Assess Abundance of American Eel within Delaware River | NPS 18 NERO 0209

Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS 18 NERO 0209

The grant opportunity titled "Assess Abundance of American Eel within Delaware River" (Funding Opportunity Number: NPS 18 NERO 0209) is a National Park Service (NPS) discretionary funding action intended to support research activities focused on the American eel population in the Delaware River. It falls under the broader category of Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and it is associated with CFDA number 15.945. The funding instrument listed is a cooperative agreement, which typically means the NPS expects to be actively involved in the supported work rather than simply providing funds and stepping back. The maximum funding amount shown for the award is $53,000, and the opportunity was created on September 11, 2018, with an original closing date of September 20, 2018.

A key point about this notice is that it is explicitly not a request for applications. In other words, it is not an open, competitive solicitation where organizations are being invited to submit proposals. Instead, it serves as a public notice that the National Park Service intends to make a financial assistance award for specific project activities related to assessing the abundance of American eel in the Delaware River. This kind of announcement is commonly used when an agency plans to make an award to a particular partner or under a specific justification, and the public notice is meant to provide transparency about the intended use of federal assistance funds.

The eligible applicant category is listed as "Others," which is a broad designation that can include non-federal partners such as nonprofits, academic institutions, research organizations, and other entities that do not fit neatly into standard government applicant categories. However, because the notice is not inviting applications, the eligibility label is best understood as informational rather than a signal that multiple applicants will be competing. The notice also does not specify the expected number of awards in a clear way, suggesting that the intent may have been a single planned award or that the number of awards was not finalized in the public-facing entry at the time it was posted.

In practical terms, the project focus implied by the title is assessment work to understand how many American eels are present within the Delaware River system, which could involve field sampling, monitoring, data collection, and analysis to estimate eel abundance or trends. While the public notice text provided is repetitive and does not include methodological details, the subject matter aligns with conservation and fisheries science priorities in river ecosystems, especially for species like the American eel that have complex life cycles and can be affected by barriers to migration, habitat changes, and water quality conditions. The cooperative agreement structure also suggests collaboration, meaning NPS staff may contribute to planning, oversight, data coordination, or integration of findings into park or watershed management decisions.

Overall, this posting is best read as a transparency notice about an intended NPS cooperative agreement award, capped at $53,000, to support research and monitoring activities aimed at assessing American eel abundance in the Delaware River, rather than as an opportunity for the general public to apply for grant funding.

• The National Park Service in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Assess Abundance of American Eel within Delaware River" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-09-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-09-20. (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 $53,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for NPS 18 NERO 0209

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