2025 White-nose Syndrome Grants to States and Tribes

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), through its Office of Conservation Investment, is offering the 2025 White-nose Syndrome (WNS) Grants to States and Tribes under funding opportunity number F25AS00296. This program is part of the national response effort to address the widespread impacts of white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease affecting hibernating bat populations in North America. Caused by the invasive fungus *Pseudogymnoascus destructans*, WNS has already affected 12 species, including multiple federally listed endangered bats. The primary aim of this grant is to provide financial support to state governments and federally recognized Native American tribes for disease management, species conservation, and engagement in national monitoring and response activities related to WNS. The grant has an estimated total funding pool of $1,500,000 and expects to distribute up to 30 awards. Award amounts will range between $10,000 and $75,000, with sub-category caps: up to $50,000 may be allocated to activities under priorities 1 and 2, such as WNS treatment research and implementation of conservation strategies, and another $50,000 to activities under priorities 3–6, including surveillance, population monitoring, expertise development, and national coordination efforts. However, the total requested amount cannot exceed $75,000 per applicant. These funds cannot be used for land purchases, general forestry, construction offsets, or fulfilling consultation and permitting requirements. Eligible applicants include state governments and federally recognized tribal governments in good standing with prior federal awards. Applicants must demonstrate progress in previously awarded WNS grants, absence of avoidable delays or funding relinquishments, and alignment with program goals. Cost sharing or matching is not required. The program is available nationwide and encourages collaboration between multiple agencies or organizations. Applications must align with national and state-level WNS priorities, and projects proposed for federal lands require coordination with the appropriate federal land managers. The grant application period is currently open, with a two-phase submission process. The initial deadline is August 15, 2025, for early consideration—up to 80% of funds may be awarded in this phase. The final application deadline is September 12, 2025, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Applicants can submit through Grants.gov or GrantSolutions.gov. Required registrations include obtaining a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and registering with SAM.gov, which may take several weeks. Application packages must include standard forms (SF-424, SF-424A/C, SF-429, SF-LLL), a project narrative (not to exceed six pages), a budget narrative, and required compliance and support documents. Applications will be evaluated through an eligibility screening, merit review, and risk assessment. The evaluation criteria include project relevance (20%), project need (25%), impact (20%), cost-effectiveness (20%), and feasibility (15%). Proposals must clearly demonstrate measurable outcomes aligned with WNS national priorities and long-term conservation goals. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may offer partial awards or request proposal adjustments depending on available funds and project alignment. Award notifications are expected around December 1, 2025, with funded projects scheduled to end by May 1, 2027. Technical questions about the grant process can be directed to Shelley Dibona at Shelley_Dibona@fws.gov. For programmatic inquiries, applicants should contact one of the regional or national WNS coordinators, including Jeremy Coleman (Jeremy_Coleman@fws.gov, 413-253-8223), Jonathan Reichard (Jonathan_Reichard@fws.gov, 413-253-8258), and other regional coordinators listed in the NOFO document. All grant activities must follow environmental and permitting requirements, and any funded monitoring work must report data through the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat).

Align with WNS priorities, use NABat, partner broadly, justify costs.