522 FW 7, Operations and Maintenance, Fish and Wildlife Service Manual: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

522 FW 7
Operation and Maintenance

FWM#:379 (Supersedes 522 FW 7,12/17/92,
FWM 060)

Date: October 10, 2001

Series:State Grant Programs

Part 522: Federal Aid Proram Guidance

Originating Office:Division of Federal Aid

Amendment 1, 03/02/07, amends this chapter

7.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? This chapter provides guidance on grants for the operation and/or maintenance of facilities to meet eligible Federal Aid purposes. 522 FW 9 covers grants for the enhancement or management of lands or waters as habitat for fish and wildlife populations.

7.2 What are definitions for some terms used in this chapter?

A. Facilities means buildings, structures, and infrastructure.

B. State(s) refers to State fish and wildlife agencies and other grantees.

C. We refers to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

7.3 Do States have to maintain facilities acquired or developed with Federal Aid funds? Yes, States must maintain all facilities that they acquire or develop with Federal Aid funds to ensure that the facilities continue to serve their intended purpose throughout their useful life [50 CFR 80.17]. In addition, if States use Federal Aid funds to operate and/or maintain facilities, the facilities must continue to serve the intended purpose for which they were acquired or built [50 CFR 80.18(c)].

7.4 For what can operation and maintenance grants be used?

A. Operations. Activities necessary for the facility to produce desired results. These are activities that make the area work and include public use management and hatchery operations.

B. Maintenance. Activities necessary for upkeep of a facility. These are activities that allow the facility to function and include routine recurring custodial maintenance, such as housekeeping and minor repairs, and the supplies, materials, and tools necessary to carry out the work. Also, included is non-routine cyclical maintenance to keep facilities fully functional. Cyclical maintenance is major maintenance or renovation activities that the State normally conducts at intervals greater than 1 year.

Amendment 1, 03/02/07, amends section 7.4C below.

C. Facilities acquired or constructed with non-Federal Aid funds. Operation and maintenance activities at facilities that the State acquired or constructed with non-Federal Aid funds, are eligible if such facilities are necessary to carry out an approved Federal Aid grant [50 CFR 80.17]. Refer to paragraph 7.5 for guidance relating to facilities purchased or constructed under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act.

7.5 What special conditions apply to operation and maintenance grants? The following conditions are specifically applicable to operation and maintenance grants:

A. Activities on areas owned or controlled by other public agencies or private parties must include written agreement of the controlling agency or party to the management plans. The tenure of the agreement should be of sufficient duration to protect the investment [50 CFR 80.18(c), 50 CFR 80.20].

Amendment 1, 03/02/07, amends section 7.5B below.

B. You may not use Federal Aid funds to operate or maintain properties or facilities purchased or constructed under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act [16 U.S.C. 4601-8].

7.6 What does a project statement include)? For each project for operation and maintenance of a facility within a grant, a project statement must include the following information [50 CFR 80.11, 50 CFR 80.13]:

A. Need. Normally, we do not require a detailed need statement for operation and maintenance projects within a grant, since the reason for operating and maintaining areas or facilities is usually understood. However, we do require an explanation for grants that address exceptional needs; i.e., those that are unusual, new, or more costly than normal [50 CFR 80.11].

B. Objectives. Describe the objectives of the operation and maintenance activities as they relate to the purpose(s) of the facilities that the State manages. Examples:

(1) During the grant proposal (GP) period July 1, 2002, through June 30, 2007, operate and maintain buildings, structures, and infrastructure on 15 Southeast District wildlife management areas, totaling 1,384,000 acres (560,324 hectares), to provide public hunting and other wildlife oriented recreation.

(2) From January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2007, operate and maintain the Clear Water Hatchery to provide for the restoration of sport fish in 18 reservoirs and 6 rivers, as specified in the attached stocking plan.

C. Results and Benefits. Identify, and to the extent feasible, quantify the effects on fish/wildlife populations, public use, and other benefits from the operation and maintenance of the facility. In the examples below, the term "we" refers to grantees. Examples:

(1) We expect the wildlife management area system to provide approximately 200,000 days of hunting and a harvest of approximately 6,000 deer, 1,500 turkeys, 35,000 squirrels, 5,000 rabbits, and 30,000 ducks and geese. We expect other wildlife oriented recreation use exceeding 1,000,000 days annually.

(2) We expect the Clear Water Hatchery production stocked in the 18 reservoirs and 6 rivers to maintain angler catch rates within an acceptable range of .75 to 1.5 fish/hour, and increase angler use from 75,000 to 200,000 angler days.

D. Approach. Describe the work that you expect to accomplish under the grant. You do not need to list work by facility for routine operations and custodial maintenance. Provide a general summary of required actions. Grantees may compile required actions for an entire O & M project within a grant, such as, "Maintain 50 miles (80.47 km) of unimproved roads and trails, maintain 20 acres (eight ha) of gravel parking lots, and . . . ," with the estimated total cost of all required actions. For cyclical maintenance, describe the work to be done by area or facility.

E. Location. Provide a list and location of facilities managed under each project within a grant, and the size of each area in acres or hectares. Applicants may attach maps.

F. Cost. Provide the estimated cost, by year, for each project within a grant, during the GP period.

7.7 What information do I need to support a Grant Proposal? See 522 FW 1 for general information on documentation to support a GP.

7.8 What information do I need to support a Grant Agreement? See 522 FW 1 for general information on documentation to support the GA. Applicants must submit the following information, as applicable, for each operations and maintenance project within the GA [43 CFR 12.50(b)(3)]:

A. Estimated cost for the GA period.

B. If the grant includes operation and/or maintenance projects for hunter education, motorboat access, or aquatic education facilities, identify the estimated cost by the accountable subprogram.

C. If a project within a grant includes operation and maintenance of a hatchery, provide a production and distribution plan for the fishes produced.

7.9 What are the allowable costs? 43 CFR 12.62 and 522 FW 1 list general requirements related to allowable costs. For facilities that provide multiple program purposes, you must allocate costs for operation and maintenance among the various programs. The method for allocation must produce an equitable distribution among the programs [50 CFR 80.15]. For example, if a building were shared by Federal Aid supported staff and personnel not involved with FA grants, you would allocate the building maintenance costs based on the relative amount of space each group occupies (522 FW 1).

7.10 Are reports required? 522 FW 1 provides (1) the requirements for monitoring and performance reporting for projects under this chapter and (2) the requirements for financial reporting.

7.11 Is identification of Federal Aid funded areas required?

A. No, but we encourage you to use the appropriate Federal Aid program symbol ( Federal Aid in Wildlife and Federal Aid in Sport Fish) to identify facilities that you construct or improve using Federal Aid funds.

B. For public use facilities, States must inform the public of the location, boundaries, and any restrictions on use of facilities [50 CFR 80.5]. You may use maps for this purpose. For more information go, to 50 CFR 80.26.

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