Request for Proposals for Invasive Plant Species as a Threat to Native Biodiversity

The Richard King Mellon Foundation is issuing a request for proposals (RFP) aimed at stopping or slowing the spread of harmful and non-native plant species.

Donor Name: Richard King Mellon Foundation

State: All States

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 09/09/2022

Details:

Invasive plants are threatening the ecological integrity of many of these natural lands and waters and undermining the conservation value of important habitats, including those with high biodiversity value. Biodiversity is in decline across the United States and invasive species are among the leading factors in those declines. Invasive non-native plants are a particular problem, outcompeting many native plant species, altering and degrading food webs, and at times transforming entire ecosystems. The spread and proliferation of invasive plants in natural ecosystems is undermining the value of important habitats and compromising the integrity of conserved and protected lands and waters. Invasive plants also can degrade the services these ecosystems provide to people and communities, such as clean-water supply, flood protection, and carbon uptake and storage. Compounding these problems, climate change is increasing the pace of invasions and worsening the impacts of some invasive species. Addressing the problem of invasive species is crucial to the Foundation’s interests in conserving important habitats with high biodiversity and promoting effective and forward-looking stewardship of the nation’s conserved lands and waters.

To address the threats that invasive plants pose to the nation’s natural lands and waters, the Foundation has a
particular interest in advancing three approaches to slowing or stopping the spread of invasive plants.

• Strengthening Programs Limiting Invasive Plants in the Nursery Trade and Retail Outlets
  This can include outreach efforts by non-governmental entities designed to promote the adoption of
  new programs at state or other levels of government, or to expand or improve existing programs.
  • This can include the work of state, Tribal, or local governments to implement new policies or enhance
    the effectiveness of existing rules.
  • Although efforts to restrict the sale of broader suites of harmful invasive plants are preferred, this can
    also include campaigns focused on prohibiting and/or limiting the sale or distribution of particular
    harmful but widely planted species.
• Promoting Voluntary Efforts Through Outreach and Education
  • Campaigns must address key pathways of spread, such as the sale or planting of harmful invasive
    plants through the nursery trade, or the unintentional transport of invasive plants through outdoor
    recreation or work-related activities.
  •  Proposals can include education and outreach efforts focused on public engagement in the surveillance
    and detection of new invaders or infestations in natural areas, as part of early detection/rapid response
    programs.
  • Education and outreach proposals must specify the target audience, desired behavior changes, and
    expected outcomes.
  • Proposals should specify the areas likely to benefit from these efforts and their ecological and
    conservation significance.
  • Proposals can build on existing education and outreach programs or involve the development and
    implementation of new approaches and campaigns.
• Integrating Warming Temperatures and Climate Change into Prevention and Early Detection/Rapid Response
  Proposals in this area should have a primary focus on the application of climate change-related
  information and climate-informed watchlists, rather than mostly involve the development, refinement, or
  maintenance of such climate assessments and lists.
  • Proposals should specify the mechanism by which climate-related information is expected to improve
    the effectiveness of prevention and/or early detection and rapid response efforts at state, Tribal, or local
    levels, or for specific high-priority conservation areas.
  • Proposals should specify the areas likely to benefit from these efforts and their ecological and
    conservation significance.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible institutions include nonprofit and public sector organizations, including those operating at local, state, Tribal, regional, and national scales. The Foundation encourages partnerships and collaborations, including with the for-profit sector, to help develop and implement programs.
• They encourage applications from local and state-based organizations/agencies as well as regional invasive species collaboratives.

For more information, visit Richard King Mellon Foundation.