Acquatic Connectivity | F17AS00400

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00400

The Acquatic Connectivity grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00400) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notice of intent describing a planned cooperative effort to create a decision support tool focused on aquatic conservation and management across the Southeastern United States. It is explicitly not a request for applications, meaning the announcement is meant to signal the agency's intent to fund or pursue a specific collaborative project rather than open a competitive application cycle. The project is framed around a core regional conservation challenge: the Southeast holds some of the most diverse freshwater life in the world, yet the rivers and streams that support this biodiversity are increasingly stressed by human development and climate change.

A central problem the effort aims to address is river fragmentation caused by dams and other in-stream barriers. According to the Southeast Aquatic Habitat Plan developed under SARP (the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership), these barriers are a major threat to both resident fish and anadromous species that need to move between freshwater and other habitats during their life cycles. When a river system is broken into disconnected segments, fish migration can be blocked, access to spawning grounds can be lost, populations can become isolated, and overall ecosystem function can decline. The opportunity emphasizes that successful conservation in the region depends on measuring how fragmented river networks are, understanding what that fragmentation means for fish populations, and then using that information to target restoration actions where they will do the most good.

The intended output is a science-based, user-friendly decision support tool that helps agencies and partners prioritize connectivity work. In practical terms, the tool would support decisions about where to remove barriers, where to retrofit structures (for example, with fish passage improvements), and where reconnection would provide the greatest benefit for aquatic species and habitats. A key building block for the tool is a comprehensive dataset that includes the locations of fish barriers, relevant attributes about those barriers, and linkages to foundational river mapping layers. The announcement notes that recent partnership work and funding across the Southeast has advanced barrier data development to a point where building a broader, more integrated tool is now feasible.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding using a cooperative agreement instrument, under the natural resources activity category, with CFDA number 15.678. The agency listed is the Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. The anticipated funding level is relatively modest and focused: one expected award with an award ceiling of $80,000. Eligible applicant types are broad and include state governments, public and state-controlled higher education institutions, federally recognized tribal governments, other tribal organizations, private higher education institutions, and for-profit organizations other than small businesses. The posting indicates an original creation date of August 14, 2017 and an original closing date of August 21, 2017, reflecting that it was time-bound and primarily informational, consistent with a notice of intent rather than an open solicitation.

Overall, the opportunity centers on improving aquatic connectivity in the Southeast by combining barrier inventories and river network data into a practical decision framework. The goal is to help the Fish and Wildlife Service, state wildlife agencies, and other partners direct limited restoration resources toward the barrier removal and remediation projects most likely to restore fish movement and strengthen long-term river and stream health.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Acquatic Connectivity" 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 Aug 14, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 21, 2017. (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 $80,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses.

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