Collaborative Sagebrush Conservation fot the Future: Science-Based Evaluations | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The funding opportunity titled "Collaborative Sagebrush Conservation for the Future: Science-Based Evaluations" (Funding Opportunity Number F16AS00319) is a U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service discretionary grant offered through a cooperative agreement. It was created on July 5, 2016, with an original closing date of July 12, 2016. The announcement is a notice of intent to make a single-source award, meaning the agency planned to fund one specific recipient rather than run a fully open competition. In this case, the intended recipient is the University of Montana under the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). The notice cites Department of the Interior policy (505 DM 2) and relies on justifications tied to continuation and unique qualifications. The award ceiling is listed at $2,000,000, and the agency expected to make one award.

Programmatically, the opportunity centers on applied, science-driven sagebrush ecosystem conservation, with a strong emphasis on coordinating conservation actions across multiple landownerships and measuring real biological outcomes. The work is framed around priority watersheds that the partners mutually agree upon, which signals a collaborative approach where federal, state, local, tribal, and private interests can align around shared geographic priorities rather than operating in isolated project areas. The activity category is "Science and Technology and other Research and Development," which reflects that this is not only an implementation grant for on-the-ground treatments, but also a research and evaluation effort intended to improve how conservation is targeted, tracked, and assessed.

A major on-the-ground task is controlling invading conifers in priority watersheds. In many sagebrush landscapes, conifer expansion (often juniper or pinyon) can gradually displace sagebrush and associated understory vegetation, changing habitat structure, altering hydrology, and increasing the risk of more severe fire behavior. This grant opportunity anticipates active conifer control as a core conservation practice where it is agreed to be a priority, tying the work to watershed-scale planning rather than piecemeal treatments.

Another central component is implementing conservation practices across landownership boundaries to reduce wildfire risk and invasive species spread. The announcement specifically references practices identified by the FIAT in the Great Basin, and indicates that similar tools would be used in the Rocky Mountain states as they become available. This implies a decision-support framework where data and analytical tools help identify where treatments are likely to provide the greatest benefit, such as areas with high fire risk, high ecological value, or high vulnerability to invasive annual grasses. The cross-boundary language is important because fire and invasive species do not respect property lines, so the program is designed to encourage coordinated treatments at the scale that matches the ecological problem.

Wet meadow restoration and enhancement is also highlighted, again within mutually agreed priority watersheds. Wet meadows in sagebrush systems can be disproportionately important for biodiversity, late-season water availability, and as resilient habitat features during drought and fire. Restoring and enhancing these meadow systems typically aims to improve hydrologic function, vegetation condition, and habitat quality, which can benefit a wide range of wildlife and stabilize watershed processes.

A defining feature of the opportunity is the development of science tools that improve conservation delivery and accountability. The announcement calls for tools that refine how priority practices are delivered, that jointly track implementation, and that assess the benefits and quantify biological outcomes. In practical terms, this points to building or improving shared monitoring and evaluation systems: aligning partners on what was done, where it occurred, how it was implemented, and what measurable ecological responses followed. The focus on quantifying biological outcomes signals that the effort is meant to go beyond reporting acres treated and instead connect actions to measurable changes, such as habitat condition, species responses, or reductions in risk factors like fire probability or invasive cover.

The program also includes a communications coordination role intended to amplify the outcomes achieved through conservation. This suggests a structured approach to sharing results, lessons learned, and demonstrated benefits with partners, decision-makers, and potentially the public. In a large, multi-partner conservation effort, communications is often treated as a technical deliverable because consistent messaging and transparent reporting can support continued collaboration, improve adoption of effective practices, and justify future investments.

Finally, where appropriate, the opportunity includes coordinating planning and implementation of range structural improvements. Range structural improvements can include items like fencing, water developments, and other infrastructure that supports grazing management, habitat protection, or restoration objectives. The wording suggests these improvements are not the sole purpose of the award but are included as supportive actions when they help achieve the broader sagebrush conservation, fire risk reduction, invasive species management, and meadow restoration goals.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a combined implementation-and-evaluation cooperative agreement: it funds coordinated, watershed-priority conservation actions in sagebrush landscapes while simultaneously investing in the scientific tools and tracking systems needed to target treatments better, measure outcomes more credibly, and communicate results more effectively across a large partnership network.

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