The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (“NFWF”) requests Pre-Proposals under the Colorado Greater Sage-Grouse Fund (“Fund”) for projects that will restore, improve, preserve, and/or conserve greater sage-grouse habitat in Colorado.
Donor Name: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
State: Colorado
Counties: Moffat County (CO), Rio Blanco County (CO)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/14/2023
Size of the Grant: $16.79 million
Details:
NFWF established and administers the Fund with monies it received as compensatory mitigation for authorized impacts of the Gateway South Transmission Project to greater sage-grouse in Colorado, as approved by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) and its Record of Decision for the project.
Priorities
This RFP seeks projects that will restore, improve, preserve, and/or conserve greater sage-grouse habitat. They may include, but are not necessarily limited to, any or a combination of the following:
Fee Title and Conservation Easement Acquisitions for Conservation and/or Preservation
- Goals:
- prevent greater sage-grouse habitat destruction or degradation, and
- reduce fragmentation of shrub-steppe (i.e., sagebrush) habitat.
- Activities:
- Fee title and conservation easement acquisitions to secure long-term protection of greater sage-grouse habitat on real properties, thereby removing one or more viable threats to greater sage-grouse populations from one or more specific land uses. Activities may include all aspects of the fee title or conservation easement acquisition process (e.g., due diligence, title review, environmental site assessments, appraisals, biological and/or habitat surveys, and associated costs, including closing and escrow costs).
Sagebrush Restoration and Improvement Activities
- Goals
- create contiguous patches of shrub-steppe (i.e., sagebrush) habitat with optimal sagebrush cover and height, and
- increase high-quality nesting, brood-rearing, and winter habitats.
Activities may include seeding, planting seedlings, or transplanting containerized sagebrush plants (one plant per five square meters). Sagebrush restoration activities may also include:
- Mesic meadow and riparian improvements within shrub-steppe (i.e., sagebrush) habitat which may include instream structures (e.g., post assisted log structure);
- Upland mesic meadow developments using Zeedyk structures (e.g., one rock dam, Zuni bowl, rock structures) or other similar structures such as beaver dam analog (BDA) structures; or
- Other similar processes to create mesic meadows/high density forb areas that would promote brood-rearing.
Juniper / Conifer Removal Activities
- Goals
- reverse juniper/conifer encroachment on shrub-steppe (i.e., sagebrush) habitat to increase contiguous patches of greater sage-grouse habitat, and
- increase light penetration to support a forb and grass understory.
Activities may include mechanical removal (lop and scatter, cut-pile-cover, or mastication) of juniper/conifer adjacent to areas with optimal sagebrush cover and height.
Funding Information
NFWF expects to award up to approximately $16.79 million from the Fund to projects through this RFP. Up to approximately $13.43 million of this amount may be made available for conservation easement / fee title acquisitions; up to approximately $1.67 million of this amount may be made available for sagebrush restoration; and up to approximately $1.67 million of this amount may be made available for juniper / conifer removal.
Matching contributions are not required for projects submitted for consideration under this RFP, but may make project proposals more competitive.
Geographic Focus
The preferred geographic focus for project activities is the Northwest Colorado Biological Significant Unit (“BSU”) located in Moffat and Rio Blanco counties. Projects in other BSUs in Colorado will be considered if projects in the preferred geographic focus area are not available.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible Entities
Eligible applicants include non-profit 501(c)3 organizations, U.S. Federal government agencies, state government agencies and other political subdivisions of the state, local and municipal governments, Tribal governments and organizations, businesses, unincorporated individuals, and educational institutions.
Ineligible Uses of Grant Funds
- Awards under this Fund may not be used to support an applicant’s ongoing efforts to comply with legal requirements, including permit conditions, mitigation, and settlement agreements.
- Awards under this Fund may not be used for political advocacy, fundraising, lobbying, or litigation.
For more information, visit Greater Sage-Grouse Fund.
