Integrated Bird Monitoring on Federal Lands | F19AS00229

Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00229

The Integrated Bird Monitoring on Federal Lands grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F19AS00229) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior) discretionary funding opportunity focused on collecting and analyzing bird monitoring data on federal lands, with a strong emphasis on Department of Defense installations. The core goal is to measure how bird populations respond to habitat management actions, then use those results to guide ongoing management decisions and demonstrate compliance with federal wildlife conservation requirements. In practical terms, this is about tracking changes in bird abundance, distribution, and trends over time in relation to habitat work being done on the ground, and making sure that management actions are actually producing the intended conservation outcomes.

A major driver of the program is compliance with several key federal policies and agreements. It is explicitly tied to Executive Order 13186, which outlines federal agency responsibilities for protecting migratory birds, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Defense and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that promotes migratory bird conservation on military lands. The opportunity also aligns with the Sikes Act, which requires military installations to manage natural resources in a planned, science-based way, and it supports the Integrated Natural Resource Management Plans (INRMPs) that each installation uses to set habitat and wildlife management priorities. By connecting monitoring to these frameworks, the program helps installations document progress, identify gaps, and adjust management actions based on evidence rather than assumptions.

Beyond general conservation and habitat management evaluation, the opportunity also has an operational safety component: it will help evaluate and inform actions meant to reduce Bird Air Strike Hazard (BASH) near aircraft runways. Bird-aircraft strikes can pose serious risks to human safety, aircraft integrity, and mission readiness, so monitoring that improves understanding of which species are present, when and where they concentrate, and how habitat conditions influence bird movements can directly support risk reduction strategies. The intent is not only to monitor birds for conservation purposes, but also to translate findings into practical guidance that can reduce hazardous bird activity in the vicinity of air operations while still meeting conservation obligations.

From an administrative standpoint, the award is structured as a cooperative agreement, which generally means the federal agency expects to have substantial involvement during the project (such as coordination, shared responsibilities, or active participation in project direction) rather than simply issuing funds and stepping back. The funding activity categories listed are Information and Statistics and Natural Resources, reflecting the monitoring, data management, and applied management focus of the work. The CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 15.678.

The funding parameters are relatively small and targeted: the award ceiling is $150,000, with one expected award. The announcement was created on June 4, 2019, with an original closing date of June 11, 2019. Importantly, it is described as a single source award to the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, meaning it was not a broadly competed opportunity and was instead intended for a specific organization to carry out the work. This kind of single source setup typically indicates the agency identified a particular partner with specialized expertise, established capacity, or ongoing work that fits the program need.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a focused investment in integrated bird monitoring that serves two connected purposes: (1) evaluating and improving habitat management outcomes for migratory bird conservation on federal, especially military, lands in line with required policies and planning documents; and (2) supporting the assessment of measures that reduce bird strike risks around runways, helping balance wildlife stewardship with aviation safety and operational readiness.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the information and statistics, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Integrated Bird Monitoring on Federal Lands" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.678.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 04, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 11, 2019 This announcement is being made as a single source award to the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for F19AS00229

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