Model Considerations for Monitoring Eagle Fatalities at Low-Risk Projects in the United States | F18AS00215

Opportunity Information: Apply for F18AS00215

The grant opportunity titled "Model Considerations for Monitoring Eagle Fatalities at Low-Risk Projects in the United States" (Funding Opportunity Number F18AS00215) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior) cooperative agreement aimed at improving how eagle fatalities are predicted and monitored at wind energy projects that are considered low risk. It is issued under the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU), a long-standing partnership framework that connects federal agencies with universities to deliver research, technical assistance, and education. The legal authority cited for the work includes the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), reflecting the federal responsibility to manage and protect migratory birds, including eagles, in a way that aligns with conservation and permitting requirements.

This notice is not a typical open competition. It is explicitly a "Notice of Intent to Award" as a single-source action, meaning the Service plans to fund one specific recipient rather than solicit proposals broadly. Eligible applicants are limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, and the award is expected to go to a member university within the Pacific Northwest CESU network. The opportunity was created on June 29, 2018, with an original closing date of July 6, 2018, signaling a short turnaround consistent with a targeted, pre-identified collaboration rather than a wide competitive process. The anticipated award amount is modest, with an award ceiling of $40,000 and one expected award, and it is also noted that the CESU system-wide indirect cost rate is expected to apply.

The practical problem the Service is trying to solve is how to handle permitting and compliance for wind facilities that are located in areas where eagle risk is believed to be low, without weakening protections or losing accountability for eagle take (injury or mortality). The Service describes an immediate need for tools and protocols that can speed up permit evaluation for these low-risk projects while still ensuring that any eagle take is measured, interpreted, and managed in a way that matches agency objectives. A key theme is uncertainty: the Service wants to better identify which uncertainties most affect existing collision and take-estimation models, and then design monitoring approaches that can reduce those uncertainties using real post-construction data.

The main deliverables center on both monitoring and modeling. First, the collaboration is intended to produce a standardized post-construction monitoring protocol tailored specifically to low-risk wind projects. The protocol is meant to help the Service determine whether unacceptable levels of eagle take might be occurring even at projects predicted to be low risk, essentially serving as a check that reality matches model expectations. Second, the work will revise or modify existing collision models so they better reflect conditions at low-risk projects, rather than relying on assumptions or parameter values that may have been developed from higher-risk settings or more generalized datasets. Along the way, the project will evaluate survey design and data requirements, which typically includes questions like how often to search for carcasses, how to account for scavenger removal or imperfect detection, and how much monitoring effort is needed to make statistically meaningful inferences without imposing unnecessary burdens on low-risk operators.

Another important objective is implementation support. The Service is not only seeking technical products, but also assistance in integrating those products into the broader eagle permitting framework used by agency staff. In other words, the outputs are intended to be operational, usable, and aligned with how permits are reviewed and managed in practice, not just academic recommendations. The initial phase is described as focusing on revising the collision model and creating monitoring standards for projects in low-risk areas. The notice also points to possible follow-on work, including updates to the adaptive decision framework (the structured approach used to make permitting decisions under uncertainty and adjust over time), development of more complex collision models if needed, and continued work on a bald eagle-specific model component, described as a "collision prior," which suggests improving the prior assumptions or baseline risk estimates used when site-specific data are limited.

In short, this is a targeted, single-recipient university partnership under the CESU program to refine the technical foundation behind eagle take estimation at low-risk wind facilities. The intent is to make permitting more efficient where risk is low, while strengthening confidence that eagle fatalities are still being accurately detected, modeled, and managed according to federal conservation responsibilities.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Model Considerations for Monitoring Eagle Fatalities at Low-Risk Projects in the United States" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.678.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 29, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 06, 2018. (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 $40,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for F18AS00215

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