Conservation and Natural History of Northern Pine Snake across north Georgia | F18AS00327

Opportunity Information: Apply for F18AS00327

The Conservation and Natural History of Northern Pine Snake across north Georgia opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F18AS00327) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notice of intent to make a single-source award through a cooperative agreement. In practical terms, this means there is no open, competitive grant announcement tied to this notice and the Service is signaling its plan to fund one specific recipient, Clemson University, for one expected award. The opportunity sits within research and development work that supports education and environmental science goals, and it is associated with CFDA 15.664. The notice was created on August 29, 2018, with an original closing date of September 5, 2018, reflecting that it is primarily an administrative step for a targeted award rather than a broad solicitation.

The project itself is focused on strengthening conservation knowledge for the Northern Pine Snake in north Georgia by filling key gaps that affect species assessment and management. A central motivation is to support the early steps of a Species Status Assessment (SSA), particularly the first step that centers on understanding what the species needs to persist. The project targets two major uncertainties: where the species is currently found across the region and what habitat conditions are required by different life stages, especially younger snakes, in landscapes that are actively changing due to forest restoration.

One major component is field surveying to determine current distribution using a combination of live (active) trapping and camera (passive) trapping. Surveys are planned on multiple land ownership types, including state, federal, and private lands, to broaden coverage and avoid bias toward any single management context. The search strategy is anchored in two priority areas: first, lands within 5 km of museum-vouchered Northern Pine Snake records, which provides a defensible starting point based on verified historical occurrence; and second, lands undergoing montane longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) restoration, where habitat structure and ground conditions may be shifting in ways that could either benefit or hinder the species. By pairing historical records with contemporary restoration sites, the work is designed to produce a clearer, updated picture of occupancy and potential range, which is foundational for any later conservation planning, threat evaluation, or regulatory decisions.

A second component is aimed at improving understanding of hatchling and juvenile ecology through head-starting wild clutches. Head-starting generally refers to collecting eggs or young from the wild, rearing them under controlled conditions to increase early survival, and using that process to learn more about growth, survival, and early habitat needs. In this project, head-starting is planned at the Paulding Wildlife Management Area (WMA) near Dallas, Georgia, during the 2019 active season. The notice indicates that the first clutch for this site has already been collected and will function as a pilot effort. This location is described as a heavily managed montane longleaf pine restoration area, which makes it a useful test case for understanding how intensive habitat management and restoration activities intersect with the requirements of younger age classes. The intent is not only to improve survival prospects for those individuals, but also to generate information about spatial and structural habitat requirements across life stages, especially in a forest system undergoing rapid change.

Overall, the grant supports applied conservation research that connects on-the-ground survey data with life-stage specific ecological insight. By documenting present-day distribution near verified historical localities and within restoration landscapes, and by initiating focused work on early life stages through head-starting, the project is structured to reduce major uncertainties that typically limit effective management of rare or poorly understood reptiles. The cooperative agreement structure also implies active involvement and coordination between the Fish and Wildlife Service and Clemson University, which is common when the agency expects collaboration, shared technical input, and alignment with broader conservation assessment needs.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the education, environment, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Conservation and Natural History of Northern Pine Snake across north Georgia" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.664.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 29, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 05, 2018 THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD TO A SINGLE SOURCE ANNOUNCEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS NOTICE.. (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 $1.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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