Single Source NOFO TAMUK northern pintail.pdf

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

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Southwest Region Migratory Bird Program

Migratory Bird Monitoring, Assessment and Conservation Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 15.655

Notice of Single Source Award

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I. Description of Funding Opportunity

The continental population of the northern pintail (Anas acuta) remains depressed after 3 decades of good to excellent habitat conditions on breeding areas. As most other duck populations have realized record population abundance over this period, northern pintails have remained below the long-term population average. Although factors on breeding areas undoubtedly have impacts on pintail populations, it is likely that factors on nonbreeding areas also have impacted the ability of the population to respond to improved breeding habitat conditions. For example, pintails appear to be more k-select than most other dabbling ducks as adult survival is a key factor in population dynamics models; a factor that is of less importance for other species (Flint et al. 1998). This along with the relatively large proportion of the annual cycle spent in nonbreeding areas highlights the potentially large contribution that nonbreeding habitats play in the population dynamics of the northern pintail.

The objective of this study is to (1) compare spring migration strategies of female northern pintails originating from different wintering areas in North America (migration speed, use of stopovers, timing of arrival on breeding areas, etc.), (2) investigate differences in individual strategies within wintering regions and relate to their reproductive success, (3) Assess contribution of endogenous nutrients (fat and protein) to reproduction for different regions and different migration strategies, and (4) identify critical stopover areas for pintails migrating from different wintering areas. This can be determined by several different metrics (contribution to endogenous energy/nutrients used in reproduction, use related to reproductive success, etc.).

These identified objectives will help to answer identified information needs for Northern pintail throughout their continental range which has been identified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in many State Wildlife Action Plans (e.g., Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, North

Dakota, Montana, etc.) and continues to be a species of focus with all four Flyways (Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific).

This study will expand already existing research being conducted by the Texas A&M

University – Kingsville and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. In addition to the partnership between the Texas A&M – Kingsville and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, this project will improve partnership capacities with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Louisiana Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Arizona Game and Fish Department, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and the California Water Resource Department.

Authorizations: Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 742a-754; Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958, 16 U.S.C. 661-667(e); Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. 2901-2911; Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 16 U.S.C. 709a.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) uses a science-based, adaptive framework for setting and achieving broad-scale conservation objectives that strategically address the problems fish and wildlife will face in the future. This framework, called Strategic Habitat Conservation, is based on the principles of adaptive management and uses population and habitat data, ecological models, and focused monitoring and assessment efforts to develop and implement strategies that result in measurable fish and wildlife population outcomes. This process uses the best available scientific information to predict how fish and wildlife populations will respond to changes in the environment, thus enabling the Service to focus habitat conservation and other management activities where they will be most effective. In addition, the Service needs focused, applied science directed at high impact questions surrounding threats to fish and wildlife resources for which management and/or mitigation is required to maintain species at healthy, sustainable, desired levels. The Service must base its decisions on the best science available, in order to defend its regulatory decisions, biological opinions and species conservation recommendations to land managers.

II. Award Information This program will use a cooperative agreement as the financial assistance instrument. The U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will be substantially involved in projects under this funding opportunity. In particular, the Service will be responsible for the following: (1) Provide assistance with analyzing data on identified locations; (B) Provide field based (e.g., Capture and Coordination with National Wildlife Refuges) and logistical support (e.g., expert opinion, manuscript review) for Recipient personnel. There is only ONE expected award and the estimated total program funding is $225,000.

III. Basic Eligibility Requirements Eligible Applicants:

This Single Source Award is being awarded in accordance with Department of the Interior (DOI) Policy 505 DM 2.14 B(1) Unsolicited Proposal: The recipient, Texas A&M University – Kingsville (TAMUK) is uniquely qualified to perform the “Comparing spring migration strategies of northern Pintails from wintering areas across North America” due to their location in the heart of northern pintail overwintering habitats, availability of multiple data sets, current research topics, additional funding sources, and having expertise within their program. TAMUK also has the expertise to organize and coordinate the work duties of the project due to proximity and track record working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 2 Migratory Bird Program.

U.S. non-profit, non-governmental organizations must provide a copy of their Section 501(c)(3) or (4) status determination letter received from the Internal Revenue Service.

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D. Cost Sharing or Matching:

No cost sharing or matching is required

IV. Application Requirements To be considered for funding under this funding opportunity, an application must contain:

A. A completed, signed and dated Application for Federal Assistance form. Do not include other Federal sources of funding, requested or approved, in the total entered in the “Federal” funding box on the Application for Federal Assistance form. Enter only the amount being requested under this program in the “Federal” funding box. Include any other Federal sources of funding in the total funding entered in the “Other” box.

B. Project Summary The continental population of the northern pintail (Anas acuta) remains depressed after 3 decades of good to excellent habitat conditions on breeding areas. As most other duck populations have realized record population abundance over this period, northern pintails have remained below the long-term population average. Although factors on breeding areas undoubtedly have impacts on pintail populations, it is likely that factors on nonbreeding areas also have impacted the ability of the population to respond to improved breeding habitat conditions. For example, pintails appear to be more k-select than most other dabbling ducks as adult survival is a key factor in population dynamics models; a factor that is of less importance for other species (Flint et al. 1998). This along with the relatively large proportion of the annual cycle spent in nonbreeding areas highlights the potentially large contribution that nonbreeding habitats play in the population dynamics of the northern pintail.

Studies investigating winter survival of female northern pintails suggest that survival differs markedly among regions in North America (Migoya and Baldassarre 1995, Cox et al.

1998, Anderson and Ballard 2006, Moon and Haukos 2006, Fleskes et al. 2007). Northern pintails appear to show high fidelity to coastal wintering areas and wintering areas associated with large bodies of water (e.g., Texas and Louisiana coasts, central California; Hestbeck 1993).

Because of this, Hestbeck (1993) suggested that affiliations to these wintering areas are more stable population units for northern pintails than are affiliations to breeding grounds.

Other aspects of winter ecology of northern pintails reveal other inconsistencies among regions as well. For instance, along the Texas coast where the majority of northern pintails from the Central flyway spend the winter, females exhibit declines in both lipid and protein stores across winter (Ballard et al. 2006, Ballard et al. 2016). This pattern in nutrient dynamics is quite different from other regions in North America (Miller 1986, Moon and Haukos 2006, Lee et al.

2007) and may be related to a low quality diet along the Texas coast (Ballard et al. 2004, Huck 2014), or possibly different spring migration strategies employed among regions (Ballard 2006).

Each of these scenarios have markedly different management implications, and thus, are important to untangle.

Because of the northern pintail’s early arrival on breeding areas when many foods can be unavailable, they likely are positioned towards the capital end of the capital-income breeding continuum. Prior to more contemporary techniques for investigating carry-over effects in migratory birds, Raveling and Heitmeyer (1988) found compelling evidence that winter habitat conditions in California are related to subsequent reproductive success in northern pintails. More experimental investigations found that both endogenous lipid and protein are largely used by female northern pintails in Alaska during reproduction (Mann and Sedinger 1993, Esler and Grand 1994). In particular, endogenous lipid reserves are used to meet both reproductive and maintenance energy costs, and endogenous protein covers much of protein requirements for egg production. Thus, at least for pintails breeding in subarctic regions of Alaska, there is great potential for carry-over effects from late winter and spring migration areas. Whether this holds for prairie nesting pintails is less clear. In pursuit of a more holistic understanding of the role of nutrient reserves and the importance of late winter and spring migration habitats among different regions (both wintering and breeding), the objectives outlined in this study should unravel much of the remaining uncertainty.

Information Needs The Birds of North America species account (see. Clark et al. 2014) identified many information needs for northern pintail based on Federal and State agency biologist, NGO biologist, and independent researchers input. The following are directly linked to the proposal objectives:

- Frequent monitoring of body condition, especially during spring migration, would produce critical information underlying population demography. The influence of habitat type and quality on body condition during nesting, molt, spring/fall migration, and wintering associated with cross-seasonal effects of condition on survival and productivity.

- Understanding nutrition, energy metabolism, and daily energy expenditure during winter and migration relative to food selection and consumption may be particularly important to our understanding of northern pintails, given their opportunistic pattern of habitat selection. Habitat quality and factors influencing habitat selection during spring migration need to be identified and quantified. The role of nutrient reserves acquired during spring migration for breeding needs to be assessed.

- On wintering areas, information is needed on the response of populations to provision of restored wetland habitats and increasing urbanization of agricultural and native habitats, food habitats from certain wintering regions and spring staging areas.

Aside from the identified information needs for Northern pintail throughout their continental range, this species has been identified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in many State Wildlife Action Plans (e.g., Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, North Dakota, Montana, etc.) and continues to be a species of focus with all four Flyways (Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific). Given the numerous information needs and attention from federal and state agencies, NGO’s and outside interests we propose to investigate the following aspects of migration strategies of northern pintail:

OBJECTIVES

1. Compare spring migration strategies of female northern pintails originating from different wintering areas in North America (migration speed, use of stopovers, timing of arrival on breeding areas, etc.).

2. Investigate differences in individual strategies within wintering regions and relate to their reproductive success.

3. Assess contribution of endogenous nutrients (fat and protein) to reproduction for different regions and different migration strategies.

4. Identify critical stopover areas for pintails migrating from different wintering areas. This can be determined by several different metrics (contribution to endogenous energy/nutrients used in reproduction, use related to reproductive success, etc.).

STUDY AREAS

We propose to capture northern pintails at six major wintering areas across North America.

These include the Texas coast, Texas Panhandle, Louisiana coast, Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Arkansas, Middle Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico, Lower Colorado River Valley of Arizona and Central Valley of California. Pintails wintering in these different areas use different habitats during winter, are subjected to different stressors during winter (habitat quantity and quality, hunting pressure, etc.), appear to survive at different rates across winter, and migrate through markedly different landscapes during spring migration (in relation to ecological barriers and availability of stopover habitats).

METHODS

Capture and Tracking Devices

We propose to capture a sample (n > 20 females) of northern pintails at each of 6 major wintering locations in the U.S. during December-January each year during 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21. Yearly allocation of tracking devices to wintering areas will be Texas coast (40), Louisiana coast (20), Arkansas (20), Texas Panhandle (20), New Mexico (20), and California

(40) for a total of 160 devices each winter, and a total of 480 individuals marked across the study.

Northern pintails will be baited to sites with locally available grain (rice, corn, etc.) and captured with rocket nets or cannon nets. We will attempt to keep paired birds together, but larger flocks will complicate this. Adult females will be outfitted with a 15 g solar GPS-GSM tracking device (model OrniTrack 15, Ornitela, UAB; < 2% of body mass) that will be affixed between, but anterior to the scapulars.

Each unit will be programmed to collect a location (+ 15 m accuracy) every hour throughout the life of the device. Such frequent location data are often subsampled for habitat use/resource selection questions due to autocorrelation among points, but are very informative when integrated with behavioral information and when investigating questions dealing with timing of events.

The tracking unit used will have an onboard accelerometer that will record changes in G-

Force across the three primary orthogonal axes. Acceleration (ACC) data will be programmed to record 4-second bursts every 10 minutes throughout the life of the device. However, duty cycles for both locations and ACC data can be remotely changed by the user when the device is within cell coverage. This can allow the user to modify duty cycles depending on the specific questions of interest, timing within the annual cycle, and performance of the battery. Accelerometer data provide detailed behavior information that is remotely acquired across the life of the tracking device. Thus, this allows for more informative habitat use information. For instance, instead of knowing how often an individual used a specific habitat type, the ACC data provide qualitative information about how an individual used a specific habitat type (for foraging, resting, etc.).

Additionally, these units provide the ability to understand metrics of reproductive success of individuals based on a combination of GPS data (amount of movement) and ACC data (exhibited incubation behavior throughout the 23-day incubation period).

Location and ACC data will be downloaded from the manufacturer’s data portal at least on a weekly basis. Quality control measures will be carried out on downloaded data to detect any outliers (unreliable locations), to keep up with performance of tracking devices, and to quickly respond to any mortalities to enable recovery of devices.

ACC Training Data

Vital to any questions relating to behaviors using ACC data is the need for a rigorous training dataset. The training dataset involves a large number of ACC burst in which an individual study individual is conducting each important behavior and that behavior is somehow substantiated through observation or preferably video where you can tie the exact time that a behavior took place with a specific ACC burst. A very efficient and cost-effective way to achieve this training dataset is through the use of captive birds in a controlled setting. Thus, 10 captive northern pintails will be purchased from an aviculturalist and will be housed at the Duane Leach Aviary at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. A tracking device will be attached to each captive pintail in the same manner as wild birds proposed above. Using 10 individuals will allow accounting for individual variation in behaviors, as well as any variation in tracking devices.

Once tracking devices are attached to captive pintails, we will video record their major behaviors across winter (feeding, resting, swimming, walking, etc.). An advantage of a captive setting is that you can somewhat force specific behaviors to ensure an adequate sample size for each behavior (feed birds at a specific time, allow access to water for swimming, etc.).

Contribution of Endogenous Reserves to Reproduction

Since the tracking devices proposed to be used will provide GPS quality locations, and most northern pintails will likely be in areas where data download will be possible, we propose to locate and collect a sample of females once they start incubating. This will allow us to assess body condition, determine the number of eggs laid and mass of the clutch, and enable us to conduct stabile isotope analyses on tissues from the female, as well as from the eggs to determine origination of nutrients. We will then be able to investigate the contribution of endogenous energy and nutrients to reproduction based on different migration strategies. This will also provide insight as to how variation in spring migration habitat conditions influences the level of reliance on endogenous reserves for reproduction (there is likely plasticity in migration strategies from year to year based on habitat conditions encountered).

Anticipated outcomes

Several pieces of information will be gained from this research that will help inform an array of management questions. For example, identification of important stopover sites, linking individual decisions (behavior and habitat use) to reproductive success, unraveling differences in migration strategies within and among wintering regions and the potential for carry-over effects all provide a basic understanding of migration ecology of northern pintails that will help address questions important to resource managers. Additionally, none of these questions have been attempted or adequately quantified to date. An important outcome of this research is to identify the most important areas to focus management efforts during spring migration for different populations of northern pintails across North America.

LITERATURE CITED

Anderson, J. T. 2008. Survival, habitat use, and movements of female northern pintails wintering along the Texas Coast. M.S. Thesis, Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

Ballard, B. M. 2006. Linking waterfowl ecology and management: a Texas coast perspective.

Pages 95–108 in D. G. Hewitt and T. A. Fulbright, eds. Wildlife Science: Linking Ecological Theory and Management Applications. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.

Ballard, B. M., J. E. Thompson, M. J. Petrie, M. Checkett, and D. G. Hewitt. 2004. Diet and nutrition of northern pintails wintering along the southern coast of Texas. Journal of Wildlife Management 68:371–382.

Ballard, B. M., J. E. Thompson, and M. J. Petrie. 2006. Carcass composition and digestive-tract dynamics of northern pintails wintering along the lower Texas coast. Journal of Wildlife Management 70:1316–1324.

Cox, R. R., Jr., A. D. Afton, and R. M. Pace, III. 1998. Survival of female northern pintails wintering in southwestern Louisiana. Journal of Wildlife Management 62:1512-1521.

Esler, D., and J. B. Grand. 1994. The role of nutrient reserves for clutch formation by northern pintails in Alaska. Condor 96: 422–432.

Fleskes, J. P., R. L. Jarvis, and D. S. Gilmer. 2002. September-March survival of female northern pintails radiotagged in San Joaquin Valley, California. Journal of Wildlife Management 66:901-911.

Fleskes, J. P., J. L. Lee, G. S. Yarris, M. R. Miller, and M. L. Casazza. 2007. Pintail and mallard survival in California relative to habitat, abundance, and hunting. Journal of Wildlife Management 71: 2238-2248.

Flint, P. L., J. B. Grand, R. F. Rockwell. 1998. A model of northern pintail productivity and population growth rate. Journal of Wildlife Management 62:1110-1118.

Hestbeck, J. B. 1993. Survival of northern pintails banded during winter in North America, 1950-88. Journal of Wildlife Management 57: 590–597.

Krapu, G. L. 1974. Feeding ecology of pintail hens during reproduction. Auk 91: 278–290.

Krapu, G. L. 1981. The role of nutrient reserves in mallard reproduction. Auk 98: 29–38.

Lee, C. K., J. P. Taylor, D. A. Haukos, and M. C. Anderson. 2007. Winter survival of northern pintails in the middle Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico. Western North American Naturalist 67: 79–85.

Mann, F. E., and J. S. Sedinger. 1993. Nutrient-reserve dynamics and control of clutch size in northern pintails breeding in Alaska. Auk 110: 264–278.

Migoya, R. and G. A. Baldassarre. 1995. Winter survival of female northern pintails in Sinaloa, Mexico. Journal of Wildlife Management 59: 16–22.

Moon, J. A. and D. A. Haukos. 2006. Survival of female northern pintails wintering in the Playa Lakes Region. Journal of Wildlife Management 70: 777–783.

Moon, J. A. and D. A. Haukos. 2009. Factors affecting body condition of northern pintails wintering in the Playa Lakes Region. Waterbirds 32:87–95.

Miller, M. R. 1986. Northern pintail body condition during wet and dry winters in the Sacramento Valley, California. Journal of Wildlife Management 50:189-198.

Raveling, D. G., and M. E. Heitmeyer. 1989. Relationships between population size and recruitment of pintails to habitat conditions and harvest. Journal of Wildlife Management 53: 1088–1103.

Smith, L. M. and D. G. Sheeley. 1993. Factors effecting condition of northern pintails wintering in the Southern High Plains. Journal of Wildlife Management 57: 62–71.

Budget Item 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 Personnel 28,760 29,623 30,514 31,433 0 Operating 70,125 0 0 0 0 Equipment 0 0 0 0 0 Travel 1,034 0 0 0 0 Total Direct Costs 99,919 29,623 30,514 31,433 0 F&A 17,486 5,184 5,340 5,501 0 Total Annual

Costs 117,405 34,807 35,854 36,934 0

Budget Explanation Personnel Year 1:

Ph.D. Student @ $2,000/month for 12 months = $24,000 Fringe = 0.024 x $24,000 = $576 Medical = $348.59 x 12 = $4,184 Year 2:

Ph.D. Student @ $2,060/month for 12 months = $24,720 Fringe = 0.024 x $24,720 = $594 Medical = $359.05 x 12 = $4,309 Year 3:

Ph.D. Student @ $2,122/month for 12 months = $25,464 Fringe = 0.024 x $25,464 = $612 Medical = $369.82 x 12 = $4,438 Year 4:

Ph.D. Student @ $2,186/month for 12 months = $26,232 Fringe = 0.024 x $26,232 = $630 Medical = $380.91 x 12 = $4,571 Operating Tracking Devices: $1,005/unit x 55 = $55,275/yr Data download fees $270/year/unit Year 1 @55 units = $14,850 Travel Partial estimated travel for capturing northern pintail in Texas and New Mexico for 1,897 miles @ $0.545/mile = $1,034.

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Negotiating an Indirect Cost Rate with the Department of the Interior: Entities that do not have a NICRA must first have an open, active Federal award before they can submit an indirect cost rate proposal to their cognizant agency. The Federal awarding agency that provides the largest amount of direct funding to your organization is your cognizant agency, unless otherwise assigned by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). If the Department of the Interior is your cognizant agency, your indirect cost rate will be negotiated by the Interior Business Center (IBC). For more information, contact the IBC at:

Indirect Cost Services Acquisition Services Directorate, Interior Business Center U.S. Department of the Interior 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 7-400 Sacramento, CA 95814 https://www.fws.gov/grants/atc.html

Phone: 916-930-3803 Email: Through https://www.doi.gov/ibc/contactus/ibcfeedback web form Internet address: https://www.doi.gov/ibc/services/finance/indirect-cost-services

F. Single Audit Reporting Statements: As required in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Subpart F, 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 a fiscal year must submit a Single Audit report for that year through the Federal Audit Clearinghouse’s Internet Data Entry System. All U.S. state, local government, federally-recognized Indian tribal government and non-profit applicants must provide a statement regarding if your organization was/was not required to submit a Single Audit report for the organization’s most recently closed fiscal year and, if so, state if that report is available on the Federal Audit Clearinghouse Single Audit Database website (https://harvester.census.gov/facweb/) and provide the EIN under which that report was submitted. Include these statements at the end of the Project Narrative in a section titled “Single Audit Reporting Statements”.

G. Assurances: Include the appropriate signed and dated Assurances form available at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html#sortby=1. Use the Assurances for Construction Programs (SF 424D) for construction and land acquisition projects. Use the Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF 424B) for all other projects. The form includes a statement that some of the assurances may not be applicable to your organization and/or your project or program. Signing this form does not make you or your organization subject to laws that are otherwise not applicable to you or your organization.

Changing, crossing out, or making notations on the form before signing has no impact on the applicability of law.

H. Certification and Disclosure of Lobbying Activities: Under Title 31 of the United States Code, Section 1352, an applicant or recipient must not use any federally appropriated funds (both annually appropriated and continuing appropriations) or matching funds under a grant or cooperative agreement award to pay any person for lobbying in connection with the award. Lobbying is defined as influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress connection with the award. Submission of an application also represents the applicant’s certification of the statements in 43 CFR Part 18, Appendix A- Certification Regarding Lobbying. If you/your organization have/has made or agrees to make any payment using non-appropriated funds for lobbying in connection with this proposal AND the Federal share exceeds $100,000, complete and submit the SF LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form available at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/post-award-reporting-forms.html#sortby=1. See 43 CFR, Subpart 18.100 for more information on when additional submission of this form is required.

I. Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Applicants must notify the Service in writing of any actual or potential conflicts of interest that are known at the time of application or that may arise during the life of this award, in the event an award is made. Conflicts of interest include any https://www.doi.gov/ibc/contactus/ibcfeedback https://www.doi.gov/ibc/services/finance/indirect-cost-services http://www.ecfr.gov/ http://www.ecfr.gov/ https://harvester.census.gov/facweb/ http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html#sortby=1 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=683823273fc0da6a1060883eda593fb8&mc=true&node=pt43.1.18&rgn=div5 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=683823273fc0da6a1060883eda593fb8&mc=true&node=pt43.1.18&rgn=div5 http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/post-award-reporting-forms.html#sortby=1 relationship or matter which might place the recipient, the recipient’s employees, or the recipient’s subrecipients in a position of conflict, real or apparent, between their responsibilities under the award and any other outside interests. Conflicts of interest may also include, but are not limited to, direct or indirect financial interests, close personal relationships, positions of trust in outside organizations, consideration of future employment arrangements with a different organization, or decision-making affecting the award that would cause a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts to question the impartiality of the applicant, the applicant’s employees, or the applicant’s future subrecipients in the matter. Applicants must notify the Service in writing in their application if any key project personnel, including subrecipient and contractor personnel, are known to be related to, married to, or have a close personal relationship with any Federal employee in or associated with the program to which you are applying for funding or who otherwise may be involved in the review and selection of the application. Upon receipt of such a notice, the Service program, in consultation with their Ethics Counselor, will determine if a conflict of interest exists and, if so, if there are any possible actions to be taken by the applicant to reduce or resolve the conflict. Failure to disclose and resolve conflicts of interest in a manner that satisfies the Service may result in the project not being select for funding.

Application Checklist

□ Evidence of non-profit status: If a non-profit organization, a copy of their Section 501(c)(3) or (4) status determination letter received from the Internal Revenue Service.

□ SF 424, Application for Federal Assistance: A complete, signed and dated SF 424, SF 424-Mandatory, or SF 424-Individual form.

□ Project narrative

□ Timetable

□ Single Audit Reporting statement: If a U.S. state, local government, federally-recognized Indian tribal government, or non-profit organization, statements regarding applicability of and compliance with Single Audit reporting requirements.

□ SF 424 budget form: A complete SF 424A or SF 424C Budget Information form.

□ Budget justification

□ Federally-funded equipment list: If Federally-funded equipment will be used for the project, a list of that equipment.

□ Indirect cost statement

□ NICRA: When applicable, a copy of the organization’s current Negotiated Indirect Cost

Rate Agreement.

□ SF 424 Assurances form: Signed and dated SF 424B or SF 424D Assurances form.

□ SF LLL form: If applicable, completed SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form.

□ Conflict of Interest disclosure, when applicable.

Failure to provide complete information may cause delays, postponement, or rejection of the application.

V. Submission Instructions SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 31 August 2018

Intergovernmental Review: Before submitting an application, U.S. state and local government applicants should visit the following website (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/grants_spoc) to determine whether their application is subject to the state intergovernmental review process under Executive Order (E.O.) 12372 “Intergovernmental review of Federal Programs.” E.O. 12372 was issued to foster the intergovernmental partnership and strengthen federalism by relying on state and local processes for the coordination and review of proposed Federal financial assistance and direct Federal development. The E.O. allows each state to designate an entity to perform this function. The official list of designated entities is posted on the website. Contact your state’s designated entity for more information on the process the state requires to be followed when applying for assistance. States that do not have a designated entity listed on the website have chosen not to participate in the review process.

Download the Application Package linked to this Funding Opportunity on Grants.gov to begin the application process. Downloading and saving the Application Package to your computer makes the required government-wide standard forms fillable and printable. Completed applications may be submitted by mail, by email, electronically through Grants.gov, or as otherwise described in the Grants.gov funding opportunity. Please select ONE of the submission options:

To submit an application by e-mail:

Format all of your documents to print on Letter size (8 ½” x 11”) paper. Format all pages to display and print page numbers. Scanned documents should be scanned in Letter format, as black and white images only. Where possible, save scanned documents in .pdf format. E-mail your application to the Service program point of contact identified in the Grants.gov funding opportunity.

The required SF 424 Application for Federal Assistance and Assurances forms and any other required standard forms MUST be signed by your organization’s authorized official. The Signature and Date fields on the standard forms downloaded from Grants.gov are pre-populated with the text “Completed by Grants.gov upon submission” or “Completed on submission to Grants.gov”. Remove this text (manually or digitally) before signing the forms.

To submit an application through Grants.gov:

Go to the Grants.gov Apply for Grants page (http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html) for an overview of the process to apply through Grants.gov. You/your organization must complete the Grants.gov registration process before submitting an application through Grants.gov. Registration can take between three to five business days, or as long as two weeks if all steps are not completed in a timely manner.

Important note on Grants.gov application attachment file names: Please do not assign application attachments file names longer than 20 characters, including spaces. Assigning file http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html names longer than 20 characters will create issues in the automatic interface between Grants.gov and the Service’s financial assistance management system.

VII. Award Administration Award Notices: Following review, applicants may be requested to revise the project scope and/or budget before an award is made. Successful applicants will receive written notice in the form of a notice of award document. Notices of award are typically sent to recipients by e-mail.

If e-mail notification is unsuccessful, the documents will be sent by courier mail (e.g., FedEx, DHL or UPS). Award recipients are not required to sign/return the Notice of Award document.

Acceptance of an award is defined as starting work, drawing down funds, or accepting the award via electronic means. Awards are based on the application submitted to, and as approved by, the Service. The notice of award document will include instructions specific to each recipient on how to request payment. If applicable, the instructions will detail any additional information/forms required and where to submit payment requests.

Domestic Recipient Payments: Prior to award, the Service program office will contact you/your organization to either enroll in the U.S. Treasury’s Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) system or, if eligible, obtain approval from the Department of the Interior to be waived from using ASAP.

Transmittal of Sensitive Data: Recipients are responsible for ensuring any sensitive data being sent to the Service is protected during its transmission/delivery. The Service strongly recommends that recipients use the most secure transmission/delivery method available. The Service recommends the following digital transmission methods: secure digital faxing; encrypted emails; emailing a password protected zipped/compressed file attachment in one email followed by the password in a second email; or emailing a zipped/compressed file attachment. The Service strongly encourages recipients sending sensitive data in paper copy to use a courier mail service. Recipients may also contact their Service Project Officer and provide any sensitive data over the telephone.

Award Terms and Conditions: Acceptance of a financial assistance award (i.e., grant or cooperative agreement) from the Service carries with it the responsibility to be aware of and comply…