National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Services ACE Task Order 2 | F17AS00471

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00471

The National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Services ACE Task Order 2 opportunity is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) cooperative agreement focused on strengthening how the National Wildlife Refuge System understands and serves the public. The core purpose is to support a national visitor survey effort led by the Service's Human Dimensions (HD) Branch. By systematically collecting information on who visits refuges and what they experience, the Service aims to build a reliable, science-based picture of visitor demographics, recreation patterns, learning and informational outcomes, satisfaction with current facilities and services, and preferences for future improvements. In practical terms, the work is meant to help refuge staff make better decisions about everything from interpretive programs and facility design to balancing visitor use with resource protection.

A major theme of the project is turning visitor feedback into planning-grade data that can be used across the Refuge System. The survey results are intended to directly support conservation planning documents and visitor services planning, improve the design and placement of visitor facilities, and tailor programming and amenities to match what different audiences actually want and need. The opportunity also highlights the value of integrating social science data with biological and ecological data, since visitor behavior and expectations can affect wildlife, habitats, and overall refuge conditions. Another explicit use of the data is estimating and understanding the economic impact of refuge visitation on nearby communities, which can be important for local partnerships and broader justification of investments in public access and services.

Transportation and access planning are also central to the rationale for the project. The Service frames visitor access not only as a convenience issue, but as part of providing high-quality, publicly accessible, wildlife-dependent recreation. Survey findings can inform decisions about auto tour routes, trails, parking, and road infrastructure so that opportunities remain safe, functional, and aligned with visitor demand while still protecting refuge resources. The opportunity further emphasizes a need to understand differences between urban and rural refuge visitors, including whether people visiting urban refuges expect different activities, facilities, or outreach approaches than visitors to more remote sites. This directly connects the work to the FWS Urban Wildlife Conservation Program, which aims to build a broader conservation community and help urban residents find, value, and care for nature in and beyond their cities.

The project is positioned as especially valuable because it creates baseline data that can be compared to earlier refuge visitor survey efforts and to U.S. Census data. Specifically, it notes prior National Visitor Survey (NVS) work conducted on 78 refuges in 2010 to 2011 and additional work in 2012. By comparing current results to those earlier datasets, the Service can track demographic and preference trends over time and evaluate how visitor populations are changing. Pairing survey results with Census information can also help answer equity and reach questions, such as whether the people visiting a given refuge reflect the demographics of the surrounding communities. If they do not, the data can help identify which audiences are missing or underrepresented and guide strategies to reach beyond the current visitor base.

From an implementation standpoint, the funds are specifically intended to support staffing for fieldwork tied to onsite visitor sampling. The award budget is to be used to hire one fellow and six interns who will help coordinate and conduct the in-person sampling necessary for the national refuge visitor survey. This places the opportunity at the intersection of natural resources management and workforce development, using a structured youth engagement and employment framework to deliver a large-scale public-use research effort.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity offered by the Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, using a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument. The associated CFDA number is 15.676, categorized under Youth Engagement, Education, and Employment, and the activity category is listed as Employment, Labor and Training and Natural Resources. Eligibility is limited to nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). The funding opportunity number is F17AS00471, with an award ceiling of $275,000 and one expected award. Importantly, the posting indicates it is a modification task order to an existing cooperative agreement and that the recipient has already been selected, meaning it was not an open competition at the time of the notice.

Finally, the opportunity cites a wide set of statutory authorities that support the Service's ability to carry out this kind of work, including the Powers and Duties of the Secretary of the Interior, the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (as amended), the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, and multiple youth and volunteer engagement laws such as the Public Lands Corps Act and the Youth Conservation Corps Act. Together, these authorities reinforce that the project is both a visitor-services research initiative and a youth employment and training effort designed to improve how refuges plan for, serve, and learn from the public over time.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the employment, labor and training, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Services ACE Task Order 2" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.676.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 20, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by This is a modification task order to an existing cooperative agreement. The recipient has already been selected.. (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 $275,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

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