Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) is the state's primary wildlife management agency responsible for conserving Florida's fish, wildlife, and natural resources across terrestrial, marine, and freshwater environments. As a state government entity registered in SAM.gov since May 2001, the FFWCC receives and manages substantial federal funding through both contract and grant mechanisms to support comprehensive wildlife conservation, habitat restoration, species protection, and recreational access initiatives. The Commission serves as a critical partner to federal agencies in implementing national conservation priorities while advancing Florida's State Wildlife Action Plan objectives for species of greatest conservation need and strategic habitat conservation.

The FFWCC has demonstrated significant capacity in contract performance, having received a $44,500 firm-fixed price contract from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2022 to provide Geographic Response Strategy updates, hosting, and resource mapping for Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg to support oil spill planning and response activities. Under this contract, the Commission collected and updated spatial data for geographic response strategy maps in an enterprise geodatabase, produced printable GRS maps and site reports, and hosted updated GRS data and maps online through its Oil Spill Planning & Response Map Viewer and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Environmental Response Management Application. This represents the primary direct federal contract award documented in the FFWCC's recent history, with no designated set-asides applied to the contract and no indication of federal contract vehicle status for the organization. The Commission's contract work demonstrates its technical expertise in geographic information systems, data management, and interagency coordination for emergency response infrastructure.

The FFWCC has been awarded numerous federal grants totaling tens of millions of dollars across multiple federal agencies and grant programs, establishing the organization as a major recipient of federal conservation and recreational funding. Grant awards have been provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4 under programs including the State Wildlife Grants (CFDA 15.634), Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety (CFDA 15.611), Sport Fish Restoration (CFDA 15.605), Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act (CFDA 15.622), and Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.615), with individual awards ranging from approximately $130,000 to over $13.8 million. Recent notable grants include a $643,685.20 State Wildlife Grants award for Frosted Elfin butterfly conservation, a $654,627 formula grant for sandhill and wetland restoration projects benefiting imperiled species such as gopher tortoises and southeastern American kestrels, a $5.4 million Sport Fish Restoration award for freshwater fisheries management including stocking 2 million fish and conducting assessments on 200 water bodies, a $13.8 million Wildlife Restoration award for management of 84 Wildlife Management Areas covering 4.55 million acres, and multiple million-dollar awards for transient boater infrastructure improvements and marine/estuarine habitat restoration. The Commission has also received grants from the U.S. Coast Guard for boating safety programs exceeding $9.5 million, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for red snapper management research and hurricane fishery disaster relief, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service for technical assistance on agricultural and forest land conservation, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for port security initiatives. Grant-funded activities encompass species monitoring and conservation for threatened and endangered species including bat species, beach mice, panthers, and indigo snakes; habitat restoration and acquisition including coral reef restoration, oyster habitat creation, wetland enhancement, and sandhill preservation; recreational access infrastructure including boat ramp construction and marina dock expansion; hunter education and shooting range operations and improvements; freshwater and saltwater fisheries research and management; and habitat conservation plan development. Sub-grant awards to the FFWCC have been provided through the State of Florida Division of Emergency Management for wildlife area improvements and marine debris removal, and through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for an ecosystem services pilot program supporting Florida panther habitat maintenance.