Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
Pursuant to the Illinois Non-Game Wildlife Protection Act
[30 ILCS
155/4(c)] , 5% of the Illinois
Wildlife Preservation Fund will be committed to or expended on grants by the
Department for the maintenance of wildlife rehabilitation facilities that take
care of threatened or endangered species. For purposes of calculating the 5%,
the amount in the Fund is exclusive of any federal funds deposited in or
credited to the Fund. The amount to be committed to or expended on grants for
the maintenance of facilities that take care of threatened or endangered
species shall be calculated by multiplying the total amount received through
the Illinois Wildlife Preservation Fund check-off on the Illinois 1040 State
income tax return during the most recent calendar year for which the total of
donations has been reported by the Illinois Department of Revenue by
0.05.
a) Eligibility Requirements
1) Eligible recipients are limited to those
persons who possess a current wildlife rehabilitation license/permit issued by
the Department and who have provided care for threatened or endangered wildlife
species during the 3-year period preceding the date of their application for
grant funds. Those applicants who intend to use any portion of grant funds
received from the Department to take care of migratory birds must also possess
a current wildlife rehabilitation license/permit issued by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service allowing that activity.
2) Eligible projects are limited to those
projects necessary for maintenance of facilities used to rehabilitate
threatened or endangered species. Eligible uses of grant funds are limited to
structural repair and maintenance of existing buildings, pens, cages and
appurtenant facilities used to take care of threatened or endangered wildlife
species.
3) Grants shall be limited
to a maximum of $2,000 to qualified, eligible applicants per year.
b) Application Procedures
1) Grant applications for funding assistance
under this program shall be submitted to the Department at One Natural
Resources Way, Springfield, Illinois 62702-1271, Attention: Office of Resource
Conservation. The application deadline will be April
1. Application forms and instructions are
available through the Department. Applications received after the deadline will
be returned to the applicant and not considered by the Department.
2) Applications shall contain all of the
following required information:
A) the name
and address of the applicant
B) the
name of a contact person
C) a
daytime telephone number and e-mail address (if available) for a contact
person
D) a comprehensive project
description with justification, including:
i)
a description of the facilities, including photographs, at which the grant
funds will be used
ii) detailed
description of the eligible uses for which grant funds will be expended,
including drawings and/or photographs illustrating the portions of the
facilities that will be maintained with grant funds
iii) detailed description of the benefits to
threatened or endangered wildlife species that will result from the proposed
expenditure of grant funds
iv)
property location and map of property
E) a comprehensive funding/budget summary,
including:
i) actual cash contributions other
than the grant amount
ii) labor
equity contributions
iii)
documented price of expected expenditures for the maintenance project
F) a list of all threatened or
endangered wildlife species cared for at the facility in the 3 years preceding
the application for grant funds and the percentage of the facility's total
caseload comprised of threatened or endangered wildlife species during that 3
year period
G) a photocopy of
current wildlife rehabilitation licenses/permits issued to the applicant by the
Department and/or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
H) signature of the applicant or authorized
individual for applicant
c) Project Evaluation and Procedures
1) All applications received on time, and
containing the minimum required information, will be reviewed by Department
staff. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant for completion
and resubmittal. Submitting an incomplete application does not extend the
application beyond the application deadline. Department staff will select those
projects that they determine best fit the purposes of the fund and prepare a
prioritized list of projects recommended for funding. Staff will consider the
following in making recommendations: completed application, deadline met, past
grant performance of applicant, eligibility, feasibility, adverse impacts and
priority for the Department. The staff shall provide to the Director all
eligible applications and a prioritized list of recommended projects deemed to
be consistent with the purposes of the Illinois Wildlife Preservation
Fund.
2) The Director shall make
the determination of what grants shall be awarded. Applicants shall be notified
of the Director's decision.
3)
Reporting Requirements
A) The grantee shall
provide a written Final Report (consisting of two hard copies and one CD or
31/2" diskette in Word or PDF format; Macintosh format will not be accepted) to
the Department no later than 30 days following the completion of the project or
the ending date of the grant agreement, whichever is earlier. The Final Report
shall take the form of a technical report or manuscript for publication and
include all of the following required information:
i) grant agreement number
grantee name, address and telephone number
time-frame of the report
name and telephone number or e-mail address of grantee
representative completing the report
ii) project objective as described in the
application and grant agreement
iii) completed project description
iv) summary of the project accomplishments
(if applicable) as follows:
introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion and
summary sections
deliverables of five to 10 digital images (color/black and
white photos and slides are acceptable, though digital images are preferred)
depicting the study species, project site, project activities, or other aspects
of the project
for education of the general public, a list of wildlife and/or
native plant resources (by species) that benefited from the project and how
they benefited, specific audience affected, measurable outcomes achieved, and
list of products resulting from the project
total project expenditures itemized to include the following:
name and address of vendor, item description identifying details (if
applicable), quantity purchased, date item purchased
project expenditures paid by funds other than Special Wildlife
Grant Funds
B)
Final payment will not be processed until the Final Report and payment request
certification are received and approved by the Department. Failure to provide
reports in a timely fashion may render the grantee ineligible to receive
payments under the current award or make the grantee ineligible for future
awards. Deadlines for reports may be extended for just cause when a request is
submitted in writing at least two weeks prior to the deadline.
