BLM C A Amargosa Vole Conservation and Habitat Resiliency | L17AS00014

Opportunity Information: Apply for L17AS00014

The grant opportunity titled "BLM C A Amargosa Vole Conservation and Habitat Resiliency" (Funding Opportunity Number L17AS00014) is a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) discretionary funding opportunity under the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is offered as a cooperative agreement, meaning the recipient should expect to work closely with BLM and other partners during planning and implementation rather than operating completely independently. The program sits in the Natural Resources funding category and is associated with CFDA number 15.231. The opportunity was posted February 1, 2017, with an original closing date of April 3, 2017. BLM anticipated making one award with a maximum funding level (award ceiling) of $900,000.

The purpose of the project is to support conservation actions that reduce extinction risk and improve long-term habitat resilience for the Amargosa vole (Microtus californicus scirpensis), a highly localized subspecies that is listed as endangered under both the federal and California Endangered Species Acts. The vole is described as a narrow endemic mammal with an extremely limited distribution: it is only known from desert marsh habitats in and around Shoshone and Tecopa, California, along the Amargosa River. Because its range is so small and tied to a specialized wetland system within a desert environment, it is especially vulnerable to drought, habitat degradation, and other localized threats that can rapidly affect the entire wild population.

The background driving the need for this grant includes a severe population decline observed in 2013, attributed in part to drought conditions. In response to the possibility of imminent extinction in the wild, agencies and partners removed a small number of voles to establish an assurance colony at the University of California, Davis. The assurance colony is meant to serve as a safeguard, maintaining individuals in captivity so the species is not lost entirely if wild numbers crash further, and potentially supporting future recovery actions if releases or supplementation become necessary.

The opportunity also reflects an ongoing, multi-organization collaboration already in place. BLM indicates it is working in partnership with University of California Davis and UC Berkeley, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Amargosa Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Purdue University, and private landowners. In practical terms, that kind of partner list signals that proposed work is expected to integrate with existing monitoring, research, and management efforts, and that successful implementation may require coordination across public lands, conservation lands, and privately owned habitat.

A specific ecological and health-related concern mentioned in the description is parasite infestation. In 2011, CDFW surveys identified mites affecting voles in a key habitat patch, suggesting that disease or parasite pressures may be an additional stressor on a population already dealing with climatic variability and habitat limitation. The grant context also notes that from 2012 until recently, CDFW, UC Davis, and USGS conducted periodic vole surveys, indicating that population monitoring and field assessments have been central components of the conservation response and likely remain important for evaluating trends, threats, and the effectiveness of habitat or management actions.

Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any clarifications that may appear in the full notice under the "Additional Information on Eligibility" section. Overall, the grant is focused on practical, coordinated conservation and habitat resiliency work for one of California's most range-restricted endangered mammals, building on prior survey efforts, addressing threats such as drought and parasite outbreaks, and reinforcing a broader recovery strategy that includes both wild habitat management and a captive assurance colony.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BLM C A Amargosa Vole Conservation and Habitat Resiliency" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.231.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 01, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 03, 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 $900,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for L17AS00014

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: