Assessment of Impacts of Feral Horses and Livestock Grazing on Sage-Grouse and their Habitats | F17AS00054

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00054

The grant opportunity titled "Assessment of Impacts of Feral Horses and Livestock Grazing on Sage-Grouse and their Habitats" (Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00054) is a U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service research initiative focused on understanding how feral horses, and in some cases combined feral horse and livestock grazing, affect greater sage-grouse and the habitat features the species depends on for nesting, brood-rearing, and adult survival. The project is framed as applied wildlife and habitat research meant to generate practical management recommendations, especially in landscapes where grazing pressure and habitat condition may influence sage-grouse population performance.

At the core of the study is a set of linked hypotheses connecting grazing impacts to measurable changes in vegetation structure and, in turn, to sage-grouse demographic outcomes. The research expects nest survival to be tied to the amount of shrub cover and the condition of understory vegetation, reflecting the idea that shrubs provide concealment and microclimate benefits while grasses and forbs in the understory contribute additional cover and nesting suitability. A second major hypothesis predicts that the presence of feral horses, and particularly the combined presence of feral horses and livestock, will reduce understory height and ground cover. That vegetation change is then expected to cascade into lower brood survival when understory vegetation or shrub cover are reduced, since chicks depend on a mix of cover (to avoid predators and weather stress) and foraging opportunities often associated with healthy forb and insect communities. The same habitat logic extends to adult females, with the project testing whether adult female survival decreases when shrub cover and understory vegetation are diminished, potentially due to increased exposure, increased movement costs, or heightened predation risk in more open or degraded habitat.

A substantial habitat component of the grant centers on riparian areas and wet meadows, which are often disproportionately important in arid sagebrush systems. The project hypothesizes that riparian areas will show higher primary productivity when grazing by nonnative ungulates is absent, aligning with the expectation that reduced grazing pressure allows plants to grow more vigorously, maintain better ground cover, and support more stable streambank and meadow conditions. Relatedly, the study anticipates that riparian meadow vegetation will continue to recover during the 2017 to 2020 period, implying a monitoring framework that tracks whether previously impacted sites show measurable improvement over time, particularly where grazing pressure has been reduced or excluded.

Administratively, this opportunity was issued as a discretionary cooperative agreement within research and development-related program areas, including natural resources and science and technology. The notice indicates it was a single-source intent to award to the University of Nevada, Reno through the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystems Study Unit (CESU), signaling a targeted partnership approach rather than an open competitive call. The funding ceiling listed is $500,000 with one expected award. The opportunity was created on December 8, 2016, with an original closing date of December 15, 2016. The CFDA numbers associated with the program are 15.669 and 15.670.

Overall, the grant is designed to connect grazing pressure from feral horses (and interactions with livestock) to on-the-ground vegetation changes in sagebrush and riparian habitats, and then directly link those habitat conditions to sage-grouse nesting success, brood survival, and adult female survival. The intended outcome is not just descriptive ecology, but decision-ready guidance that land and wildlife managers can use when evaluating grazing management, feral horse impacts, and habitat restoration priorities for sage-grouse conservation.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the information and statistics, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Assessment of Impacts of Feral Horses and Livestock Grazing on Sage-Grouse and their Habitats" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.669, 15.670.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 08, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 15, 2016 This is a notice of intent to issue a Single Source Cooperative agreement to the University of Nevada Reno under the terms of the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystems Study Unit (CESU).. (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 $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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