Call for Intent Forms for Land Acquisition Projects In Washington State for the 2006 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund
· Recovery Land Acquisition grants
· Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition grants

This is the State of Washington's announcement of a joint federal-state Call for Intent Forms for the 2006 land acquisition grant programs under the federal Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund. This fund is established pursuant to Section 6 of the federal Endangered Species Act, which calls for federal government cooperation with states to conserve threatened and endangered species.

This Call for Intent Forms seeks parties interested in obtaining grant funds to protect lands in perpetuity for habitat conservation. Intent Forms are due December 7, 2005.

Interested parties may submit an Intent Form for a Recovery Land Acquisition grant or a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) Land Acquisition grant at this time, within Washington State. There will be a national 2006 Request for Proposals for these grant programs in the future, though that date is unspecified. It is important, however, that parties in Washington State intending to prepare a 2006 proposal, submit an Intent Form now. Parties that submit an Intent Form now are inherently more competitive during the state ranking process, and have a greater chance of advancing in the national competition.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), together with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR), have developed a joint federal-state process for seeking, accepting, reviewing, and selecting project proposals for the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund.

If you are not familiar with this joint federal-state process, please review the 2005 Request for Proposals. While the process may change slightly for the 2006 grant cycle, last year’s Request for Proposals will give you insight into the process, and provide links to federal websites describing the grant programs and their requirements.

If you intend to apply for a 2006 Recovery Land Acquisition grant or a 2006 HCP Land Acquisition grant in Washington State, please fill out and submit an Intent Form by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 7, 2005.

Completed Intent Forms (2 pages only) can be sent by any of the following methods.

Once the Intent Forms are received, they will be reviewed by involved agencies. Agencies will then determine which projects will be sponsored, will identify any potential problems with projects, will identify any additional information needed, and will help applicants develop full proposals.

Proposed projects will be listed on this website so the public has the opportunity to contact agency representatives if there are questions or issues about a potential proposed project.

Complete proposals for land acquisition projects are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 10, 2006. More details will be posted on this website, in the future, about how to submit a complete proposal.

For further information, please contact Joanne Stellini at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at (360) 753-4323, after you have carefully reviewed the link to last year’s request for proposals.

Website Updates

This website will be regularly updated with information about the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund process at both the national and state level. This website will:

• List what potential land acquisition projects have been proposed through the Intent Form process, and provide brief details for each project
• Announce when the national Request for Proposals has been released, and how to apply under the national program in Washington State
• Verify when complete proposals are due, and what a complete proposal must contain
• List what grant proposals have been received in Washington State and how you can get more information about them
• Identify what part of the grant process is currently underway and what is happening during that time
• List what projects have successfully competed for funding and been awarded grants

Please check this website regularly for updates!