. Provide the name, work address, and work telephone number of the principal investigator(s). Please do not attach résumés or curriculum vitae. To prevent unnecessary transmission of Personally Identifiable Information, do not include Social Security numbers, the names of family members, or any other personal or sensitive information including marital status, religion, or physical characteristics in the description of key personnel qualifications;

2. Include a description of conservation protocols and procedures with reference to applicable peer-reviewed literature, as available;

3. Provide a brief description of your agency and all participating agencies or other partners, and identify which of the proposed activities each agency or other partner is responsible for conducting or managing. If you are proposing a multi-State project, identify whether you will be responsible for administering subawards to partnering State agencies or if each partnering State agency will submit a separate SF-424 and manage its own award;

4. If your project involves direct species or habitat management, describe how you will use a standard, replicable monitoring regime throughout the project area to evaluate results of your activities. If your project does not involve direct management, identify and describe key indicators you will use to measure and report your accomplishments;

5. Describe your data management plan including how and when you will manage, analyze and share results internally and externally, especially with other conservation decision-makers;

6. Describe significant milestones in completing your project and any accomplishments to date; and

7. Describe any relationship between this project and other work funded by Federal grants that is planned, anticipated, or underway.

Expected Results: Expected results are the anticipated benefits from accomplishing your objectives. Your expected results must include the following sub-elements:

https://wsfrtraining.fws.gov/mod/page/view.php?id=216&forceview=1 https://wsfrtraining.fws.gov/mod/book/view.php?id=277&chapterid=104 https://wsfrtraining.fws.gov/mod/book/view.php?id=277&chapterid=104

1. Describe the assumptions or hypotheses linking proposed conservation actions to your expected results, and support the hypotheses with reference to peer-reviewed scientific literature as available; and

2. Describe any tools such as habitat-population models or other science-based methods you plan to use to estimate the response(s) to proposed conservation actions.

Project Location(s): Describe the location(s) of project activities and the expected area(s) of impact resulting from these activities. Identify local, State, and Federal public lands where activities will be conducted, and any private or tribal lands where applicable. Provide maps or other geographic aids. Please include GPS Coordinates in decimal degrees. If specific locations of project activities are unknown at the time of application, please provide the county or counties where conservation actions are expected to take place.

Applicants must submit the appropriate SF-424 Budget Information form and Budget Narrative.

For non-construction programs or projects, applicants must complete and submit the SF-424A, “Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs” form. All of the required application forms are available with this announcement on Grants.gov. Federal award recipients and subrecipients are subject to Federal award cost principles in 2 CFR 200. Applicants must show funds requested from this Federal program separately from any other Federal sources of funding.

In the “Budget Summary” section of the appropriate SF-424 budget form, use the first row for funding requested from this Federal program. Use subsequent row(s) for funding requested from this Federal program. Use subsequent row(s) for other Federal funding. Enter each Federal program’s CFDA number(s) in the corresponding fields on the form. The CFDA number(s) for this program appears on the first page of this announcement.

Use the SF-424C for construction or real property acquisition projects. You may omit the Budget Information form if you provide the same or more detailed budget information in another format.

Applicants seeking approval to acquire real property under an award must complete and submit the SF-429, “Real Property Status Report (Cover Page)” and the SF-429-B, “Real Property Status Report Attachment B (Request to Acquire, Improve, or Furnish)”. These forms are required if the real property is acquired with Federal funds, with recipient cost share or matching funds, or as an in-kind contribution under the award. These forms may be found on https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/post-award-reporting-forms.html

Real property interests include, but are not limited to, fee simple, fee with exceptions to title, easements, water rights, mineral rights, and leaseholds regardless of their status as real or personal property under State law. Applicants must use these forms to request approval of real property and leaseholds that:

a. Will be purchased for a financially assisted project with Federal funds or non-Federal cost-sharing or matching funds;

b. Were acquired previously by the recipient or subrecipient for another purpose, but will be or have already been committed to the financially assisted project; or

c. Will be or have already been accepted by the recipient or subrecipient as an in-kind contribution from a non-Federal third party for the financially assisted project.

Budget Narrative Describe and justify requested budget items and costs. Detail how the SF-424 Budget Information, Object Class Category totals were determined. For personnel salary costs, include the baseline salary figures and the estimates of time. Describe any item of cost that requires prior approval under the Federal cost principles. See 2 CFR 200.407 “Prior written approval (prior approval)” for more information. If equipment purchased previously with Federal funds is available for the project, provide a list of that equipment and identify the Federal funding source. Identify any cash or in-kind contributions that a partner or other entity will contribute to the project and describe how the contributions directly and substantively benefit completion of the project. For in-kind contributions, include the source, the amount, and the valuation methodology used to determine the total value. See 2 CFR 200.306 “Cost sharing or matching” for more information.

If you are using volunteer time to meet your cost share requirement, you must provide an estimate of the financial value of the in-kind contribution(s) based upon rates or amounts your State normally pays for a similar product or service in the marketplace. For example, if your cost share consists of volunteer in-kind contributions, provide the required skill level of your volunteer(s) and link their duties to those of a wildlife technician or similar, comparable position in your agency. Provide the compensation rate for the equivalent State position, give the number of hours that you expect the volunteer(s) will contribute, and justify the necessity and reasonableness of the volunteer contributions for completion of project objectives. Estimates of the value of volunteer hourly contributions that are calculated by third parties do not sufficiently verify the value of such contributions.

Identify total project costs, including requested SWG Program funds and eligible match. If you will implement your project with other Federal funds or other match that are not a part of your total project costs, they must be identified separately in your Budget and Budget Narrative.

Identify and justify the funding tier under which you are applying, and provide page or section numbers so reviewers can easily locate your Budget and related information to verify your tier eligibility. For multi-State projects, identify whether you will administer funds to your partners through subawards (Option 1) or through separate grants (Option 2). If applicable, also include information on:

1. Program Income, if applicable – Estimate the amount of program income that the project is likely to generate and indicate the method of applying and disposing of it;

2. Allocation of Costs – Describe the method for allocating costs in multipurpose projects and facilities. You must allocate costs in multipurpose projects based on the uses or benefits for each purpose that will result from the completed project or facility, and you must also describe the method used to allocate costs;

3. Equipment, including any tangible personal property (includes information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost which equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by you or your subrecipient(s) for financial statement purposes, or $5,000 (see 2 CFR 200.33). You and your subrecipients must follow the requirements at 2 CFR 200 when acquiring equipment under an award, with emphasis on 200.313, 200.317 through 200.326, and 200.439; and,

4. Useful Life – Propose a useful life for each capital improvement that costs at least $25,000 to build, acquire, or install, and reference the method used to determine the useful life of a capital improvement with a value greater than $100,000 (see 2 CFR 200.13).

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Letters of Commitment: If you are providing State matching funds or other resources as the applicant, you are not required to submit a letter of commitment. However, any matching resources (cash and/or in-kind) provided by one or more State fish and wildlife agency partners must be documented in a letter of commitment that is signed by an individual authorized to commit the identified resources on behalf of the agency. Letters of commitment from a non-State partner (for example, a non-governmental organization or university) must be signed by an individual with authority to commit funds on behalf of the entity. Letters must detail the amount of cost sharing funds and if applicable the value of staff time, donated services, equipment, or materials, and the valuation method used to arrive at the total. See Section C2. Cost Sharing or Matching for documentation requirements pertaining to use of volunteer in-kind contributions as cost share. Matching funds identified in letters of commitment should align with figures you provide in the SF-424, Budget, and Budget Narrative. If you omit from your proposal a required letter of commitment, or include a letter that does not explicitly value and justify a partner’s in-kind match contributions, we may determine that your proposal is ineligible. If you are unsure whether you are required to submit a letter of commitment, or need more information on documenting matching resources, contact your WSFR Regional Office.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure Per the Financial Assistance Interior Regulation (FAIR), 2 CFR §1402.112, applicants must state in their application if any actual or potential conflict of interest exists at the time of submission.

(a) Applicability.

(1) This section intends to ensure that non-Federal entities and their employees take appropriate steps to avoid conflicts of interest in their responsibilities under or with respect to Federal financial assistance agreements.

(2) In the procurement of supplies, equipment, construction, and services by recipients and by sub recipients, the conflict of interest provisions in 2 CFR 200.318 apply.

(b) Notification.

(1) Non-Federal entities, including applicants for financial assistance awards, must disclose in writing any conflict of interest to the DOI awarding agency or pass-through entity in accordance with 2 CFR 200.112.

(2) Recipients must establish internal controls that include, at a minimum, procedures to identify, disclose, and mitigate or eliminate identified conflicts of interest. The recipient is responsible for notifying the Financial Assistance Officer in writing of any conflicts of interest that may arise during the life of the award, including those that have been reported by sub recipients.

(c) Restrictions on lobbying. Non-Federal entities are strictly prohibited from using funds under a grant or cooperative agreement for lobbying activities and must provide the required certifications and disclosures pursuant to 43 CFR part 18 and 31 U.S.C. 1352.

(d) Review procedures. The Financial Assistance Officer will examine each conflict of interest disclosure on the basis of its particular facts and the nature of the proposed grant or cooperative agreement, and will determine whether a significant potential conflict exists and, if it does, develop an appropriate means for resolving it.

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(e) Enforcement. Failure to resolve conflicts of interest in a manner that satisfies the government may be cause for termination of the award. Failure to make required disclosures may result in any of the remedies described in 2 CFR 200.338, Remedies for noncompliance, including suspension or debarment (see also 2 CFR part 180).

Single Audit Reporting Statement All U.S. states, local governments, federally recognized Indian tribal governments, and non-profit organizations expending $750,000 USD or more in Federal award funds in the applicant’s fiscal year must submit a Single Audit report for that year through the Federal Audit Clearinghouse’s Internet Data Entry System. U.S. state, local government, federally recognized Indian tribal government, and non-profit applicants must state if your organization was or was not required to submit a Single Audit report for the most recently closed fiscal year. If your organization was required to submit a Single Audit report for the most recently closed fiscal year, provide the EIN associated with that report and state if it is available through the Federal Audit Clearinghouse website.

Certification Regarding Lobbying Applicants requesting more than $100,000 in Federal funding must certify to the statements in 43 CFR Part 18, Appendix A-Certification Regarding Lobbying. If this application requests more than $100,000 in Federal funds, the Authorized Official’s signature on the appropriate SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance form also represents the entity’s certification of the statements in 43 CFR Part 18, Appendix A.

Applicants and recipients must not use any federally appropriated funds (annually appropriated or continuing appropriations) or matching funds under a Federal award to pay any person for lobbying in connection with the award. Lobbying is influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any U.S. agency, a Member of the U.S. Congress, an officer or employee of the U.S. Congress, or an employee of a Member of the U.S. Congress connection with the award. Applicants and recipients must complete and submit the SF-LLL, “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities” form if the Federal share of the proposal or award is more than $100,000 and the applicant or recipient has made or has agreed to make any payment using non-appropriated funds for lobbying in connection with the application or award. The SF-LLL form is available with this Funding Opportunity on Grants.gov. See 43 CFR, Subpart 18.100 for more information on when additional submission of this form is required.

Overlap or Duplication of Effort Statement

Applicants must provide a statement indicating if there is any overlap between this Federal application and any…