Fox River NRDA | F17AS00115

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00115

The Fox River NRDA grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00115) is a U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service discretionary grant tied to natural resource restoration work in the Lower Fox River and Green Bay area. The notice is not a typical competitive funding announcement. Instead, it serves as a formal notice of intent to make a single, non-competitive (single-source) grant award to the Brown County Land and Water Conservation Department. The anticipated award amount is approximately $800,000, with one award expected, and the notice makes clear that there is no application process for other entities.

The restoration work funded under this award is governed by established Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) planning documents, specifically the 2003 Joint Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Lower Fox River and Green Bay Area and the 2016 Restoration Plan Update. In practical terms, that means the project goals, restoration standards, and what qualifies as eligible restoration activities are not being defined from scratch under this notice; they are anchored to those pre-existing plans. This framing is common for NRDA-driven efforts, where restoration actions are selected to compensate the public for injuries to natural resources resulting from contamination or other environmental harm, and where projects must align with an approved restoration strategy.

The government cites specific policy justifications (505 DM 2.14 B.2 and B.4) for using a non-competitive approach. The core reasoning is that competition is considered impractical because Brown County is already conducting ongoing work to improve northern pike spawning habitat along the west shore, and the department is described as having specialized, proven capacity to deliver this type of restoration. The notice emphasizes that Brown County has previously handled the design, engineering, and implementation of pike restoration projects across the county, suggesting that the work requires local technical knowledge, continuity, and established on-the-ground relationships that would be difficult to replicate quickly through an open competition.

Another major factor supporting the single-source award is Brown County's demonstrated ability to leverage and secure matching or supplemental funds from multiple partners. The notice specifically mentions Ducks Unlimited, the National Fish and Wildlife Federation, local sports groups, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and other sources. This indicates the federal funding is expected to function as a catalyst that can be combined with partner investments to expand the scale and effectiveness of restoration, increase cost efficiency, and potentially accelerate implementation. In short, the award is structured around an experienced local implementer that can both execute complex habitat work and bring additional dollars to the table to maximize restoration outcomes.

Administrative details reinforce that this is informational rather than solicitational. The opportunity was posted with a creation date of February 27, 2017 and an original closing date of March 6, 2017, but those dates do not represent a window for proposal submissions since no applications are being accepted. The listing primarily documents the intent to fund a specific recipient, the expected funding level (up to an $800,000 ceiling), the responsible agency (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), the activity focus (natural resources restoration), and the eligibility posture (effectively restricted to the identified recipient for this action). Overall, Fox River NRDA is best understood as a targeted NRDA restoration award supporting continued pike spawning habitat enhancement in Brown County under established regional restoration plans, delivered through a non-competitive grant to the local department already leading the work.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fox River NRDA" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.658.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 27, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 06, 2017 There is not an application process for this funding opportunity. This is a notice of intent to award a single source grant to the Brown County Land and Water Conservation Department under justification 505DM 2.14 B 2 and 4.. (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 $800,000.00 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).

Apply for F17AS00115

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