Through the Prescot Grant Program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) provides financial assistance to eligible participants to support all aspects of response (e.g., retrieval, care, treatment, rehabilitation, release) to the stranding of manatees, sea otters, walruses, and polar bears, for related scientific research, and for associated operational costs.
For fiscal years 2019-2020, the Service awarded 23 competitive grants totaling $2,040,000 to 15 conservation organizations and state agencies. The Prescott Grant Program helps to foster the Service’s relationship with partners who are closest to the resources (e.g., state agencies, Tribes, established/authorized rescue/rehabilitation networks, local communities, aquaria, researchers) by providing needed support for their response efforts.
The tables below, organized by geographic region, list the applicant name, project title and funding amount awarded for fiscal years 2019-2020.
South Atlantic-Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean
| APPLICANT | PROJECT TITLE | FEDERAL FUNDING |
|---|
| Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, Inc. | Stage 2 Manatee Rehabilitation and MRP Participation at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature | $70,542 |
| Clearwater Marine Aquarium | Supporting the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership through Enhanced Marine Mammal Transport Capabilities in the Southeast Region | $71,795 |
| Clearwater Marine Aquarium | Increase Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) Rescue Effort Capacity Through the Use of Novel Technology and Expand Capacity to Collect Health and Life History Parameters | $77,879 |
| Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission #1 | Response Vehicles for FWC Florida Manatee Stranding Network | $98,478 |
| Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission #2 | Manatee Capture Boat for FWC Florida Manatee Stranding Network | $88,454 |
| Lowry Park Zoological Society of Tampa, Inc. (A) | Enhance Veterinary Diagnostics and Critical Care of West Indian Manatees at ZooTampa at Lowry Park | $100,000 |
| Lowry Park Zoological Society of Tampa, Inc. (B) | Establish a West Indian Manatee Stranding Response Capability at ZooTampa at Lowry Park | $100,000 |
| Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium (Dauphin Island Sea Lab) | Transport Capacity for Stranded Manatees in the Northern Gulf of Mexico | $68,097 |
| Red Caribeña de Varamientos (Caribbean Stranding Network) | Improvement, Expansion and Enhancement of Veterinary Treatment, Rehabilitation, and Post-release Monitoring of Antillean Manatees in Puerto Rico | $100,000 |
| Red Caribeña de Varamientos (Caribbean Stranding Network) B | Enhancement of Stranding Response and Safe Transport of Antillean Manatees in the Puerto Rico Archipelago | $100,000 |
California
| APPLICANT | PROJECT TITLE | FEDERAL FUNDING |
|---|
| California Academy of Sciences | Enhancing the Specimen Archive at the California Academy of Sciences to Improve the Understanding of Southern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) Health | $58,867 |
| Marine Mammal Center | Enhancing Capacity for Southern Sea Otter Response and Rehabilitation | $99,392 |
| Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation | Expanding Southern Sea Otter Population through Surrogacy | $100,000 |
| Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation | Critical Support for Live-Stranding Response for the Southern Sea Otter | $100,000 |
| The Regents of the University of California (Davis) | Diagnostic Testing Support for the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Network and Unusual Mortality Events | $83,818 |
Pacific Northwest
| APPLICANT | PROJECT TITLE | FEDERAL FUNDING |
|---|
| State of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife | Sea Otter Stranding Response in Washington State | $54,564 |
Alaska
| APPLICANT | PROJECT TITLE | FEDERAL FUNDING |
|---|
| Alaska Department of Fish & Game | Disturbance and Mortalities of Pacific Walruses in Bristol Bay | $100,000 |
| North Slope Borough | Walrus Disease and Mortality Assessment | $71,591 |
| Seward Association for the Advancement of Marine Science | Correlations Between Pathogen Presence, Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins, and Prey Selection in Apparently Healthy and Stranded Northern Sea Otters | $98,906 |
| Seward Association for the Advancement of Marine Science | Live Stranding Response and Monitoring of Northern Sea Otters and Walruses in Alaska | $99,991 |
| Seward Association for the Advancement of Marine Science dba The Alaska SeaLife Center | Improving Response Capacity for Oiled Marine Mammals in Alaska through the Purchase of Needed Supplies and Equipment and Obtaining Resources to Improve on Existing Response Infrastructure | $99,855 |
Multiple Geographic Regions
| APPLICANT | PROJECT TITLE | FEDERAL FUNDING |
|---|
| The Regents of the University of California (Davis) | Improving Capacity for Responding to Oiled Sea Otters Through Development of a Collaborative Training Program | $97,847 |
| Wildlife Research International | Oiled Sea Otter Contingency Planning, Training and Response for Northern Sea Otters in Alaska and Washington State | $99,924 |
