Service Training and Technical Assistance (Generic Training)

The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service is funding training, meetings, workshops, and conferences that promote public conservation awareness under CFDA 15.649, with the most recent grant award dated October 1, 2017.

The program remains inactive for new competitive solicitation. The most recent grant opportunities posted in September 2017 (due dates of September 8 and September 13, 2017) have already closed, and no open opportunities are currently posted. The program has not issued new awards since October 2017, marking nine years of dormancy in terms of grant disbursement activity. Historically, the program operated at a moderate pace: between 2013 and 2017, award volume ranged from 16 to 51 per year, with a total of 437 awards issued since 1999.

Funded activities span youth conservation programs, environmental education outreach, wildlife advocacy training, habitat restoration partnerships, and diversity workforce development initiatives. Representative recent awards include a $30,000 cooperative agreement to Northwoods Stewardship Center for extended population monitoring; multiple $19,000 to $49,000 cooperative agreements to Hispanic Access Foundation for youth conservation programming at national wildlife refuges; a $38,244 project grant to Tribal Alliance for Pollinators; and a $609,705 cooperative agreement supporting Arctic Council conservation efforts. Smaller grants funded conference sponsorships (typically $2,500 to $25,000), AmeriCorps program operations, and specialized training development.

The program combines predominantly Cooperative Agreements (57 percent, 250 awards) with Project Grants (42 percent, 185 awards), plus two Block Grants. The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service administered the vast majority—415 awards totaling $21.2 million in federal dollars obligated. Regional offices (Regions 5, 9, 1, 7, and 2) collectively managed 20 awards worth approximately $3.8 million. Combined federal and non-federal dollars obligated totaled $26 million across 437 awards. Recent awards cluster in the $10,000 to $50,000 range for most cooperative agreements and project grants, with occasional larger multi-year initiatives reaching $100,000 to $900,000.

Without active grant opportunities, this program should be monitored rather than actively pursued until the Fish and Wildlife Service resumes posting new solicitations or announces intent to reactivate funding.