SUSTAINABLE RANGE STUDY -Richardson Training Area, Fort Wainwright and Donnelly Training Area, Alaska | W911KB 22 2 0008

Opportunity Information: Apply for W911KB 22 2 0008

The SUSTAINABLE RANGE STUDY grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number W911KB 22 2 0008) is a Department of Defense cooperative agreement administered through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Alaska District, to support U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK) and its Integrated Training Area Management (ITAM) Sustainable Range Program. The work is focused on three major Army training land complexes in Alaska: Richardson Training Area (RTA), Fort Wainwright (FWA), and Donnelly Training Area (DTA). The overall intent is to fund a partner (called the "cooperator") to carry out on-the-ground and planning support that helps the Army manage these training lands in a way that keeps them usable for military training while also meeting environmental stewardship responsibilities.

At the core of the opportunity is implementation support for the Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans (INRMPs) for U.S. Army Garrison Fort Wainwright (USAG FWA) and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER). In practical terms, this means the funded effort is expected to generate information, analyses, and management actions that align training land use with the conservation and regulatory commitments spelled out in those INRMPs. The emphasis is on sustainable range management: keeping lands resilient enough to support current and future training demands, reducing avoidable land degradation, and anticipating issues that could trigger training restrictions.

The stated project objectives highlight three main outcomes. First, the cooperator will help RTA, FWA, and DTA optimize management of training lands, which typically involves understanding training impacts, identifying sensitive areas, and recommending practices that keep training realistic without causing unnecessary damage. Second, the project aims to minimize restrictions to the military mission that might result from natural resource or cultural resource constraints. That includes proactively addressing issues related to wildlife habitat, wetlands, erosion, invasive species, sensitive ecosystems, and cultural or archaeological sites, so that compliance requirements do not unexpectedly limit training access or timing. Third, the work is intended to protect and enhance biological diversity and overall ecological health across USARAK-managed lands, reinforcing the idea that long-term training capability depends on maintaining functioning ecosystems.

A major driver behind the agreement is compliance. The opportunity explicitly ties the work to ensuring the Army remains compliant with environmental laws and regulations, which often include requirements related to threatened and endangered species, migratory birds, wetlands and water quality, cultural resource protection, and other federal and state environmental standards. Rather than treating compliance as a box-checking exercise, this program frames compliance as a way to reduce mission risk by preventing regulatory violations, avoiding litigation or enforcement actions, and reducing the likelihood that training areas become constrained because problems were not addressed early.

From a funding standpoint, this is a discretionary opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism, which generally implies substantial involvement or collaboration with the federal agency during performance (more back-and-forth coordination than a standard grant). The listing identifies an award ceiling of $962,898, with one expected award, indicating a single recipient is anticipated to carry out the full scope. The funding activity category is Environment, and the CFDA number is 12.005. The opportunity was created April 26, 2022, with an original closing date of May 27, 2022. The eligible applicant category shown is Individuals, meaning an individual applicant was permitted under the posting, even though many similar ITAM/INRMP support efforts are often performed by organizations, universities, or nonprofits in other contexts.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as applied natural resources and land sustainability support for active military training ranges in Alaska, designed to keep training lands viable while meeting INRMP commitments, conserving ecological integrity, managing natural and cultural resource constraints, and maintaining compliance with environmental requirements so the Army can continue its mission with fewer land-use interruptions.

• The Department of Defense, Alaska District in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "SUSTAINABLE RANGE STUDY -Richardson Training Area, Fort Wainwright and Donnelly Training Area, Alaska" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.005.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 26, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 27, 2022. (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 $962,898.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Individuals.

Apply for W911KB 22 2 0008

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