| Washington State Request for Intent Forms and Proposals for the
2009 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund
- Recovery Land Acquisition Grants
- Habitat Conservation
Plan Land Acquisition Grants
- Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance grants
Overview
This is the State of Washington announcement of a joint state-federal Request for Intent Forms and 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.
| Grant program |
Recovery
Land Acquisition |
HCP Land
Acquisition |
HC Planning
Assistance |
| $ available
nationwide in 2008 |
$13.9 million |
$35 million |
$7.5 million |
| $ awarded to
WA state in 2008 |
No funds awarded to WA state |
$7 million awarded to 2 proposals |
$1.3 million awarded to 2 proposals |
| Purpose |
Purchase lands
or conservation easements that support approved recovery plans
for listed species.
Not for management
or planning, not for HCP-associated lands, not for mitigation.
|
Purchase lands
that complement conservation provided by a permitted HCP, provide
species and ecosystem conservation benefits.
Not for management
or planning, not for mitigation.
|
Plan and develop
HCPs (an HCP is a habitat conservation plan that supports incidental
take permit issuance).
Not for mitigation.
|
| Due Date |
Intent Form
due June 2, 2008;
Full proposal
likely due in July or August 2008
Download intent form: MS
Word / Adobe PDF
|
Full proposal likely due in July or August 2008
|
| USFWS contact |
Joanne
Stellini (360) 753-4323 joanne_stellini@fws.gov
Contact for general information about this program if you are not
already working closely with the USFWS or either state agency’s
contacts (listed below) on your grant proposal. |
| WDFW contacts |
Elizabeth
Rodrick (360) 902-2696 rodriear@dfw.wa.gov
|
Jane Banyard
(360) 902-2572
banyajrb@dfw.wa.gov |
| DNR contact |
Omroa
Bhagwandin (360) 902-1059 omroa.bhagwandin@wadnr.gov |
|
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:
Download intent
form: MS Word / Adobe PDF 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 must
first submit an Intent Form (download form from this site) to have the state
consider sponsoring your proposal. Intent forms are due by 5 p.m. (close
of business) on Monday, June 2, 2008, and should be submitted electronically
to: joanne_stellini@fws.gov
No Intent Form is needed if you are seeking a grant for HCP development.
If WDFW or DNR chooses to sponsor your project, you will have to submit a
full proposal.
Due Date for Proposals Not Yet Determined:
Full proposals for all three grant programs may be due as early
as July 2008. An exact date will be determined and posted to this website
once the national
Request for Proposals is released. Please check back.
More information
about the grant programs and how to apply for a grant follows:
- Information & Links
- How to Submit a Proposal in Washington State (will
be updated for 2009 – check
back after May)
- Information Required in a Proposal in Washington State
(will be updated for 2009 – check back after May)
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. The national information on this website is expected to be updated
in June
2008. Changes in the 2009 national grant program are expected.
- 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.
- 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
- Will be updated
for 2009 – check
back after May
Information Required in a Proposal in Washington State
- Will be updated
for 2009 – check
back after May
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