The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Palmyra Program | F18AS00301

Opportunity Information: Apply for F18AS00301

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Palmyra Program (Funding Opportunity Number F18AS00301; CFDA 15.608) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Department of the Interior, discretionary cooperative agreement focused on sustaining the on-the-ground capacity needed to manage Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the central Pacific. The core purpose is straightforward: provide federal support toward the operation and maintenance of TNC's remote field station and related infrastructure so Refuge personnel and volunteers can access the atoll, live and work safely there, and carry out conservation and management responsibilities in one of the most isolated locations on earth.

The opportunity exists because USFWS and TNC are essentially co-stewards of Palmyra. Together they represent the primary ownership interests for all surrounding waters and more than 99 percent of the emergent land. That shared footprint creates shared responsibilities, especially for conserving and managing fish, wildlife, and habitat. A major limiting factor at Palmyra is not just the scientific or management work itself, but the logistics required to reach and operate on the atoll. TNC owns and operates the research/field station on Cooper Island, which includes the atoll's only landing strip and only docking facilities. In practical terms, this station is the enabling platform for most field operations: it supplies housing, meals, and the basic utilities and services needed for extended deployments such as potable water, electricity, waste management, and transportation options for people and cargo. Maintaining all of that in a far-from-anywhere setting is exceptionally expensive, so the agreement is designed to pool resources and avoid duplicative costs while ensuring the Refuge can be managed effectively.

Funding under this program is intended to be USFWS's contribution to the upkeep of those TNC facilities and to the supporting staff and marine program that help keep the station functional. In exchange for this cost sharing, TNC provides annual access and operational support for key Refuge roles, including the Palmyra Atoll Refuge Manager, the Deputy Refuge Manager, other Refuge-dedicated staff, and Service volunteers assisting with on-site management tasks. The logic is that paying a portion of station operations is more efficient than the Service attempting to replicate comparable infrastructure independently, and it delivers significant cost savings while sustaining mission-critical access.

A secondary but important element of the program is public and partner access. Because Palmyra is so remote, public access would largely be limited to people capable of traveling thousands of miles by private vessel if TNC were not operating the station and coordinating guided resource uses. TNC manages the only developed area on the atoll to host and support researchers, anglers, and naturalists who want to experience Palmyra's reefs, waters, and islands. By keeping the station viable, the agreement indirectly supports structured access that increases the number of people who can experience the Refuge each year, which in turn helps build broader awareness of the atoll's ecological value and the importance of long-term conservation.

Legally, USFWS participation is grounded in multiple federal conservation and Refuge-management authorities. The notice cites authorizing statutes and related regulations, including the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (as amended), the Fish and Wildlife Act, the Refuge Recreation Act, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, along with applicable regulations in Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Programmatically, it is framed as supporting the Secretary of the Interior's Priority No. 1, "Creating a Conservation Stewardship Legacy," by leveraging an established partnership with TNC to ensure Service personnel can access and manage the Refuge effectively and economically.

From an administrative standpoint, the instrument type is a cooperative agreement under the Natural Resources activity category. The listed award ceiling is $450,000. Although eligibility is described as unrestricted in the abstract listing, the posting also states that a recipient has already been selected and that it is not a request for proposals. In other words, it functions as a formalized, negotiated funding action to support an existing USFWS-TNC partnership rather than an open competition for new applicants.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Palmyra Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.608.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 14, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by All potential applicants are eligible to apply. However, the recipient has been selected. This is not a request for proposals.. (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 $450,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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