Management Advisory – Issues Identified With Wildlife Restoration Subawards to the University of Tennessee, National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative

Under the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) provides grant funds to eligible States to conserve, restore, and manage wildlife and sport fish resources. States may provide WSFR funds in the form of a subaward to other non-Federal entities, such as universities, to accomplish grant objectives. The National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) at the University of Tennessee provides data and tools to various States and external partners (such as nongovernmental organizations) to restore wild populations of bobwhite quail. State fish and wildlife agencies fund the NBCI through WSFR subawards and State hunting and fishing license revenues. The NBCI also receives subawards from external partners and direct grants from other non-FWS Federal agencies. This management advisory (1) summarizes our findings about NBCI cost allocation during audit periods prior to the NBCI’s 2017 implementation of a recharge center accounting methodology, (2) presents our determination why the currently used recharge center is not compliant with Federal regulations and WSFR guidelines, and (3) presents a potential opportunity for the NBCI to continue its work in a way that complies with Federal regulations. We make three recommendations to the FWS that address the NBCI’s compliance with Federal regulations and an additional recommendation that the FWS identify any other programs that have similar issues.