[PCA] FUNDING: State Wildlife Action Plans Implementation (fwd)

[Olivia Kwong]

---------- Forwarded message ----------

The Wildlife Conservation Society is pleased to announce a Request for
Proposals (RFP) for grants under its newly created Wildlife Action
Opportunities  <http://www.wcs.org/wildlifeopportunity> Fund.  Made
possible through the generosity of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation,
the Wildlife Action Opportunities Fund will distribute $2 million over
the next two years to support 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organizations working
to implement State Wildlife Action Plans in any of the 50 states or six
U.S. territories. A second RFP for year two of the program will be
announced in 2007.


State Wildlife Action Plans were created when Congress charged each
state and territory with developing a comprehensive wildlife plan as a
condition of receiving federal funding. Also known as Comprehensive
Wildlife Conservation Strategies, these proactive plans will help
conserve wildlife and vital natural habitats before they become too rare
and costly to protect. For more detailed information, links to State
Wildlife Action Plans and progress on implementation in your state visit
the Teaming with Wildlife website:

http://www.teaming.com/


Awards through the Wildlife Action opportunities Fund will be made in
the range of $20,000 to $200,000.  These grants will support projects
that advance the implementation of State Wildlife Action Plans such as:
projects that integrate State Wildlife Action Plan priorities with other
land use planning efforts at the local, regional or national level;
promote agency incentive programs that are focused on State Wildlife
Action Plan priorities; implement policy changes that advance
conservation priorities; involve pilot or demonstration landscape-scale
habitat restoration or stewardship projects; publicize and raise the
profile of State Wildlife Action Plans to the general public and
decision makers; improve the existing Plans so as to better facilitate
implementation (e.g., developing maps of focal conservation areas); help
direct mitigation funds or environmental damage awards toward State
Wildlife Action Plan priorities; or engage citizens in science projects
that are linked to State Wildlife Action Plan priorities.   Funding
priority will be placed on projects that are feasible and practical in
1-2 year time periods, are closely aligned with goals of State Wildlife
Action Plans, involve multiple organizations, and may serve as models
for conservation that can be replicated elsewhere. Please note that
these funds cannot be used to support land acquisition or conservation
easements, political lobbying and advocacy, or capacity building of
organizations.

A full outline of the RFP process and the grant making priorities of
the Wildlife Action Opportunities Fund is available at the program's web
site http://www.wcs.org/wildlifeopportunity. The deadline for
pre-proposals is November 17, 2006 at 5:00 PM Mountain Standard Time.


All questions regarding this program or the RFP process should be
directed to Wildlife Conservation Society Grants Program Officer Darren
Long (  <mailto:dlong at wcs.org> dlong at wcs.org) at 406-522-9333 x103 or
Craig Groves (  <mailto:cgroves at wcs.org> cgroves at wcs.org) at
406-522-9333 x109.