Habitat Assessment and Accounting Infrastructure | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

Habitat Assessment and Accounting Infrastructure (Funding Opportunity Number FWS 10 ES GLRI 35) is a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) discretionary funding opportunity offered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Region 3, using a cooperative agreement funding instrument. The central purpose is to strengthen the geospatial and data infrastructure needed to understand habitat conditions across the Great Lakes Basin over time. In practical terms, the program is trying to improve the ability of agencies and partners to describe where important habitats are located, how they are changing, and where restoration or protection investments should be targeted. The opportunity emphasizes basin-wide habitat assessment and habitat accounting, meaning consistent, defensible approaches for tracking changes in landscapes and ecosystems and translating that information into decision support for conservation and restoration priorities.

The grant is built around the idea that the Great Lakes region needs better, more coordinated geospatial information to evaluate past, present, and future habitat conditions within and surrounding the Great Lakes system. Applicants are asked to propose work that addresses specific geospatial information needs identified by the program, paired with an associated geographic focus within the Great Lakes Basin. Proposals do not have to address every information need; applicants can focus on the subset that matches their capabilities and priorities. The Service also indicates it may adjust award amounts up or down based on the scale of the proposed work and the priority of needs reflected across submissions, which signals that proposals will be weighed against each other in terms of regional value, feasibility, and alignment with the most pressing gaps.

A strong theme throughout the announcement is technical capacity in modern geospatial methods and the ability to operate at large, basin-wide scales. The opportunity explicitly calls for expertise in remote sensing and geospatial systems, including the use and production of OGC-compliant datasets (standards that support interoperable web mapping and data services). It also highlights the value of open source geospatial software applications, suggesting a preference for approaches that are transparent, cost-effective, and easier to share across organizations. Another major focus is handling “massive data archiving and distribution over the web,” which points to needs such as hosting large imagery or map products, building web-accessible data services, maintaining metadata, and enabling partners to discover and use information without barriers. In addition, the program emphasizes geospatial habitat assessment and wetland mapping approaches and standards specific to the Great Lakes region, reflecting a desire for consistent methods that allow comparisons across jurisdictions and over time.

Wetlands appear to be a particularly important component of the work. The announcement specifically mentions knowledge related to wetland mapping approaches and standards in the Great Lakes region and calls out conversion of Wisconsin Wetland Inventory (WWI) data to the National Wetland Inventory (NWI) format. That detail suggests a practical objective of improving crosswalks and compatibility between state and federal wetland datasets so the region can use consistent classifications and formats for basin-scale assessments. In other words, part of the infrastructure challenge is not only producing new maps, but also standardizing and integrating existing datasets so they support region-wide habitat accounting and reporting.

Competitive preference is clearly tied to demonstrated Great Lakes experience and partnerships. The USFWS states that preference will be given to proposals that document prior Great Lakes projects and provide evidence such as project websites, references, and established partnerships. The partnership emphasis spans international, federal, state, local, tribal, and nonprofit conservation partners, reflecting how Great Lakes conservation is inherently multi-jurisdictional. Proposals that show they can coordinate across entities, share data effectively, and build on existing efforts (rather than duplicating them) are positioned to be more compelling. This is also consistent with the cooperative agreement instrument, which typically implies substantial involvement by the federal agency during the project and a collaborative relationship rather than a hands-off grant.

Funding for the opportunity is estimated at $1.6 million total, with an expected eight awards. Individual awards range from a $10,000 floor to a $500,000 ceiling, and there is no cost-sharing or matching requirement, which lowers the barrier for eligible entities that may not have access to non-federal match. The CFDA program number associated with this opportunity is 15.608 (Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance). The announcement was posted April 20, 2010, with an original and current closing date of May 2, 2010, and an archive date of June 1, 2010.

Eligible applicants include a broad mix of public, academic, tribal, and nonprofit organizations: state governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; other tribal organizations; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (with the note that eligibility distinctions apply when nonprofits are not institutions of higher education). This eligibility range aligns with the program’s emphasis on partnerships and suggests the Service is open to proposals from entities that can deliver technically strong geospatial products and help operationalize them for Great Lakes habitat decision-making.

For assistance accessing the full announcement, the contact listed is Brian Huberty at 612-713-5332 (USFWS).

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