Zoonotic Disease Initiative

The USFWS is no longer making new awards under this program. The Assistance Listing remains active to allow the Service to close all currently open awards and report any associated amendments to government-wide systems that require the identification

The USFWS is no longer making new awards under this program. The Assistance Listing remains active to allow the Service to close all currently open awards and report any associated amendments to government-wide systems that require the identification of an active Assistance Listing number as a key reporting element.

State - Any agency or instrumentality of the fifty States and the District of Columbia excluding the political subdivisions of State, but state designated Indian Tribal governments. Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Government - The governing body or a governmental agency of an Indian tribe, Nation, pueblo, or other organized group or community (including any Native village as defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act) certified by the special programs and services provided through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. U.S. territory or possession - Any agency or instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands, and the Mariana Islands.

The American Rescue Plan provides financial assistance "for research and extension activities to strengthen early detection, rapid response, and science-based management to address wildlife disease outbreaks before they become pandemics and strengthen capacity for wildlife health monitoring to enhance early detection of diseases that have capacity to jump the species barrier and pose a risk in the United States." Funding will be used to establish and enhance Tribal, State, and Territorial fish and wildlife agencies' capability to effectively address health issues involving free-ranging terrestrial, avian, and aquatic wildlife and minimize the negative impacts of health issues affecting free-ranging wildlife through surveillance, management, and research to protect the public against zoonotic disease outbreaks. This new federal assistance program is designed to bring wildlife agencies to readiness against future pandemics and encourage them to coordinate their efforts regionally across state and Tribal boundaries. Assistance will be available for a range of activities with the goal of the program to strengthen the foundation of an interjurisdictional landscape-level wildlife health and disease network to protect wildlife, ecosystems, economies, and the American public. This goal is supported by the following objectives: 1. Wildlife managers have a current, evidence-based wildlife disease plan which considers: a. Disease surveillance and techniques for surveillance strategies b. Diagnostic pathology, microbiology, virology, parasitology, toxicology procedures, and biosafety c. Outbreak response d. Host population management e. Regulatory and policy response f. Data management g. Risk assessment and decision support h. Training i. Communication plans so that key entities receive and understand information about wildlife diseases in a timely manner. 2. State, territorial, and Tribal managers in the same regions are connected in an interjurisdictional network of practitioners. 3. Wildlife managers have access to diagnostic services for wildlife disease. 4. Wildlife managers have capacity to manage wildlife health data, data sharing, and communication. Project length is one to three years. Applicants must fill out a survey at the beginning and end of their project. This survey is designed to evaluate the ARP ZDI financial assistance program and will not be used to evaluate individual proposals.

Grant funds are available once the proposal review process is complete, and FWS Director award concurrence is signed and all of the necessary NEPA compliance documentation is completed. Proposals should be written for the shortest duration needed to accomplish project objectives and funding is available until the closing date of the project grant. Grants may be extended if necessary.

Selection will be based on the merits of the proposal. Proposals must explain how the applicant will build an interjurisdictional landscape-level wildlife health and disease network to protect wildlife, ecosystems, economies, and the American public. Selection factors will be rated numerically and are as follows: Wildlife health management plan-10, Communications-10, Diagnostic access-10, Diagnostic access-10, Jurisdictions, authorities, and policies-10, Data and information management-10, Wildlife health capacity building-10, Training offered-10, Human dimensions-10, Occupational and public health-10, One Health concepts, including zoonotic disease prevention and management, are integrated throughout the proposal-2, Proposal has scientific merit, peer reviewed references provided-1, Clear writing, organized proposal-1, Methods and funding requested are commensurate with the proposed objectives-1, Innovative proposal and actions can be replicated elsewhere-1, Hiring practices or access to services show diversity, equity, and inclusion-1. Proposal narratives must be 10 pages or less. Proposals will be rated by numeric score by qualified reviewers. Reviewers will be Federal veterinarians, biologists, ecologists, or social scientists or data management specialists. Qualifications will be verified by General Schedule professional qualifications. Selections will be documented by aggregated scoring sheets and memorandum to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director, filed in Science Applications Headquarters office. Proposals will be scored individually by 3 reviewers per proposal. All reviewers will be required to verify they have no conflict of interest with any proposal or applicant organization. Scores will be aggregated by the selection facilitator/grant specialist and then a meeting held to discuss scoring and to rank proposals. If reviewers have feedback or questions for applicants, grant specialist will communicate with applicants to suggest improvements or budget changes for approved projects. Unfunded projects will be notified through GrantSolutions (www.grantsolutions.gov). All project selections will be approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director or designate. Selected proposals will be published on our website no more than 120 days from proposal due date.

Applications for funding will be reviewed by federal subject matter experts and approved by the Service Director or designate. Awards will be issued through GrantSolutions.

April 20, 2023

Recipients may request funding for a subsequent year of a currently funded project. However, these requests are subject to the same submission, review, and approval requirements as all new applications. Recipients may request approval for budget and project plan revisions of funded projects, including period of performance and reporting due date extensions, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.