U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grant: Supporting Playa Lakes Joint Venture Base Operations for Migratory Bird Conservation

Joint ventures, the partnerships that were originally formed to implement the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, are regional, self-directed organizations involving Federal, State, and local governments, corporations, and a wide range of non-governmental conservation groups that have proven to be a successful means of developing cooperative conservation efforts to protect habitats of waterfowl and other birds. Joint ventures address multiple local, regional, and continental goals for sustaining migratory bird populations by developing scientifically based landscape conservation plans and habitat projects that benefit migratory birds and other wildlife populations. The joint ventures incorporate biological planning, conservation design, and conservation delivery with monitoring and research in an adaptive resource management framework (i.e., strategic habitat conservation) to create the biological-science and conservation-partnership base which will allow the joint venture partners to pool resources for regional projects in critical habitats for priority bird species.

First established in 1989, the Playa Lakes Joint Venture partnership is directed by a Management Board that ensures that commitment and support is maintained to achieve the goals and objectives of this migratory bird joint venture. The Management Board has approved a master plan that outlines the overall direction of the partnership; this plan identifies the following elements as essential to the management and conservation of bird species and their habitats in the Playa Lakes Joint Venture region: Conservation Delivery; Biological Planning; Communications; Conservation Policy; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); Funding; Granting; Education; Research; and Annual Review. Collectively, these functional elements provide the framework for the base operations of the Playa Lakes Joint Venture partnership, and its success and sustainability. The master plan describes the administrative structure of the joint venture, including the core support staff needed to perform or guide the activities or functions that are necessary to conserve priority migratory bird habitats in the Playa Lakes Joint Venture region (i.e., base operations). The core support staff for the Playa Lakes Joint Venture partnership includes the following: Coordinator; Conservation Science Director; GIS Director; GIS Analyst; Conservation Policy Director; Conservation Delivery Leader; and Communications Director. Under a multi-year cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the recipient will be responsible for facilitating the base operations, i.e., core support staff and activities/functions, for the Playa Lakes Joint Venture partnership, consistent with the direction given by the partnership�s Management Board. The estimated award for the base operations of the Playa Lakes Joint Venture partnership for the period January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012, is expected to be between $600,000 and $800,000. The period of performance for the project will be through December 31, 2016, and total funding through 2016 is estimated to be approximately $4.0 Million. However, any funding awarded for the base operations of the Playa Lakes Joint Venture partnership beyond December 31, 2012, will be subject to the availability of appropriations authorized by law and administratively allocated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.