2024 Alaska Native Organization Co-Management Funding Program | NOAA NMFS AK 2024 2008194

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS AK 2024 2008194

The 2024 Alaska Native Organization Co-Management Funding Program is a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) discretionary grant program that provides federal assistance to support Alaska Native-led conservation and co-management of marine mammals that are important for subsistence. The program is grounded in federal authority (16 U.S.C. 1388) that allows NMFS to fund Alaska Native Organizations (ANOs) to conserve marine mammals and strengthen co-management of Alaska Native subsistence use of those species under NMFS jurisdiction. Funding is offered through cooperative agreements, which typically means NMFS expects to have an active partnership role during the project rather than serving only as a pass-through funder.

The main purpose of the funding is to help ANOs carry out practical, on-the-ground and community-centered work that supports conservation and sustainable subsistence use of NMFS-managed marine mammals. Funded activities can include developing and implementing species management approaches, monitoring subsistence harvests, collecting harvest samples, conducting scientific research, and building public education and outreach efforts that inform communities and support stewardship. A key expectation is that proposed projects align with established conservation priorities where they apply, including priority actions identified in Endangered Species Act (ESA) Recovery Plans or Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) Conservation Plans. Projects should also speak directly to the priorities laid out in the federal funding opportunity announcement for FY 2024, and applicants should be prepared to show how their work fits into these broader management and recovery frameworks.

Eligibility is limited to tribally-authorized Alaska Native Organizations that already have a signed co-management agreement with NMFS. In other words, this opportunity is not open to all entities or even all tribal organizations in general; it is specifically aimed at ANOs formally engaged in co-management with NMFS. The announcement also draws a clear boundary around which species and agencies are covered: proposals that focus on marine mammals under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will not be considered under this program. Applicants need to ensure the target species and management context fall under NMFS, not USFWS, to be competitive and eligible.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is offered by the U.S. Department of Commerce through NOAA/NMFS, with funding listed under CFDA 11.439. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, the opportunity category is discretionary, and the activity areas emphasize environment, natural resources, and science and technology/research and development. The listed award ceiling is $550,000 per award. The posting indicates an application closing date of February 2, 2024, and it notes that some elements changed compared to the previous year, so applicants are expected to read the full announcement carefully for updated proposal preparation instructions and the specific criteria NMFS will use to select projects for funding.

Overall, the program is designed to reinforce Alaska Native co-management capacity and support conservation outcomes for subsistence marine mammals through monitoring, research, management planning, and outreach, with projects chosen based on how well they advance NMFS and community priorities, fit into existing recovery or conservation planning where relevant, and operate within NMFS species jurisdiction and established co-management agreements.

• The Department of Commerce in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2024 Alaska Native Organization Co-Management Funding Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.439.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-10-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-02. (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 $550,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments).

Apply for NOAA NMFS AK 2024 2008194

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