F22AS00281 FY22 Endangered Species Conservation - Wolf Livestock Loss Compensation and Prevention Grants | F22AS00281

Opportunity Information: Apply for F22AS00281

F22AS00281, titled "FY22 Endangered Species Conservation - Wolf Livestock Loss Compensation and Prevention Grants," is a competitive grant opportunity run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Assistance Listing 15.666) under Section 6202(a) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. The program is commonly referred to as the Wolf Livestock Loss Demonstration Project, and it is built around a straightforward idea: reduce conflict between wolves and livestock producers by funding practical, on-the-ground prevention tools and by helping make producers financially whole when losses from wolf depredation occur. The notice sets a closing date of 2022-08-20 and lists an award ceiling of $450,000.

The program has two equally important purposes, and the authorizing law directs that federal funds be spent equally between them. The first purpose is depredation prevention, meaning proactive, nonlethal actions that lower the risk of wolf attacks before they happen. The second purpose is depredation compensation, meaning reimbursement to livestock producers for confirmed livestock losses caused by wolves. In practice, this structure is meant to support wolf conservation goals while also addressing the economic realities faced by ranchers and producers operating in wolf-occupied landscapes.

Eligible applicants are limited to state governments and federally recognized tribal governments. Grants are awarded directly to these state or tribal applicants, not to individual ranchers or private organizations. However, the program is designed so that private entities can still benefit: each funded state or tribe must set up its own process for accepting requests from livestock producers and other private parties (including individual ranchers, for-profit corporations, and nonprofit organizations). Anyone seeking assistance would pursue it through the state wildlife management agency, animal damage control program, or the comparable tribal program administering the funds.

For prevention funding, the opportunity highlights a range of nonlethal measures that can be supported, including (but not limited to) fencing, livestock guard dogs, and range riders who patrol livestock areas where wolves are present. The intention is to fund actions that reduce the likelihood of depredation events, especially in areas where livestock are vulnerable. Prevention projects may take place on federal, state, or private lands, as well as on tribal lands or lands held in trust for a tribe, which gives applicants flexibility to target real conflict hotspots regardless of land ownership.

For compensation funding, grant dollars can be used to reimburse livestock producers for losses tied to confirmed wolf depredation. The notice specifies the types of livestock that can qualify, including cattle, swine, horses, mules, sheep, goats, and livestock guard animals. A key point is that this is not a general indemnity program for missing animals or suspected predation; it is focused on documented, confirmed wolf-caused losses, with supporting evidence and investigation procedures expected.

Applicants may apply for prevention funding, compensation funding, or both. If a single proposal includes both components, each component is evaluated, ranked, and considered separately, which reflects the program requirement to balance investments between prevention and compensation. This also means an applicant could be funded for one purpose and not the other depending on the competitiveness and completeness of each part of the proposal.

To be eligible for an award under this statute, a state or tribe must meet several administrative and accountability requirements. These include designating an appropriate state or tribal agency to administer one or both parts of the program, establishing one or more accounts to receive and manage grant funds, and maintaining claim files with supporting documentation for all claims processed under the funded program. Recipients must also submit annual reporting to the appropriate Service Program Coordinator that summarizes claims and expenditures, describes actions taken on claims, and provides any other reports needed by the Secretary to evaluate the effectiveness of the funded activities. In addition, recipients must promulgate rules governing how livestock producers are reimbursed, which is meant to ensure the program operates with clear standards rather than ad hoc decisions.

The notice also emphasizes readiness and timely use of funds. To ensure the grants produce immediate conservation and conflict-reduction benefits, applicants must have fully expended program grant funds from fiscal year 2018 and earlier years. In other words, entities with older, unspent balances are not considered eligible until those prior funds have been used, a requirement intended to prevent money from sitting idle while conflicts continue on the ground.

Beyond the general eligibility conditions, there are specific operational expectations depending on which funding track is requested. For depredation compensation, states and tribes must be able to ensure proper documentation, retain receipts, and track matching funds spent. They must also have the ability to protect depredation evidence and coordinate investigations with USDA APHIS Wildlife Services field representatives or another authorized official who can carry out or coordinate an investigation. Finally, compensation payments must be documented in a way that supports fair-market value reimbursement, reinforcing that payments should be consistent, justified, and auditable.

For depredation prevention funding, applicants similarly must ensure proper documentation, retain receipts, and record matching funds expended. They must also require a demonstration of good faith efforts to avoid conflicts, and they must be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the nonlethal measures being supported. Taken together, these requirements push applicants to fund prevention strategies that are not only well-intended, but also implemented seriously, tracked properly, and capable of showing measurable results over time.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F22AS00281 FY22 Endangered Species Conservation - Wolf Livestock Loss Compensation and Prevention Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.666.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-06-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-08-20. (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: State governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

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