F24AS00241_Fiscal Year 2024_Tribal Wildlife Grant Program (TWG)_Funding Opportunity Announcement | F24AS00241

Opportunity Information: Apply for F24AS00241

F24AS00241 is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Tribal Wildlife Grants (TWG) Program (CFDA 15.639). The program is designed to help federally recognized Tribal governments develop and carry out wildlife conservation work that benefits wildlife populations, their habitats, and species that hold Tribal cultural or traditional importance, including species that are not hunted or fished. TWG sits within the broader, Congressionally authorized State and Tribal Wildlife Grant (STWG) framework, grounded in authorities such as the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and it is intended to expand and strengthen Tribal participation in fish and wildlife conservation on Tribal lands.

The focus of the funded work is practical conservation that supports healthy ecosystems and sustained wildlife populations. Many TWG-funded projects are framed around improving or restoring habitat, supporting species management, monitoring, planning, and other conservation actions that can increase fish and wildlife populations. A frequent downstream benefit is improved hunting and fishing opportunities both on and off Tribal lands when conservation actions improve broader regional populations and habitat connectivity. The opportunity also explicitly ties to Endangered Species Act (ESA) priorities by funding activities that align with, support, or complement ESA conservation outcomes, such as helping prevent new listings, supporting recovery actions that could lead to delisting, or contributing to steps that move species toward recovery-based status changes.

Eligibility is limited to federally recognized Tribal governments. The announcement points applicants to the official Bureau of Indian Affairs list of federally recognized Tribes published in the Federal Register (the most recent notice referenced is 89 FR 944, January 8, 2024). While only federally recognized Tribal governments can apply as the prime applicant, Tribal organizations and other entities can still participate through the Tribe as subrecipients or contractors, meaning a Tribe can bring in technical partners, nonprofits, consultants, universities, or other support organizations as part of the project team as long as the Tribe remains the applicant and award recipient.

A major administrative theme in this funding announcement is accountability on prior TWG awards. To apply for new TWG funding, applicant Tribes must have all required administrative and fiscal reporting for any open TWG grants brought up to date. After a proposal is received, the Service will notify the applicant within five business days if there are outstanding reporting problems, and the Tribe will then have 30 days to correct them. If past-due reports are not brought current within that 30-day window, the proposal is deemed ineligible and removed from consideration for the FY 2024 cycle. The notice specifically mentions overdue interim or final performance reports and interim or final financial status reports as examples of issues that must be resolved.

The announcement also flags additional review when a Tribe applies while already holding two or more active TWG projects. In those cases, the Service will examine why existing awards remain open and check for correctable implementation issues before moving forward with consideration of a new proposal. Tribes with a track record of effective use of TWG funds are not expected to be penalized by this review. However, if a Tribe has taken no significant action on an existing award, the Tribe may be found ineligible for additional TWG funding until correctable problems are addressed. The announcement gives examples of potential paths to resolution: demonstrating measurable progress on the inactive grant, clarifying that the "no action" characterization is incorrect, or canceling the inactive grant so remaining obligated funds can be recovered and made available to other Tribes in a future cycle.

Key opportunity details in the source data include an original closing date of June 21, 2024, a maximum award ceiling of $200,000, an activity category of Natural Resources, and the funding instrument type listed as a grant. The opportunity is administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, created on February 21, 2024.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F24AS00241_Fiscal Year 2024_Tribal Wildlife Grant Program (TWG)_Funding Opportunity Announcement" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.639.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-21. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

Apply for F24AS00241

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