This is an announcement for issuing a single source financial assistance award to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA).

This award is authorized by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, as amended (16 U.S.C 703-712); The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C.

742a-742j,

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not including 742 d-1; Stat.

1119), as amended; Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.

2901-2911; 94 Stat.

1322); Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.

1531-1544, 87 Stat.

884).

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) uses a science-based, adaptive framework for setting and achieving broad-scale conservation objectives that strategically address the problems fish and wildlife will face in the future.

This framework, called Strategic Habitat Conservation, is based on the principles of adaptive management and uses population and habitat data, ecological models, and focused monitoring and assessment efforts to develop and implement strategies that result in measurable fish and wildlife population outcomes.

This process uses the best available scientific information to predict how fish and wildlife populations will respond to changes in the environment, thus enabling the USFWS to focus habitat conservation and other management activities where they will be most effective.

In addition, the USFWS needs focused, applied science directed at high impact questions surrounding threats to fish and wildlife resources for which management and/or mitigation is required to maintain species at healthy, sustainable, desired levels.

USFWS must base its decisions on the best science available, in order to defend its regulatory decisions, biological opinions and species conservation recommendations to land managers.