U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grant for Northeast Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Science

Northeast Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Conservation Science Needs

This Single Source Award is being made in accordance with Department of the Interior Policy 505 DM 2.14 B(4), which allows for award without competition to an applicant who is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based on technical expertise. This project is designed to support the overall goals of the North Atlantic and Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperatives and to complement the Northeast Regional Conservation Needs program including the following tasks necessary to facilitate communication and conservation science through the North Atlantic and Appalachian LCCs and existing partnerships in the Northeast Region.
1. Work with LCC committees, partners and staff to compile an annual report on identified science needs based on input from partner organizations, partnerships, and relevant scientists and researchers, and formulate an appropriate system of ranking or prioritization to inform and guide LCC decision-making;
2. Work with LCC committees, partners and staff to compile an annual report that identifies opportunities to complement the LCC science needs and ranked priorities through integration with other regional science;
3. Work with LCC committees, partners and staff to compile an annual report on priority projects designed to meet science needs and to identify, solicit and select grant recipients to lead projects to address these needs;
4. Based upon project descriptions, budgets, deliverables and milestones approved by the LCC Steering Committee or their representatives, execute grant agreements with selected grant recipients addressing one or more of the components and tasks of the LCCs outlined below:
a. Ecological Planning: Compilations or synthetic/analytical reports or tools that provide needed information identified by partners and partnerships on status, trends, current and emerging threats and limiting factors for priority species and resources; agree on regional objectives for these species and resources; and assess their relationship to limiting factors and emerging threats across the relevant landscapes to provide a scientific basis for conservation actions.
b. Conservation Design: Geospatial information systems and linked meta-data and derivative products (e.g., maps and summary tables and graphic representations) and tools (both analytical and presentation/viewers) that provide information to guide decision makers and inform conservation actions to more effectively address threats, limiting factors and bounds of uncertainties and efficiently achieve objectives in an effort to maintain healthy and functional systems under current and predicted future conditions and link site-scale actions to landscape and regional scale goals.
c. Demonstration Projects: Implementation actions (e.g., habitat protection, restoration and management) designed to test, validate and improve scientific information and tools developed by the LCC or others to enhance the ability of our lands and waters to sustain priority resources, unique ecosystems or ecological processes.
d. Monitoring and Evaluation: Monitoring standards, methodology and analytical programs to track population trends, human and environmental impacts on resources, change in habitats and landscapes and conservation actions in an effort to assess the effectiveness of conservation actions, assess progress towards stated goals and guide future planning and actions based on the results.
e. Research: Structured research investigations that increase scientific understanding or test key assumptions in planning and inform future planning and delivery; the results of which will be prepared and shared with the LCC community in written and oral presentations or training sessions as appropriate.
f. Communication and Outreach: Communication products including but not limited to websites and written materials that enhance communications among partners and partnerships, develop and sustain the LCC partnership, attract new partners, support existing funding and seek new funds, improve internal and external relations, and raise awareness of LCC priorities targeted to specific audiences.
g. Information Management: Information management needs assessments, websites, data portals, and reports that compile, synthesize, organize and make available information, data, science and tools developed by partners and partnerships and the LCC in scales and formats needed by partners.
5. Assist with the dissemination of results/products of LCC funded projects through the LCC web sites and the translation of these results into reports and tools in the format and scale needed by conservation partners to make strategic decisions.