15.626 Hunter Education and Safety Program

FEDERAL AGENCY: FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

AUTHORIZATION: Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, 50 Stat. 917 as amended; 16 U.S.C. 669h-l.

OBJECTIVES: To provide Section 10 funds for the enhancement of hunter, bow, and archery education programs and the enhancement of construction of firearm shooting ranges and archery ranges.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE: Formula Grants.

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS: Project work should occur within the range of the Asian elephant, or, if work is to be conducted outside of the range, the proposal should show a clear relevance to Asian elephant conservation. Applied research projects should address specific management needs and actions. Funds provided under this program will not be used for: the purchase of firearms or ammunitions; buying of intelligence information or paying informants; gathering information by persons who conceal their true identity; law enforcement operations that prompt suspects to carry out illegal activities so they may be arrested (entrapment); or any activity that would circumvent sanctions, laws or regulations of either the U.S. or the country in which the activity would occur. Funds may not be used to provide material support or resources to individuals, entities, or organizations of countries that have been identified by the U.S. Department of State as state sponsors of terrorism. The countries currently identified are: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. This program is administered in compliance with the Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreements Act of 1977, as amended. These funds may not be used towards training U.S. Federal Government personnel.

Applicant Eligibility: Participation limited to State agencies with lead management responsibility for fish and wildlife resources. States must have passed laws for the conservation of wildlife which includes a prohibition against diversion of license fees paid by hunters for purposes other than the administration of the State fish and wildlife agency. Also eligible are Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Beneficiary Eligibility: General Public (While direct participation is limited to fish and wildlife agencies, the general public will ultimately benefit from these hunter safety programs.)

Credentials/Documentation: Notification of desire to participate must be made annually to the Secretary. The State fish and wildlife director must furnish a certification of the number of paid hunting license holders.

Preapplication Coordination: This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires when applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.

Application Procedure: The program announcement and application instructions for this program can be found at the Grants.gov website. The Notice of Funding Availability and Application Instructions are also located on the program website at http://www.fws.gov/international/asecf/asep.htm. If you are unable to access the Internet, hard copies are available upon request from the Branch of Near East, South Asia & Africa, Division of International Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 100, Arlington, Virginia 22203. A proposal will not be considered complete if all required elements are not submitted as instructed. U.S. applicants must submit (among other elements) a complete, signed Standard Form 424 "Application for Federal Assistance".

Award Procedure: Projects are reviewed and competitively selected for funding based on established criteria contained in the Asian Elephant Conservation Act (16 USC 4261 4266). Review criteria can be found in the application information at http://www.fws.gov/international/asecf/asep.htm. Once a proposal has been selected for funding, an Assistance Award between the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Recipient is drafted by the Division of International Conservation. The draft Award is then submitted to the Division of Contracting and Facilities Management (CFM) where it is executed by an FWS Contracting Officer. Fully executed Awards are sent to the Recipient either electronically or through the mail. The Division of International Conservation then administers all other aspects of the Assistance Award.

Deadlines: This program has two annual deadlines. The first deadline is November 1 each year. The second deadline is April 1 each year.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: Approximately 30 days.

Appeals: Final determination rests with the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Renewals: Projects may be renewed on an annual basis if justified and if funds are available.

Formula and Matching Requirements: To the extent possible, grant funds are matched by nonfederal funds. This program has no statutory formula. In determining whether to approve project proposals, preference is given to projects for which matching funds are available.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Funds are available for obligation for one year. Balances remaining un-obligated after one year are returned to be reapportioned to States who have used all of the funds apportioned to them under section 4(c) and section 10 of the Federal Aid Wildlife Restoration Act for hunter safety related activities. For more information see the Hunter Education Guide at http://training.fws.gov/fedaid/toolkit/heguide.pdf.

Reports: Progress and final reports are due in accordance with the terms and conditions established in the Assistance Award. Complete reporting requirements can be found at the program web page at http://www.fws.gov/international/asecf/asep.htm. For financial reporting, Domestic Recipients with no program income to report shall use Standard Form 269a. Domestic recipients with program income to report shall use Standard Form 269. Non-domestic Recipients shall submit a financial status report that follows the same format of the original project proposal budget table, itemizes expenditures for the reporting period any describes any deviations from the approved project budget.

Audits: In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that receive financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.

Records: Cost records must be maintained separately for each grant. Records, accounts, and supporting documents must be retained for 3 years after submission of the final Financial Status Report.

Account Identification: 14-5029-0-2-303.

Obligations: (Grants) FY 06 $1,269,352; FY 07 est $1,300,000; and FY 08 est $1,300,000.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance: $13,300 to $240,000; $145,000.

PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS: In FY 2006 the Service funded 25 Asian elephant conservation projects. A summary of each of those projects can be found at the program's webpage at http://www.fws.gov/international/asecf/asep.htm.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE: Awards will be administered in conformance with the "Assistance Award Guidelines" established by the Division of International Conservation, which uses as its source all applicable award terms and conditions found at http://www.doi.gov/pam/TermsandConditions.html. The "Assistance Award Guidelines" can be found on-line at http://www.fws.gov/international/asecf/asep.htm or in hard copy by contacting the Division of International Conservation at (703) 358-1754.

Regional or Local Office: See Catalog Appendix IV for addresses of Regional Fish and Wildlife Service Offices.

Headquarters Office: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Contact: Chief, Division of International Conservation, Room 100, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22203. Telephone: (703)358 1754. Fax: (703) 358 2115. E-mail: MSCF_AsianElephant@fws.gov.

Web Site Address: http://federalasst.fws.gov.

RELATED PROGRAMS: 15.605, Sport Fish Restoration Program; 15.608, Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance; 15.615, Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund; 15.617, Wildlife Conservation and Appreciation.

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS: Annual summaries of the projects funded under this program can be found at http://www.fws.gov/international/asecf/asep.htm. Hard copies of this information are available upon request from the Division of Division of International Conservation at (703) 358-1754.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS: Proposals will be reviewed on the basis of criteria developed from the Asian Elephant Conservation Act (16 USC 4261 4266). Due to the limited funding available and the desire to support diverse projects, preference will be given to proposals requesting $50,000 or less. Additional details on the selection criteria can be found in the Asian Elephant Notice of Funding Availability and Application Instructions at http://www.fws.gov/international/asecf/asep.htm. Hard copies are available upon request from the Division of International Conservation at (703) 358-1754.