John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant | NOAA NMFS PRPO 2024 2007997

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS PRPO 2024 2007997

The John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant is a NOAA (U.S. Department of Commerce) funding opportunity administered through NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) under the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP). This program is rooted in the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and is designed to strengthen the national system for responding to stranded marine mammals while also improving the collection and sharing of information about marine mammal health trends in the wild. In practical terms, the grant supports hands-on rescue and response work as well as the scientific and operational backbone that makes that response effective and consistent across the country.

The grant provides federal financial assistance to eligible members of the National Marine Mammal Stranding Network and their collaborators. The main goal is to help responders and organizations carry out critical activities related to stranded, sick, injured, or entangled marine mammals. Funded projects can include the recovery, care, and treatment of animals in distress, including veterinary evaluation, rehabilitation, and release-related work. It also supports emergency responses to unusual or high-demand stranding events where additional resources are needed quickly, such as mass strandings, large whale entanglements, or situations where local capacity is overwhelmed.

Beyond immediate rescue and care, the program places strong emphasis on improving understanding of marine mammal health. Applicants can request support for collecting scientifically valuable data and biological samples from stranded marine mammals, whether the animals are alive or deceased. This can include necropsies, diagnostic testing, and standardized documentation that contributes to broader assessments of disease, human interaction threats, contaminants, and other factors affecting marine mammal populations. These activities align with NOAA's wider mission of building reliable reference datasets and tracking health trends over time so that response efforts also generate information that improves conservation and management decisions.

The grant can also cover certain facility operating costs, but only when those costs are directly tied to the core eligible activities: rescue and treatment, emergency stranding response, and data or sample collection. This typically means operational expenses that are necessary to keep response and care capabilities functioning in direct support of stranded animal work, rather than general organizational overhead unrelated to stranding response. In addition, the program supports development of stranding network capacity, particularly in regions where facilities or trained responders are limited. That can include specialized training for emergency response and other efforts aimed at expanding or strengthening local and regional readiness, especially in underserved coastal or remote areas.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity offered through grants and cooperative agreements under CFDA number 11.439. The funding opportunity number is NOAA NMFS PRPO 2024 2007997. The posted award ceiling is $150,000 per award, and NOAA anticipated making around 40 awards under this cycle. The opportunity originally opened on July 14, 2023, with an original closing date of October 12, 2023, indicating a competitive application process with a defined submission window.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) entities); individuals; and for-profit organizations, including small businesses. This wide eligibility reflects the reality that stranding response capacity in the U.S. is built from a mix of public agencies, nonprofit rescue and rehabilitation groups, academic or research-adjacent partners, tribal entities, and private-sector collaborators, all working under the umbrella of the National Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

Overall, the Prescott grant is best understood as a targeted support mechanism for the people and organizations doing the on-the-ground work of marine mammal rescue and stranding response, while also ensuring that each response contributes to a stronger scientific picture of marine mammal health. It funds urgent interventions when animals are in trouble, strengthens preparedness for large-scale or complex events, and improves the infrastructure and training needed to respond effectively, especially in areas where response resources are currently sparse.

• The Department of Commerce in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.439.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 14, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 12, 2023. (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 $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 40 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for NOAA NMFS PRPO 2024 2007997

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: