Under the ESA, NMFS enters into agreements with states that establish and maintain an "adequate and active" program for the conservation of endangered and threatened species. Once a state enters into such an agreement, NMFS provides federal funding through the Species Recovery Grants to States a competitive grant program for implementation of the state's conservation program. States use federal grant funding to support management, outreach, research, and monitoring projects with direct conservation benefits for threatened and endangered species. A separate grant program - the Species Recovery Grants to Tribes Program - supports similar conservation efforts through grants to federally recognized tribes.
NMFS also has cooperative agreements with Alaska Native organizations to conserve marine mammals and co-manage subsistence hunting of cetaceans and other marine mammals. Cooperative agreements may include federal grants to Alaska Native organizations for 5 collecting and analyzing marine mammal population data, monitoring the harvest of cetaceans for subsistence use, participating in cetacean research, and developing marine mammal co-management structures with government agencies.
To respond to cetacean strandings, NMFS partners with stranding network organizations in all coastal states and is developing capacity in some U.S. territories. NMFS coordinates the National Marine Mammal Stranding Network, develops best practices, assists with diagnostics and research, and provides training. In addition, NMFS provides some financial support through the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program. The Prescott Grant Program provides grants or cooperative agreements to eligible stranding network participants for: (1) recovery and treatment (i.e., rehabilitation) of stranded marine mammals; (2) data collection from living or dead stranded marine mammals, and (3) facility upgrades, operation costs, and staffing needs directly related to the recovery and treatment of stranded marine mammals and the collection of data from living or dead stranded marine mammals. For fiscal year 2017, 33 competitive Prescott Grants were awarded in 13 states totaling $2,830,762. For fiscal year 2018, NOAA Fisheries received 57 eligible proposals. These proposals are under review and final decisions will be made in summer 2018.
Cooperation with States, Tribes, Alaska Native Organizations, and Non-Governmental Organizations