F24AS00186 Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program

The John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program (Prescott Grant Program) provides financial assistance to eligible marine mammal stranding participants and stranding network collaborators to provide (A) the recovery, care, or treatment of sick, injured, or entangled marine mammals; (B) responses to marine mammal stranding events that require emergency assistance; (C) the collection of data and samples from living or dead stranded marine mammals for scientific research or assessments regarding marine mammal health; (D) facility operating costs that are directly related to activities described in (A), (B), or (C); and (E) development of stranding network capacity, including training for emergency response, where facilities do not exist or are sparse. Successful applications will be those aimed at helping support these actions. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) Prescott Grant Program will provide support for response to the stranding of wild populations of species under the Department of the Interior’s management authority per section 3(12) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Under this Funding Opportunity, the Service will select projects for funding based on how well and to what extent they support the species-specific priority activities, which are listed below under Species-Specific Funding Priorities. For the purposes of this program, priority is to be given to applications focusing on marine mammal stranding.For the purpose of this funding program, the term "stranding" means an event in the wild in which—A. a marine mammal is dead and is—(i) on a beach, shore, or land of the United States; or(ii) in waters under the jurisdiction of the United States (including any navigable waters); or.B. a marine mammal is alive and is—(i) on a beach, shore, or land of the United States and unable to return to the water;(ii) on a beach, shore, or land of the United States and, although able to return to the water, is in need of apparent medical attention; or(iii) in the waters under the jurisdiction of the United States (including any navigable waters), but is injured, entangled, or needs assistance; or(iv) in the case of polar bears and Pacific walruses stranded on land due to insufficient ice, in need of assistance for the (A) the protection or welfare of the mammal, or (B) the protection of the public health and welfare.