Opportunity Information: Apply for N62473 21 2 0015
The Mexican Spotted Owl (MSO) Protected Activity Center (PAC) Thinning Project is a U.S. Navy-funded cooperative agreement, administered through the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program and authorized under the Sikes Act, focused on protecting the mission and long-term operational resilience of Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station (NOFS) in Flagstaff, Arizona. The core purpose is to prevent "encroachment" from undermining military readiness, where encroachment in this context includes environmental and land-management conditions that could restrict or interfere with current or future military activities. The Navy views encroachment prevention as a cost-effective way to avoid incompatible land uses and, at the same time, strengthen local conservation outcomes. This specific proposal was submitted by Navy Region Southwest to address resiliency and encroachment risks affecting NOFS, validated by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and elevated as a priority project for the U.S. Navy.
The on-the-ground problem the funding is meant to address is the elevated risk of stand-replacing wildfire in and around the NOFS Military Influence Area (MIA), particularly in fire-adapted ponderosa pine ecosystems that have become unnaturally dense and fuel-loaded over time. The project targets fuels reduction and forest thinning within Mexican spotted owl protected activity centers, with the dual goal of lowering the probability of severe, high-intensity fire and reducing the chance of fire-driven habitat loss for the Mexican spotted owl, which is federally listed under the Endangered Species Act. By treating fuels and improving forest structure, the work is intended to support an "ecosystem fire improvement program" that makes these landscapes more resilient to wildfire while maintaining or improving habitat conditions important to the owl.
The effort is also explicitly designed to align with and advance the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI), a large, multi-stakeholder restoration strategy across northern Arizona forests. In practical terms, that means the project contributes to broader 4FRI goals such as restoring the structure, pattern, composition, and overall health of ponderosa pine forests; reducing hazardous fuels and the risk of unnaturally severe wildfires; and sustaining wildlife habitat and plant diversity. While the thinning work occurs off the NOFS installation itself, it is still directly tied to protecting the installation because it occurs within the NOFS MIA, where conditions on surrounding lands can affect the station, its operations, and its assets.
From a mission-protection standpoint, the Navy frames the benefits in several concrete ways. Reducing the likelihood of catastrophic wildfire helps protect water resources and limits the operational impacts of erratic, unpredictable fire behavior. It also safeguards major, long-term federal investments in high-value scientific and defense-related infrastructure, including the telescopes at NOFS and the Naval Precision Optical Interferometer at Anderson Mesa. In addition to physical risk from fire, the project addresses indirect impacts that matter to an observatory mission: smoke and particulate matter can obscure the night sky, degrade observing conditions, and potentially harm sensitive optical equipment. In that sense, fuels reduction around the installation is treated not only as environmental stewardship but also as a practical readiness measure that helps keep the observatory functioning as intended.
The project is structured as a voluntary partnership between NOFS and the National Forest Foundation (NFF) to plan and implement the fuels-reduction work on surrounding lands. The funding is categorized as natural resources support intended to maintain and improve natural resources off of a military installation specifically to relieve or eliminate current or anticipated constraints on military operations. The opportunity was issued by Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) as a cooperative agreement under CFDA 12.300, with an award ceiling of $500,000. It was listed as an earmark opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number N62473 21 2 0015), created on August 16, 2021, with an original closing date of September 16, 2021.
Finally, the notice makes clear that the award is intended to be sole source under DoD Grant and Agreement Regulations (DoDGARS), Part 33, Subpart C, citing the rationale that the National Forest Foundation is uniquely qualified due to its national charter under the National Forest Act. The NFF is positioned to accept and manage the funding consistent with the Sikes Act and under the established stewardship agreement framework, specifically the Stewardship Agreement Supplemental Project Agreement #20-SA-11030400-190 with the USDA Forest Service, Coconino National Forest, tiered to the Master Stewardship Agreement #20-SA-11031600-058. In short, the grant opportunity funds targeted thinning and fuels work in MSO habitat areas near NOFS to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk, protect a listed species, and ensure the observatory can continue its mission with fewer disruptions and less risk to critical assets.Apply for N62473 21 2 0015
- The NAVAL FACILITIES ENGINEERING COMMAND in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Mexican Spotted Owl (MSO) Protected Activity Center (PAC) Thinning Project Sikes Act Cooperative Agreement via the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program in support of Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station (NOFS), Flagstaff, AZ" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.300.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2021-08-16.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-09-16. (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 $500,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Others.
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