Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund "Section 6"

Non-Traditional "Section 6" Conservation Grant Program

What's Already Happened?

Washington State Request for Proposals for the 2009 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund

• Recovery Land Acquisition Grants
• Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition Grants
• Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance Grants

Introduction

This is the updated State of Washington announcement of a joint state-federal Request for Proposals for grants under the 2009 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund. This national fund is established pursuant to Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act, which calls for federal government cooperation with states to conserve threatened and endangered species.

Parties seeking grant funds to protect lands in perpetuity for habitat conservation may apply for a Recovery Land Acquisition grant or a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) Land Acquisition grant. Parties seeking grant funds to plan and develop an HCP may apply for a Habitat Conservation (HC) Planning Assistance grant.  All three programs are briefly described in the following table.

Land acquisition proposals should be submitted by the entity that will help acquire, or will conserve, the land. Planning proposals should be submitted by the entity who will be seeking a federal incidental take permit.

Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR), together with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), have developed a joint federal-state process for developing and reviewing grant proposals in Washington State. Parties in Washington state interested in applying for these grants must follow state guidance in this website AND federal guidance at http://endangered.fws.gov/grants/section6/index.html 

If you have never applied for one of these grants, first determine if your project has the ability to meet basic grant program criteria by reading through the federal website indicated above. Remember:

• Projects should be submitted by entities that will conserve land or develop HCPs
• Land must be conserved and managed in perpetuity for the species intended to benefit
• A minimum 25% non-federal cost share/match must be provided for each project
• These grants are highly competitive and projects submitted may not be funded

Then, if you believe your project meets the criteria, call the USFWS contact indicated in the table above.

Intent Forms Required for Land Acquisition Grants

Whether or not you have previously applied for a grant under either of the two land acquisition programs above, in the State of Washington you needed to first submit an Intent Form to have the state consider sponsoring your proposal. Intent forms were due by 5 p.m. (close of business) on Monday, June 2, 2008.

No Intent Form is needed if you are seeking a grant for HCP development.

If WDFW or DNR chose to sponsor your project, you will now have to submit a full proposal. 

Due Dates for Proposals 

Full proposals for the HC Planning Assistance grant program are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, August 29, 2008. 

Full proposals for both the HCP Land Acquisition and Recovery Land Acquisition grant programs are due by 9 a.m. on Tuesday, September 2, 2008. 

More information about the grant programs and how to apply for a grant follows:

• Information & Links
• How to Submit a Proposal in Washington State
• Required Elements of a Proposal in Washington State

Information & Links

This Washington state announcement contains partial grant program information, so you MUST also access the USFWS website at http://endangered.fws.gov/grants/section6/index.html for national grant program information, evaluation factors, and scoring criteria. As expected, there are some changes in the 2009 national grant program that may affect your proposal. 

Both land acquisition grant programs are intended to benefit USFWS-listed (threatened and endangered) species through permanent protection of their habitat.  Projects focused on salmon recovery may not be competitive, since salmon are not listed by USFWS. These grants are NOT for, and cannot be used to pay for: ground-moving activities, habitat restoration or enhancement, or compensatory or required mitigation.

Points will be given to proposals that benefit species the USFWS has listed as endangered or threatened, has designated as proposed or candidate species, and/or are covered by a USFWS-permitted habitat conservation plan, and/or have a completed federal recovery plan. 

For Westside species, their legal status, and listed species recovery priority numbers:

• http://www.fws.gov/westwafwo/pdf/species_list.pdf

For Eastside species and their legal status:

• http://www.fws.gov/easternwashington/species/countySppLists.html

For a list of federal recovery plans:

• http://www.fws.gov/westwafwo/pdf/Restoration_plans_WWFWO.pdf  or
• http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/TESSWebpageRecovery?sort=1

Points will be given to proposals that benefit Washington State-listed species. See http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/concern.htm for Washington State-listed species.

Points will not be given for listed salmon. However, additional consideration may be given to proposals that benefit threatened or endangered salmon under the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries). For listed salmon information, see http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/fish/ 

Proposals will be reviewed, scored, and ranked by a joint state-federal process. A prioritized list of proposals for Washington State will then be forwarded for consideration at higher federal review levels. Awards for Recovery Land Acquisition will be determined by USFWS at the regional level; awards for HCP Land Acquisition and HC Planning Assistance will be determined by USFWS at the national level. 

USFWS expects to announce the 2009 award selection by summer 2009, pending appropriations. Availability of awarded funds should be planned for no sooner than July 1, 2009.

If a proposal successfully competes for funding, federal money will be awarded to the proposal proponent through the sponsoring state agency. That state agency (WDFW or DNR) will add a “project coordination cost” (similar to an administrative fee), into your proposal budget before submission. A budget sheet template will be provided by the state agency sponsoring your proposal. Be sure to contact agency staff indicated on the budget sheet template in order to finalize your proposal’s budget.

Federal land acquisition grant programs only fund the purchase of land at fair market value, from willing sellers. Fair market value must be determined by appraisals performed in accordance with the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions. We recommend that landowners --particularly forest owners-- determine an accurate estimate of such fair market value for their properties prior to submitting a grant request, to more closely align value and expectations.

How to Submit a Proposal in Washington State

To develop and submit a proposal in the State of Washington, for a 2009 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund grant, follow the steps below. Then, before you submit your proposal, review these steps and check off each if you have accomplished that step.

Review each grant program’s description, eligibility criteria, and ranking factors at the federal website at http://endangered.fws.gov/grants/section6/index.html

Prepare documents specified under “Information Required in a Proposal in Washington State” at this website for the grant program that best fits with your proposal. Only Word format can be accepted for text, budgets should be prepared in Excel on templates provided by the state agency sponsoring your proposal, and maps should be provided as jpg. files.

For each proposal, submit 5 identical paper originals, as well as a CD with files for the cover sheet, project statement, attachments, budget sheet, and maps, in person or by mail. No electronic versions of proposals will be accepted by email.

Proposals must be received by the dates and times indicated above.

Proposals (5 hard copies + CD) may be delivered to the reception desk at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Western Washington office, located on St. Martin’s campus, 510 Desmond Drive SE, Lacey, WA.

OR

Proposals (5 hard copies + CD) may be mailed to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 510 Desmond Drive SE, #102, Lacey, WA  98503-1263. Attention: Joanne Stellini. (Be sure to allow ample mailing time, postmarks will not be considered.)

Late proposals will not be considered. Proposals will not be accepted by fax or email.

Required Elements for a Proposal in Washington State

• All pages within a proposal must be on standard size (8.5" x 11") paper, using 12-point font.
• Pages of a proposal may only be bound with a single binder clip.
• All pages must be single-sided. Sequentially number your project statement and attachments.
• Attachments should contain information integral to your project proposal.
• Do not include your own cover letter, organizational folders, or “special effects”. 
• Pages in excess of the number allowed below will be discarded.

Only the following items should be submitted, in the order listed. 

Cover Sheet  (required, 1 page only) Download Cover Sheet: [MS Word] [PDF]

Project Statement  (required, up to 7 pages, using 12-point font) Download Statement: [MS Word] [PDF]

Attachments  (optional, up to 4 pages, on standard size paper, no font requirement)

Budget Sheet  (required, 1 page only) [obtain template from WDFW or DNR contact]

Maps  Required, in color, up to 4 pages, cannot exceed 8.5" x 11" paper, need to show project location in relation to nearby ownerships/designations (identify federal, state, protected, private lands), and need to show specific parcels proposed for acquisition

Optional: show project site relative to habitat/species info, habitat management designations, overall project/project phases, and location within Washington State.

Your budget sheet must be accurate and must be coordinated with the sponsoring state agency contact listed on the budget sheet before submission. Be sure your budget sheet figures are consistent with figures on your cover sheet and in your Project Statement. If your proposal is awarded funds, you may be asked to supply additional budget detail, so be sure costs and cost share/match are supportable.

Have several others proofread your application for mistakes, redundancies, and to ensure that you have addressed each of the evaluation criteria in your narrative.

There is no need to include Standard Form 424 with your proposal (per the federal website). This will be handled by the appropriate state agency.