Bats for the Future Fund (BFF)

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), is soliciting proposals to slow or halt the spread of white-nose syndrome disease (WNS) in North America and promote the survival and recovery of WNS-affected bat populations and species. 

The objectives of the BFF are to: 

• Advance field treatments and management tools that provide the greatest potential to improve survival of bats by preventing exposure of bats to Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the fungal pathogen that causes WNS, and/or enhancing bats’ ability to withstand the disease.
• Implement field treatments, management tools, and conservation strategies that help WNS-affected bat populations to recover from the impacts of WNS; and,
• Support innovative and collaborative research leading directly to development and deployment of treatments and management tools or strategies for WNS that will perpetuate viable populations of bats.

The Bats for the Future Fund will award grants to projects that develop and deploy field treatments, management tools and conservation strategies for populations that are currently impacted or are likely to be in the future. Proposed actions should be tailored to the disease status, species and habitat(s) in which they are intended to be used. Project objectives should vary depending on epidemiological focus of the proposed work as it relates to the status of Pd and WNS in project areas.

• In areas where Pd has not been detected and is unlikely to already be present, tools and strategies that counter the invasion and establishment of pathogenic Pd are sought to avoid or stall impacts of WNS on vulnerable bat species. Strategies that will bolster the resilience of bats likely to be exposed to Pd in these areas are also eligible.
• On the leading edge of WNS, and/or in the vicinity of where Pd fungal pathogen has been detected and bats may be affected, projects should focus on field treatments and/or management strategies to prevent the spread of Pd, and minimize the impact of WNS.
• In the established or endemic area, where Pd and WNS have caused significant mortality and all hibernacula are assumed to be impacted, projects should focus on protecting and recovering significant remaining bat populations to promote recovery.

Program Priorities: https://www.nfwf.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/bff-2023-rfp.pdf#page=2

Estimated Total Program Funding: