These individuals… | Are responsible for… |
(1) Approving or declining to approve Servicewide policy, and (2) Serving as a permanent member of the North American Wetlands Conservation Council. | |
(1) Approving or declining to approve grant guidelines or grant administration practices, and (2) Serving as proxy for the Director on the North American Wetlands Conservation Council. | |
C. The Chief, Division of Bird Habitat Conservation | (1) Developing grant guidelines for the NAWCA program, (2) Coordinating review of proposals as the North American Wetlands Conservation Council Coordinator, and (3) Administering the grants. |
1.7 What other groups do Service personnel work with to coordinate the NAWCA grant program? See Table 1-2.
Table 1-2: Other groups involved with NAWCA grants
Group | Description | Responsibilities related to NAWCA grants |
A. The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) | (1) Group consisting of four members of Congress, heads of three cabinet-level agencies, and non-permanent ex-officio members. (2) Chaired by the Secretary of the Interior, the MBCC approves Service land purchases and funding for NAWCA projects. | Approving projects for funding. |
B. The North American Wetlands Conservation Council (the authorizing legislation exempts this group from the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)) | (1) A project selection body defined by the NAWCA legislation. (2) Permanent members are the Service Director and the Executive Secretary of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. (3) Other members appointed by the Secretary of the Interior for 3-year terms are: - A State wildlife agency director from each of the four flyways; - Three representatives, and one alternate, of different private conservation organizations involved in wetland conservation; and - Any ex-officio members the Secretary chooses to appoint, including the heads of the Canadian and Mexican agencies involved with NAWCA projects. | Establishing program policy and providing project funding recommendations. |
1.8 What are the funding categories that the Service uses for NAWCA grants? There are two funding levels, both of which require a minimum 1:1 non-Federal partner match:
A. Small grants requesting funding up to $100,000 (available for projects in the United States only), and
B. Standard grants requesting funding over $100,000 (available for projects in Canada, Mexico, and the United States).
1.9 How does the Service distribute NAWCA funds among U.S., Canadian, and Mexican projects?
A. A minimum of 40 percent and a maximum of 70 percent of eligible funds must be used for U.S. projects. Funding for Canada and Mexico together is set at a minimum of 30 percent and a maximum of 60 percent of eligible funds.
B. Within NAWCA’s established thresholds, the North American Wetlands Conservation Council annually sets the percentage of funds that go to grant projects in each country.
1.10 What grant process does the Service use for NAWCA?
A. The Division of Bird Habitat Conservation (DBHC) posts a notice of funding opportunity annually on Grants.gov and on the NAWCA Web site.
B. DBHC reviews proposals for eligibility and then the North American Wetlands Conservation Council reviews and ranks them. The Council then recommends projects to the MBCC for final funding approval.
C. DBHC develops and administers the grant award agreements.
1.11 How do potential grant recipients apply for NAWCA grants? Potential grant recipients can find published grant notices and information about how to apply on the following Web sites:
A. Grants.gov, and
B. DBHC Web sites, see Table 1-3.
Table 1-3: DBHC websites for grants and application due dates
Table 1-3: DBHC Web sites for grants and application due dates | |
Grant | Application deadline |
(1) U.S. Standard grants | See Web site for dates |
(2) U.S. Small grants | See Web site for dates |
(3) Canada Standard grants | See Web site for dates |
(4) Mexico Standard grants | See Web site for dates |