Alaska Migratory Bird Co-management Council | F17AS00409

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00409

The Alaska Migratory Bird Co-management Council grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00409) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Region 7 discretionary grant intended to support the ongoing co-management structure that governs subsistence spring harvest of migratory birds in Alaska. The program exists because the United States and Alaska Native communities spent years working to amend the 1916 Migratory Bird Treaty with Canada and the 1936 Migratory Bird Treaty with Mexico so that a legal spring subsistence harvest could occur in Alaska. After the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty Protocols on October 23, 1997, a formal regulatory framework was needed to implement those amendments properly. A central requirement, especially under the Canada Protocol, is that subsistence users must have an effective and meaningful role in developing regulations through regional management bodies rather than being treated as outside stakeholders.

To meet that requirement, the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council (AMBCC) was established in March 2000 with equal representation from the Alaska Native community, the Federal Government, and the State of Alaska. In practice, the Council develops recommendations on key management and implementation topics tied to the spring/summer subsistence harvest, including hunting seasons and bag limits, law enforcement policies, population and harvest monitoring, education and outreach efforts, research priorities, incorporation of traditional knowledge, and habitat protection. Because meaningful participation depends on input from subsistence users across Alaska, the Council relies on region-based coordination so that local voices can be organized and brought into the regulatory process consistently.

This specific funding notice is not an open solicitation. USFWS states it intends to make a single-source financial assistance award under 505 DM 2.14(B) and does not plan to accept proposals from entities other than the pre-designated AMBCC regional partners. Eligibility is therefore effectively limited to Alaska Native tribal governments and tribal organizations that are already recognized as partner organizations (along with one local government partner referenced in the description) and that have entered into formal agreements with USFWS for the purpose of coordinating the regional programs needed to involve subsistence users. The regulatory basis for this partner structure is cited in 50 CFR 92.11 and related definitions in 50 CFR 92.4, which contemplate USFWS establishing partner agreements with at least one qualified partner organization in each listed region. These organizations are defined as regional or local organizations or local tribal governments that have formal agreements with USFWS to coordinate the regional work necessary for subsistence user participation.

The grant is essentially a renewal mechanism for those existing partners. Region-specific working agreements have already been established with ten Alaska Native nonprofit groups and one local government, and the list of partner organizations was published in the Federal Register (65 FR 16405, March 28, 2000) and later amended (71 FR 35690, June 21, 2006), with another amendment noted as pending. The practical purpose of the renewed grant agreements is straightforward: to defray travel and communication costs for Alaska Native regional partners so they can participate fully in the co-management process. In other words, the funding is designed to keep the regional partner network operational by covering the basic costs of coordination and engagement that allow subsistence users to be represented in regulatory development and ongoing management discussions.

Key administrative details from the opportunity record include an award ceiling of $129,400, an expectation of 10 awards, and a CFDA listing of 15.643. The activity categories span natural resources and environment, community development, education, law and justice-related services, and information/statistics, reflecting the Council’s broad work across regulation-setting, monitoring, outreach, and enforcement coordination. The notice was created on August 21, 2017, with an original closing date of October 20, 2017, but the central takeaway remains that this is a targeted, non-competitive grant action intended only for the established AMBCC regional partner organizations already participating under formal agreements with USFWS.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the business and commerce, community development, education, environment, food and nutrition, information and statistics, law, justice and legal services, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Alaska Migratory Bird Co-management Council" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.643.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 21, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 20, 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 $129,400.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments).

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