Research Grants (Generic) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What agency is offering this funding opportunity?

This opportunity is offered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) as a discretionary funding opportunity under the "Research Grants (Generic)" umbrella.

2) What type of award is this?

It is a cooperative agreement, which means FWS expects substantial involvement with the recipient during the project (as opposed to a more hands-off grant).

3) What is the main purpose of the project?

The project focuses on applied wildlife population science for ungulates (such as sheep and deer) using life history and demographic parameters to explain and predict natural year-to-year population variability, and then translating the findings into practical guidance for wildlife managers. The intent is to produce management-relevant population models to support better decisions about conservation, translocations, and hunting/harvest rules.

4) Is this basic research or applied/management-focused work?

It is explicitly management-focused. The project is intended to generate population models and practical guidance that can be used by wildlife management agencies, rather than serving as basic research only.

5) Which species are included in the scope of work?

The scope emphasizes ungulates such as sheep and deer, and it builds from earlier work on American pronghorn in the Southwest.

6) What are the three central research questions the project will address?

The notice describes three connected questions:

• Estimating the minimum population size at which an ungulate population is unlikely to go extinct (demographic thresholds for persistence).
• Comparing research-based persistence and extinction-risk recommendations (including estimated persistence times) to the population targets and operating assumptions currently used by game management agencies across the southwestern United States.
• Modeling how different levels of animal removals from source herds (for translocations or re-establishment efforts) affect the source population trajectory over time, to understand how much can be removed without undermining the donor herd.

7) What does the opportunity mean by "minimum population size" and "thresholds for persistence"?

Based on the notice, the project will use demographic modeling to identify the minimum population size at which an ungulate population is unlikely to go extinct, effectively creating a demographic threshold for persistence and estimating persistence times.

8) What geographic region is emphasized?

The work is intended to support management across the southwestern United States, especially when comparing model-based recommendations to the targets and assumptions used by game management agencies in that region.

9) Does the project aim to be useful beyond a single state or herd?

Yes. A major emphasis is that the modeling approach should be broadly useful across multiple ungulate species and not be limited to a single herd or a single state. The project aims to produce tools and rules-of-thumb usable in the Southwest and in other regions with similar species and challenges.

10) How does this project relate to earlier FWS work on pronghorn?

The notice states this agreement builds directly on a prior FWS-NMSU effort (F13AC00236) that investigated population trends and predicted trajectories for American pronghorn in the Southwest. That earlier work identified climatic drivers associated with declines and suggested larger populations may be more buffered and persist longer. This new project extends that logic by quantifying how population size relates to persistence and extinction risk, moving toward population viability and management thresholds.

11) What kinds of management decisions is this project meant to inform?

The expected outputs are intended to improve agency decision-making on:

• Conservation planning for ungulate populations
• Translocations and use of source (donor) herds
• Hunting/harvest regulations, which depend on expectations about population growth, variability, and resilience

12) What does the project say about removals from "source" herds?

The notice explains that FWS and state partners sometimes remove animals from source herds to support other herds or re-establish populations elsewhere. The project will model how varying removal levels affect the source population trajectory over time to help determine what levels of removals may be done without undermining the donor herd.

13) How many awards does FWS anticipate making under this notice?

The anticipated number of awards is one.

14) Is this a competitive opportunity?

The notice is a Notice of Intent to make a single-source award to New Mexico State University, with one anticipated award.

15) Who is eligible to apply, according to the notice?

Eligible applicants are public and state-controlled institutions of higher education.

16) What is the estimated funding amount for this opportunity?

The estimated total funding is $90,000.

17) What are the award floor and award ceiling?

The award floor is $65,000 and the award ceiling is $90,000.

18) Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. The notice states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.

19) When was this opportunity posted and when did it close?

It was posted on July 23, 2015, and the closing date listed is July 29, 2015.

20) What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?

The program is listed under CFDA 15.650.

21) What legal authorities are cited for this cooperative agreement?

The authorizing authorities cited in the notice include:

• Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (as amended)
• Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (as amended)
• Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 (as amended)
• Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (as amended)
• Endangered Species Act of 1973

22) Where can someone find the official listing or access details?

The notice provides a grants.gov link for access and administrative details.

23) Who is the FWS point of contact for questions?

The listing identifies Michelle L. Willcox, Program Analyst/Grants Specialist, as the point of contact at FWS.

24) What contact information is provided for the FWS point of contact?

Phone: 505-248-7486
Email: MichelleWillcox@fws.gov

25) What makes this award a "cooperative agreement" in practice?

Based on the notice, FWS expects substantial involvement with the recipient during the project period. The listing frames this as a key difference from a standard grant where the federal role may be more limited.