At-Risk Plants and Pollinators and their Ecological Conditions | USDA FS R13 2024 24 25 VE 02

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FS R13 2024 24 25 VE 02

The USDA Forest Service "At-Risk Plants and Pollinators and their Ecological Conditions" opportunity is set up as an Outreach of Interest (OOI), meaning it is not a conventional grant solicitation with a defined pot of money and a standard competitive application. Instead, it is an outreach and partner-building process the Forest Service is using to identify capable organizations and collaborators, learn what work they could do, and then explore potential future projects that may be carried out through partnership agreements authorized under Forest Service legislative authorities. In practical terms, submitting a response is a way to raise your hand, describe your capabilities and project ideas, and start a conversation that could lead to funded work later, especially work aligned with national forest and grassland planning and management needs.

The main purpose is to strengthen conservation outcomes for "at-risk" plant species and associated pollinators by improving the science, data, and management strategies used during forest plan revisions and implementation of land and resource management plans. The Forest Service is emphasizing its responsibility to maintain biological diversity, ecological productivity, and the persistence of native species within plan areas. The agency is looking for partners who can help ensure ecosystems remain suitable for these species through restoration actions or management approaches that maintain species diversity and healthy habitat conditions over time.

A key concept in the opportunity is the definition of "at-risk" species. It broadly includes rare plant species that fall into one of several special-status categories: federally listed threatened or endangered species (designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Regional Forester Sensitive Species (RFSS), and Species of Conservation Concern (SCC). The Forest Service also notes that there may be additional plants, pollinators, or special plant and animal communities that matter to tribes, states, and other stakeholders, even if they are not formally listed in those categories. That framing signals interest in collaborative, cross-jurisdictional conservation priorities, particularly where local or Indigenous knowledge and regional conservation strategies can inform federal land management.

The types of activities the Forest Service wants to explore are strongly focused on field-based and information-synthesis work that improves inventory, monitoring, and ecological understanding. Example activities include direct inventory and monitoring of at-risk plant populations or non-native invasive plant species, mapping occurrences and population boundaries, and collecting location data using GPS when feasible. The scope also includes supportive work that makes field efforts more effective, such as literature reviews, synthesizing existing datasets and reports on distribution and rarity, and summarizing known ecological requirements for selected species. The Forest Service also explicitly points to capacity-building activities like training field crews on survey methods and assessment techniques, as well as organizing field trips with knowledgeable individuals to improve identification, habitat interpretation, and survey consistency. Another notable emphasis is working across boundaries with tribes, states, and other entities, which suggests the agency values coordination so that data, monitoring approaches, and conservation actions align beyond a single forest unit.

Eligible respondents are broad and include for-profit entities, nonprofits, colleges and universities, and federal, state, local, and Native American tribal governments. The eligibility list also includes special purpose districts such as conservation districts, fire districts, school districts, ports, and public utility districts. This wide eligibility reflects the partnership-driven nature of the OOI and the fact that conservation monitoring and ecological assessment often benefits from multi-organization collaboration, shared field capacity, and shared data systems.

Administratively, the opportunity is listed under the Forest Service with CFDA (Assistance Listing) 10.699, categorized as "Other" for both the opportunity category and funding instrument type. The posting shows an original closing date of February 7, 2025. The award ceiling is listed as 0 and expected awards are not specified, which reinforces that this OOI is mainly a relationship-building and project-development entry point rather than a guaranteed, immediate funding announcement. To respond, applicants are directed to follow the instructions in an attached "Outreach of Interest Template Instructions" document, which likely specifies the format and content the Forest Service wants for submissions (for example, organizational qualifications, proposed project concepts, geographic focus, relevant experience, and how the work would support planning and management needs).

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as an open invitation to propose ideas that help the Forest Service locate, understand, monitor, and conserve at-risk plants and pollinators on national forests and grasslands, while also clarifying the ecological conditions those species need to persist. The Forest Service is signaling that strong partnerships and better data are central to making land management decisions that protect rare species, guide restoration, address invasive plants where relevant, and improve long-term conservation outcomes during the forest planning cycle.

• The Forest Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "At-Risk Plants and Pollinators and their Ecological Conditions" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.699.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-10-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA FS R13 2024 24 25 VE 02

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