White-Nose Syndrome Grants to States 2015

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is pleased to announce the availability of financial assistance to state wildlife agencies for issues related directly to the management of white nose syndrome (WNS). This opportunity is only open to state agencies and no more than one proposal will be accepted from each state. Priority will be given to states that have confirmed WNS or the causative fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), and adjacent states. However all states are encouraged to apply. As of April 1, 2015, states confirmed to have WNS include: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Pd has also been detected on bats in Iowa, Minnesota and Mississippi. The following adjacent states are now considered most vulnerable to the future spread of Pd and WNS: North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Rhode Island, and District of Columbia. The Service has targeted up to $1 million for this funding opportunity in 2015 to help build state capacity that will assist with the management and control of WNS. Available funds are from internally directed funds for Fiscal Year 2015. These grant awards are made under CFDA Number 15.657, Endangered Species Conservation � Recovery Implementation Funds.