GLRI Endangered Species Grant Program | F18AS00133

Opportunity Information: Apply for F18AS00133

The GLRI Endangered Species Grant Program (Funding Opportunity Number F18AS00133) is a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative-related funding action administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. It is structured as a discretionary cooperative agreement under CFDA 15.662 (Natural Resources). The central purpose is to stabilize and improve population trends for three Endangered Species Act-listed species found within the U.S. portion of the Great Lakes watershed: the Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), Mitchell's satyr butterfly (Neonympha mitchellii), and the dwarf lake iris (Iris lacustris). The work is focused on restoration and conservation implementation at sites in Michigan, tying species recovery needs to on-the-ground habitat and population management actions.

This opportunity is not a competitive, open application grant. The notice functions as an intent to make a single-source award (or awards) rather than inviting proposals from the general public. The agency states there is no application process, and the awards are justified under the applicable single-source authority (505 DM 2.14B(4)). The intended recipients are the Minnesota Zoo and the Michigan Natural Features Inventory, with an expected total of two awards. The maximum award amount listed is $437,600, indicating the ceiling for the cooperative agreement funding associated with this notice. The original posting date was May 9, 2018, with an original closing date of May 16, 2018, reflecting a short administrative window typical of single-source notices.

The funded activities are practical, recovery-oriented actions aimed at improving survival, reproduction, and habitat quality for these rare species. For Poweshiek skipperling, a key emphasis is refining husbandry methods and conducting captive rearing, which generally means improving captive care protocols, breeding approaches, larval rearing success, and release strategies to support population augmentation or reintroduction. For both Poweshiek skipperling and Mitchell's satyr, a major component is invasive species control, including direct control and removal and the use of prescribed burning where appropriate. These actions are meant to maintain or restore the native plant communities and ecological conditions these butterflies depend on, since invasive plants and altered disturbance regimes can degrade habitat structure and host plant availability.

Habitat enhancement and restoration are also central elements, particularly for Mitchell's satyr and Poweshiek skipperling. This typically involves restoring or improving site conditions such as vegetation composition, canopy structure, hydrology (where relevant), and connectivity between suitable habitat patches. The opportunity additionally supports research and modeling to clarify species needs and limiting factors, which can include studies of life history requirements, dispersal, microhabitat use, climate and land management interactions, and identifying the most effective management actions through predictive or decision-support models.

Another notable focus is pesticide risk assessment and management. This component reflects concerns that pesticide exposure, drift, or cumulative chemical impacts may affect sensitive life stages of butterflies or their host plants. Funding supports evaluating risks and developing or implementing management practices to reduce exposure, which can include coordination with land managers, revised application practices near occupied habitat, and monitoring for impacts.

To measure whether these interventions are working, the program includes surveys and monitoring designed to document project success. This can encompass population monitoring (counts, occupancy, reproduction indicators), habitat condition monitoring, and post-management assessments following invasive control or burns. For dwarf lake iris, the work is geared toward improving consistency and rigor in how the species is tracked and assessed. Specific tasks include developing standardized monitoring protocols, conducting status assessments of known occurrences (element occurrences), updating the Natural Heritage Database to improve data quality and accessibility for conservation planning, and developing a Population Viability Analysis (PVA). A PVA is a structured modeling approach that uses available demographic and threat information to estimate extinction risk and test how different management actions could influence long-term persistence, helping agencies and partners prioritize recovery strategies.

Overall, the grant opportunity is best understood as a targeted, cooperative conservation investment tied to ESA recovery goals within the Great Lakes region, with Michigan-based field implementation, partner-led technical work, and an emphasis on measurable outcomes through monitoring, database updates, and population modeling.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "GLRI Endangered Species Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.662.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 09, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 16, 2018 There is not an application process for this funding opportunity. This is a notice of intent to award asingle source cooperative to the Minnesota Zoo and Michigan Natural Features Inventory under justification 505DM 2.14B 4.. (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 $437,600.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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