The Service is the primary fish and wildlife conservation agency within the Executive Branch of the U.S. government, tasked with a diverse array of responsibilities related to conservation and societal valuation of public trust resources. The Conservation Science and Innovation program leverages the responsibilities of the Migratory Bird and Science Applications programs of the Southeast Fish & Wildlife Service seeking to maximize the conservation of FWS species to include migratory birds and other trust species by collaborating to sustain populations at prescribed levels, provide leadership in conservation and management of trust species and their habitats, manage data and information for use in decision making, and ensure the meaningful inclusion of multiple partners and stakeholders in landscape-scale planning and implementation of conservation actions.
The overarching objective of this funding opportunity is to support projects that advance the regional visions of the Southeast FWS and the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS, http://secassoutheast.org/). Together, these visions provide the comprehensive framework for aligning and targeting collaborative efforts in pursuit of a socially-viable future conservation landscape that supports thriving fish and wildlife populations and improved quality of life for people.
The Southeast Region’s Conservation Science And Innovation program seeks to advance the DOI, National & Regional objectives by increasing the relevancy and utility of information used to inform conservation decisions. In the past, the Program has received over $2 million dollars annually to support landscape conservation throughout the southeast U.S., including the U.S. Caribbean.
Pre-proposals must be submitted in GrantSolutions by May 31, 2023.
Theme 1: Decision Support: We are seeking research projects that identify, develop, assess, improve, and secure reliable science and decision support tools for programs and partners. Of particular interest are tools or data that enable estimation of species responses to plausible future scenarios, assess biotic integrity of major ecosystems, &/or enable integration of ecosystem service values into the Southeast Blueprint and other conservation decision support tools. Further, we are interested in social science projects that improve the human dimensions aspects of existing decision support tools based on current paradigms & knowledge.
Theme 2: Knowledge Gaps: We are seeking research projects that identifying & fill knowledge gaps related to the sustainability of birds and other trust species. Of particular interest are studies that fill information gaps that currently prevent the conservation community from setting Biological Objectives for trust species, especially federally listed species and birds of conservation concern.
Theme 3: Assumption-driven Research: We are seeking research projects that test the ecological &/or social assumptions underlying conservation and management actions, as well as our collective understanding of ecosystem processes. Of particular interest are projects that lay the groundwork for developing or improving decision support tools that guide management decisions at landscape scales.
Theme 4: Outcome-based Monitoring: We are seeking research projects that test the efficacy of conservation decisions by assessing species response. Of particular interest are investigations that test the predictions of decision support tools & data.
Proposal activities must be based within the SEAFWA geography (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MO, MS, NC, OK, PR, SC, TN, TX, USVI, VA, WV). Projects that extend into other parts of the US or the Caribbean will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
There is no limit on the number of pre-proposals an applicant may submit.
Typical project funding levels range from $50,000 to $500,000.