Section 6 Competitive ("Nontraditional") Grants
FY 2006 Request for Proposals
Deadline for receipt of proposals is 28 February 2006.
Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department is announcing
the Fiscal Year 2006 Request
for Proposals (RFP) for
Competitive (“Nontraditional”)
Section 6 funds. These are
funds made available to
state wildlife agencies
through the Cooperative
Endangered Species Conservation
Fund (CESCF) from Section
6 of the Endangered Species
Act (Department of Interior,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
for the conservation of
threatened and endangered
species. The CESCF programs
are authorized through Endangered
Species Act of 1973, 16
U.S.C. 1361 et seq., as
amended. The codified program
regulations can be found
at 50 CFR 81.
These are competitive, nationwide
(U. S.) funds - there are
no funds directly ear-marked
for Texas. Any proposals
we submit will compete with
other proposals regionally
and nationally.
Funding (approx. $70 million for FY06, total) is available for the following programs:
| Grant Program | Purpose | Species Benefitting | Competition | Financial Match Requirement* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recovery Land Acquisition | acquisition of habitat in support of approved recovery goals or objectives | federally listed threatened or endangered species | regional | 25% of estimated project cost; or 10% when two or more States or Territories implement a joint project |
| Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance | support development of Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) | federally listed threatened or endangered species, proposed and candidate species, and unlisted species proposed to be covered by the HCP** | national | 25% of estimated project cost; or 10% when two or more States or Territories implement a joint project |
| Habitat Conservatipn Plan (HCP) Land Acquisition | acquisition of land associated with approved HCPs | federally listed threatened or endangered species, unlisted (including State-listed species), proposed and candidate species covered by the HCP** | national | 25% of estimated project cost; or 10% when two or more States or Territories implement a joint project |
*As required under Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act, grants to states and territories must include a minimum contribution by the project's non-Federal partners. These contributions can be in-kind staff time or donations.
**A species covered by the HCP is any species (listed or unlisted) that is included in the section 10(a)(1)(B) permit, thus receiving incidental take authorization.
In Texas, all proposals must be submitted through Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. These funds are not directly available to individual organizations, but are indirectly available through partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Proposals must strictly follow guidelines indicated here.
The grant requires a 75:25 cost share, so applicants will need to provide the 25% match. The match is based upon Total Project Costs, and must be from non-federal funding sources.
** Please Note: we are requesting that applicants include a budget line-item under federal request funds in the amount of $5000 to help with TPWD Grant Administrative Costs. Administering these grants is a substantial effort and until now there has been no way to defray the costs. This amount will not adversely affect a proposal’s merits for consideration, but must be included in calculating the budget (see guidelines below).
Awards for these CESCF “Nontraditional” grants (i.e., Competitive Section 6) will be announced through a national press release and a memorandum to the Regional Directors of the Service for further notification of the applicants’ selection for an award. Notification of an award through a press release or letter from a Regional Office is not an authorization to begin performance. The final exact amount of funds, the scope of work, and terms and conditions of a successful award will be determined in pre-award negotiations between the prospective recipient and the Service’s representatives. The prospective recipient will be asked to sign an agreement that specifies the project requirements, such as the cost share, the project design, the time commitment for maintaining the project’s benefits, and the reporting requirements, and that provides for Service access to the project area in order to check on its progress.
The recipient is reimbursed based on the cost-sharing formula in the agreement. An applicant should not initiate a project in expectation of CESCF funding, nor should they purchase materials or begin work until such time as they receive the final grant award document signed by an authorized Service official.
Complete information regarding the federal FY 2006 RFP and related Competitive Section 6 materials can be accessed at: Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (Section 6) Grants to States & Territories – Fiscal Year 2006, but be aware that the Project Statement format (Section IV of the federal RFP) does not include page lengths – please see Project Statement Guidelines at the end of this page for required page lengths. Please see Section III of the federal RFP for minimum eligibility criteria.
**Please Note: the federal RFP instructs applicants to fill out a Standard Form-424. You may disregard this request as TPWD will take care of it.
Your proposal should be submitted with the ranking criteria, as described under Application Review Information (Section V of the federal RFP), in mind. Project descriptions that clearly address the specific ranking criteria in an organized manner will facilitate proposal review and scoring. If you have any questions regarding organization and structuring of your proposal please do not hesitate to contact us.
Below is a brief synopsis of the three available grants.
Habitat Conservation Planning (HCP) Assistance Grants – Through the development of regional Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs), local governments incorporate species conservation into local land use planning, which streamlines the project approval process and facilitates economic development. The Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance Grants program provides funding to States to support the development of HCPs. Planning assistance grants may support planning activities such as document preparation, outreach, and baseline surveys and inventories.
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) Land Acquisition Grants – The HCP Land Acquisition program was established by Congress in fiscal year 1997. This program was designed to reduce conflicts between the conservation of listed species and land uses on specific parcels of land. Under this program, the Service provides grants to States for land acquisitions that are associated with approved HCPs. The Service considers the use of Federal acquisition dollars by States for habitat protection within and adjacent to HCP areas to be an important and effective mechanism to promote the recovery of threatened and endangered species.
The HCP Land Acquisition program has three primary purposes: 1) to fund land acquisitions that complement, but do not replace, private mitigation responsibilities contained in HCPs, 2) to fund land acquisitions that have important benefits for listed, proposed, and candidate species, and 3) to fund land acquisitions that have important benefits for ecosystems that support listed, proposed and candidate species.
Recovery Land Acquisition Grants – Loss of habitat is the primary threat to most listed species and land acquisition is often the most effective and efficient means of protecting habitats essential for recovery of listed species before development or other land use changes impair or destroy key habitat values. Land acquisition is costly and often neither the Service nor the States individually have the necessary resources to acquire habitats essential for recovery of listed species. Recovery Land Acquisition grant funds are matched by States and non-federal entities to acquire these habitats from willing sellers in support of approved species recovery plans.
Because the existing HCP Land Acquisition Grants Program provides substantial funding for land acquisitions associated with HCPs, the Recovery Land Acquisition Grants Program will not be used to fund land acquisitions associated with permitted HCPs.
Proposals
Application proposals to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for consideration under this grant program should strictly follow the guidelines below. Failure to follow format instructions will automatically disqualify the application package.
Project Statement Guidelines
- Need. Why is the project being undertaken? (NOT TO EXCEED ONE PAGE)
- Objective. What is to be accomplished during the period of the grant pursuant to the stated need? Specify what is to be accomplished within the time, money, and staffing allocated; identify a recognizable end point; and be quantifiable or verifiable. (NOT TO EXCEED ONE SENTENCE) Example: “To acquire by conservation easement during 2004-06 10,000 acres (Johnson Ranch) of prime watershed within the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer, Texas.”
- Expected Results or Benefits. What will be the results or benefits of accomplishing the objective? Try to provide quantifiable or verifiable resource benefits. (NOT TO EXCEED ½ PAGE)
- Approach. How will the objective be attained? Include only specific, numbered procedures. Keep procedures brief, simple and understandable. Final procedure should refer to Annual and/or Final Reports and their due dates. Provide telephone numbers and email addresses of key project personnel and cooperators.
- Location. Where will the work (address) be done? Attach location map if needed.
- Estimated
Cost. Provide
breakdown of what it
will cost to attain the
objective.
See following page for detailed example. - Milestone Schedule. Timetable for initiation and completion of procedures outlined in Approach. Years based upon project period.
- Literature Cited.
Budget
Below is an example budget. See instructions below for each item.
| Item No. | Budgeted Item | Federal Share | Non-federal Share (match)* | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Personnel | |||
| Joe Bossman/Manager/500/$25.00 | 7,500.00 | 5,000.00 | 12,500.00 | |
| George Underling/Clerk/800/$10.00 | 6,500.00 | 1,500.00 | 8,000.00 | |
| Ace Planning, Inc./plans/100/$125.00 | 12,500.00 | 12,500.00 | ||
| Subtotal | 26,500.00 | |||
| Fringe Benefits (25%; medical, FICA) | 6,625.00 | 3,000.00 | 9,625.00 | |
| Total Personnel | 33,125.00 | |||
| 2 | Travel | |||
| Lodging (hotels) | 3,000.00 | 2,000.00 | 5,000.00 | |
| Per diem ($55/day, 50 days) | 1,250.00 | 1,750.00 | 3,000.00 | |
| Total Travel | 4,250.00 | |||
| 3 | Equipment | 10,000.00 | 20,000.00 | 30,000.00 |
| 4 | Supplies | 1,000.00 | 750.00 | 1,750.00 |
| 5 | Contractual | |||
| Transit Surveyors, Inc.; 100 Old Rd., Noplace, TX | 6,000.00 | 6,000.00 | ||
| Ralph Lawyer; legal negotiations | 50,000.00 | 1,950.00 | 51,950.00 | |
| Total Contractual | 56,000.00 | |||
| 6 | Other | 3,300.00 | 1,000.00 | 4,300.00 |
| 7 | TPWD Administrative Cost | 5,000.00 | 5,000.00 | |
| 8 | TOTALS | 112,675.00 | 36,950.00 | 149,625.00 |
| Percentages | 75% | 25% | 100% |
*Match must be documented with each invoice submitted for payment, and the percentage should equal that which is proposed in the Project Statement. Please keep this in mind when planning your work schedule and invoice preparation.
- Personnel: List names of all individuals or agencies collaborating on project along with personnel/agency titles, estimated hours on project, and rates per hour. Does not include third-party contractors (see Contractual below). Fringe Benefits: additional personnel costs, including FICA, Retirement, Insurance, etc. Indirect Charges: contractee administrative overhead, include rate as a percent & attach institutional rate agreement.
- Travel: Lodging, mileage, meals, per diem (as appropriate) per individual.
- Equipment: capital expenses for equipment to be used for project.
- Supplies: routine costs for items needing replenishment throughout project.
- Contractual: expenses for services under contract with third parties, list names and contact information.
- Other: Items not listed above. Itemize and include justification. For In-kind contributions provide signed commitment letters which include verifiable monetary valuations.
- TPWD Administrative Cost: flat $5,000.00 TPWD administrative fee charged to Federal Share.
- Total
Project Costs: sums of Federal Share,
State Share, Totals
columns; at least
25% of the latter
represents the match.
Proposal package (Project Statement, related materials, if any) should be emailed in Microsoft Word, or compatible (no .pdf), format to craig.farquhar@tpwd.state.tx.us. If the entire electronic Project Statement exceeds 2 Mb it will need to be delivered by regular mail to the address below.
Dr.
Craig Farquhar
Section 6 Coordinator
Wildlife Science, Research & Diversity
Program
Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department
3000 IH 35, South, Suite
100
Austin, TX 78704
Office telephone: 512-912-7018
Office fax: 512-912-7058
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744