Management and status surveys for bog turtles in North Carolina | F19AS00351

Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00351

The grant opportunity titled "Management and status surveys for bog turtles in North Carolina" (Funding Opportunity Number F19AS00351) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notice of intent to make a single-source award rather than a competitively solicited grant. It is being issued by the Department of the Interior under the Fish and Wildlife Service, categorized as a discretionary funding opportunity using a Cooperative Agreement as the funding instrument, with the program listed under CFDA 15.664. The purpose of the project is centered on environmental research and applied management work related to bog turtles in North Carolina, specifically focused on management and status surveys, which generally means field-based efforts to assess where turtles occur, how populations are doing over time, and what management actions may be needed to support recovery or persistence.

A key point of this notice is that there is no full public announcement or open competition attached to it. The Service states it intends to award the cooperative agreement directly to Tangled Bank Conservation, and it explains why competition is considered impractical. The rationale is based on Tangled Bank Conservation's specialized, site-relevant expertise: the organization’s lead scientist and founder has longstanding experience researching reptiles and amphibians and has been involved with bog turtle work in North Carolina for many years, while an associate scientist has conducted research directly connected to bog turtle recruitment and management in the specific bog habitats involved in the project. The notice also emphasizes that Tangled Bank personnel have the technical field skills needed to safely track bog turtles and locate nests, and that they are trusted partners within the regional bog turtle conservation community, implying established working relationships and demonstrated competence in sensitive survey and handling protocols.

Although the eligibility field is listed as "Unrestricted" in the source data, the practical effect of this posting is that it functions as a single-source intent to award, meaning the agency is not requesting applications from multiple entities and does not plan to make multiple awards. The expected number of awards is one. The notice was created on August 23, 2019, with an original closing date of August 30, 2019, reflecting a short posting window consistent with a notice-of-intent format rather than a standard competitive solicitation. The listing also references an award ceiling of 1, which, as presented in the source text, appears to be a placeholder or formatting artifact rather than a meaningful dollar cap, since no detailed budget amount is provided in the description.

Overall, this opportunity signals a targeted federal investment in on-the-ground bog turtle conservation work in North Carolina, structured as a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates substantial involvement or collaboration by the agency during project execution. The central message is that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified Tangled Bank Conservation as uniquely positioned to perform the required bog turtle management and status survey tasks due to their history with the species, familiarity with the relevant sites, and proven capability to carry out specialized fieldwork such as tracking individuals and locating nests.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Management and status surveys for bog turtles in North Carolina" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.664.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 23, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 30, 2019 THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD TO A SINGLE SOURCE ANNOUNCEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS NOTICE.. (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 $1.00 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.

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