Removal and Surveillance of Argentine Black and White Tegus in the Everglades Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area: Protecting Valued Ecological Resources in southern Miami-Dade and northern Monroe Counties | P17AS00413

Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00413

The grant opportunity titled "Removal and Surveillance of Argentine Black and White Tegus in the Everglades Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area: Protecting Valued Ecological Resources in southern Miami-Dade and northern Monroe Counties" is a National Park Service (Department of the Interior) effort focused on controlling and tracking an invasive lizard species in and around the Everglades. The Argentine black and white tegu is the target of the work because it poses a risk to native wildlife and sensitive habitats, particularly in southern Miami-Dade and northern Monroe Counties where high-value ecological resources are at stake. The project is framed around both direct removal (through trapping and related control methods) and the longer-term need to detect, monitor, and prevent the species from spreading into additional areas.

The central goals of the project are threefold. First, it aims to improve trapping efforts in the tegu "core area," meaning the locations where tegus are already established and where control actions are most likely to reduce the overall population. Second, it seeks to evaluate how the tegu population responds to these control activities, which implies tracking results over time rather than only counting animals removed. Third, it calls for designing and testing a surveillance and monitoring program intended to prevent the spread of tegus beyond the core area and to protect nearby ecological resources. In practical terms, the project is not only about catching as many tegus as possible in the short run, but also about learning whether the control approach is working and building an early-detection framework that can identify new incursions before they become established populations.

A key performance emphasis is maximizing the number of tegus removed from the core area. The opportunity description ties that directly to increasing the probability of excluding tegus from "valued ecological resources," which signals a containment and protection strategy: reduce the source population where it is currently concentrated so fewer animals disperse outward, and create a buffer of monitoring and response capacity to keep them from gaining a foothold in additional habitats. Complementing removal, the surveillance program component is meant to monitor the effectiveness of exclusion efforts, meaning it should provide evidence about whether tegus are being kept out of priority areas and whether new sightings, captures, or signs of presence are being detected quickly enough to respond.

Administratively, this opportunity is listed as a discretionary funding action using a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument, under CFDA number 15.945, within an environment-related funding activity category. The funding opportunity number is P17AS00413, and the posting date (creation date) is June 21, 2017. The expected number of awards is listed as 5, with an award ceiling of $99,491. Eligibility is broadly labeled as "Others," with additional details referenced in a separate eligibility clarification field. Importantly, the notice states that it is not a request for applications and that no applications will be accepted under the announcement. Instead, it serves as public notice of the National Park Service's intention to fund this work under an existing cooperative agreement, meaning the award is effectively pre-arranged within an established partnership framework rather than open to new competitive proposals.

Overall, the opportunity reflects a targeted invasive species management strategy in the Everglades CISMA region: intensify and refine removal in established areas, measure how the population changes in response to those efforts, and build a practical surveillance and monitoring system that supports early detection and rapid response. The underlying conservation intent is to reduce the likelihood that tegus expand into sensitive ecosystems in southern Miami-Dade and northern Monroe Counties by combining high-effort control in known hotspots with a structured monitoring program that can demonstrate whether exclusion and containment are actually being achieved.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Removal and Surveillance of Argentine Black and White Tegus in the Everglades Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area: Protecting Valued Ecological Resources in southern Miami-Dade and northern Monroe Counties" 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 Jun 21, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by This funding opportunity is not a request for applications no applications will be accepted under this announcement. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to provide public notice of the National Park Services intention to fund this project under an existing cooperative agreement.. (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 $99,491.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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