Improving the integration between the Natural & Built Environment within the S. Atlantic Conservation Blueprint | F15AS00458

Opportunity Information: Apply for F15AS00458

The grant opportunity titled "Improving the integration between the Natural & Built Environment within the S. Atlantic Conservation Blueprint" (Funding Opportunity Number F15AS00458) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) notice stating its intent to make a single, non-competitive award. It is categorized as a discretionary funding action and will be issued as a cooperative agreement, meaning the Service expects to have substantial involvement in the work rather than simply providing funds with minimal federal participation. The activity falls under broad subject areas that include education, environment, science and technology, and other research and development, and it is associated with CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) number 15.669.

A key point of this notice is that it is not a call for proposals and not an open competition. There is no full funding announcement attached, and the agency is not requesting applications from the public. Instead, USFWS is signaling that it plans to select a single specific recipient based on demonstrable, case-specific qualifications. The notice highlights the kinds of factors the agency may consider in justifying a single-source decision, such as the recipient's location, property ownership or control, demonstrated voluntary support, organizational capacity, potential cost-sharing (if relevant), technical expertise, and other unique qualifications that make the recipient particularly suited to carry out the work.

The subject matter implied by the title focuses on improving how natural systems and built or developed environments are planned and managed together within the "S. Atlantic Conservation Blueprint." In practical terms, this kind of work typically relates to aligning conservation priorities with human infrastructure and land-use realities, such as development patterns, transportation corridors, urban growth, stormwater systems, working lands, coastal resilience features, or other built assets. While the notice does not provide a detailed scope of work, the framing suggests a goal of better integrating ecological conservation objectives with planning and decision-making in areas where human-built environments and natural habitats intersect, particularly across the South Atlantic region covered by the Blueprint.

The notice also explains why the award is not being competed. USFWS cites departmental policy (505 DM 2.14, B. (2)) as the basis for making a single-source award and emphasizes that the decision is within the agency's discretion. This language is commonly used when an agency believes only one entity reasonably meets the programmatic need due to unique access, established partnerships, specialized expertise, ownership/control of key data or sites, or other conditions that make competition impractical or counterproductive.

Administratively, the opportunity record shows an original closing date of September 18, 2015, but since the notice is not a request for applications, that date functions more like an internal timeline or posting period than a deadline for applicants. The opportunity anticipates one award ("Expected Awards: 1"). The listed award ceiling is "0," which typically indicates that the funding amount was not specified in the public notice or was handled outside the standard posting fields, rather than indicating that no funding will be provided. The eligible applicant field is marked "Unrestricted," but in this context it does not mean the public can apply; it simply reflects that eligibility was not constrained by applicant type because the agency was not soliciting applications and intended to select a specific recipient.

In short, this posting is essentially a public transparency notice that USFWS intends to fund a specific partner through a cooperative agreement to support work that strengthens coordination between conservation priorities and the built environment within the South Atlantic Conservation Blueprint framework. It does not provide an application pathway for other organizations, and the award decision is justified under applicable departmental single-source policy.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the education, environment, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Improving the integration between the Natural & Built Environment within the S. Atlantic Conservation Blueprint" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.669.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2015-09-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2015-09-18. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for F15AS00458

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