Large mammal responses to wildfire and landscape-scale forest restoration in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico. | P18AS00014

Opportunity Information: Apply for P18AS00014

The grant opportunity titled "Large mammal responses to wildfire and landscape-scale forest restoration in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico" (Funding Opportunity Number P18AS00014) is a National Park Service funding effort under the U.S. Department of the Interior focused on understanding how major forest management actions and wildfire-related landscape changes affect large mammals in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. The work is tied directly to the Southwest Jemez Mountains Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project (SWJM-CFLRP), a large, multi-partner restoration initiative aimed at improving forest conditions at a landscape scale. The main species of interest are elk, mule deer, and black bear, with the central task being systematic monitoring of how these animals respond to restoration treatments implemented across the project area.

The project is designed to produce practical, decision-ready data rather than one-off observations. One core aim is to supply information that fits into an adaptive management framework, meaning the monitoring results are intended to be used to adjust and improve ongoing treatment plans over time. In practice, that implies collecting and interpreting data in a way that managers can use to evaluate whether restoration actions are achieving desired outcomes, and then refine treatment approaches based on what the wildlife responses indicate.

A second major aim is to determine the long-term effects of restoration treatments on both the large mammals themselves and the habitat conditions they depend on within the Jemez Mountains CFLRP area. This points to an emphasis on longer time horizons, such as how changes in forest structure, understory vegetation, forage availability, cover, movement corridors, and post-treatment or post-fire habitat patterns influence animal distribution, behavior, and habitat use over multiple seasons or years. It also suggests the monitoring is meant to track trends and sustained impacts, not just immediate short-term reactions.

The third aim is broader and forward-looking: to generate essential data that can shape future forest restoration initiatives across the Southwest. While the work is grounded in the Jemez Mountains, the intention is that lessons learned about how elk, mule deer, and black bear respond to different restoration strategies and post-wildfire landscapes can inform planning and implementation in other Southwestern forests facing similar issues, such as fuel accumulation, altered fire regimes, and the need for large-scale ecological restoration.

Administratively, this opportunity was offered as a discretionary award using a cooperative agreement, signaling that the National Park Service expected to have substantial involvement in the project during performance (for example, coordination on study design, methods, data needs, or integration with management decisions). The eligible applicants were limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, which indicates the program was aimed at universities and similar institutions with the capacity to conduct rigorous wildlife and habitat monitoring. The funding was associated with CFDA number 15.945 and anticipated a single award, with an award ceiling of $80,013. The opportunity was created on November 9, 2017, with an original closing date of November 18, 2017, reflecting a short application window and a targeted, project-specific funding intent.

Overall, the opportunity centers on applied wildlife ecology in a restoration context: measuring and interpreting how key large mammal species respond to landscape-scale forest restoration treatments and wildfire-affected environments, and ensuring the resulting information directly supports adaptive management in the Jemez Mountains while also contributing to better-designed restoration efforts elsewhere in the Southwestern United States.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Large mammal responses to wildfire and landscape-scale forest restoration in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico." and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 09, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 18, 2017. (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 $80,013.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

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