[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28504-28508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13424]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
North American Wetlands Conservation Act: Request for Evaluation
Grant Proposals for Year 2000
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of request for proposals.
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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that over
the period June 1, 1999, to July 15, 1999, we, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), will entertain proposals that request
matching funds for projects that evaluate the success of North American
Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) projects, or that will ensure the
success of future NAWCA projects by improving strategic conservation
planning capabilities. We will give funding priority to projects
related to existing wetland conservation implementation plans, to be
conducted in a partnership mode by wetland managers and scientists.
Project criteria, proposal formatting and other essential application
information is provided here. Funding is limited to projects located in
the United States.
DATES: Initial proposals (pre-proposals) must bear postmarks no later
than Thursday, July 15, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Address proposals to: North American Waterfowl and Wetlands
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Suite
110, Arlington, Virginia, 22203, Attn: Evaluation Grants Coordinator.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Rex R. Johnson, Evaluation Grants
Coordinator, North American Waterfowl and Wetlands Office, Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center, 11510 American Holly Drive, Laurel, Maryland,
20708-4017, 301/497-5674; facsimile 301/497-5706, rex_johnson@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
North American Wetlands Conservation Act Evaluation Grants
1. Introduction
Since its inception in 1989, the North American Wetlands
Conservation Act (NAWCA or Act) has added a new dimension to the
conservation of wetland-associated migratory birds and the diverse
wetland ecosystems upon which they and many other fish and wildlife
species depend. Never before had Federal legislation been passed with
the express purpose of creating partnerships among Federal and non-
Federal wetland conservationists or with the explicit goal of
implementing management plans emanating from international treaties and
conventions. The Act was precedent-setting in its support of the new
and innovative partnerships that were emerging from implementation of
the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) and visionary in
its anticipation of major national and international conservation
initiatives for nongame migratory birds. Moreover, an institutional
framework was created for garnering additional resources and pooling
them to implement, via partnerships, high priority wetland conservation
projects across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Over the past
eight years, $249 million of NAWCA grant funds have been leveraged with
$516 million of partner funds and allocated through a highly
competitive process to 588 projects in North America. However, the
success of NAWCA involves more than the efficient allocation of limited
Federal financial resources to support partner projects. The ultimate
success of the Act hinges on efficiency and effectiveness in the
attainment of biological ends--the conservation of migratory birds and
the North American wetland ecosystems upon which many species of
migratory birds and other wildlife depend. The evaluation grants
program, described below, is designed to address how successfully the
program is delivering the migratory bird and other wildlife resource
benefits anticipated by the Act.
1.1 The Purposes of the Act
Any strategy for implementing NAWCA or procedures for monitoring
and evaluating its effectiveness must arise from the purposes of the
Act:
* * * To encourage partnerships among public agencies and other
interests--
(1) To protect, enhance, restore, and manage an appropriate
distribution and diversity of wetland ecosystems and other habitats
for migratory birds and other fish and wildlife in North America;
(2) To maintain current or improved distributions of migratory
bird populations; and
(3) To sustain an abundance of waterfowl and other migratory
birds consistent with the goals of the North American Waterfowl
Management Plan and the international obligations contained in the
migratory bird treaties and conventions and other agreements with
Canada, Mexico, and other countries.
These purposes infer an explicit and measureable relationship
between wetland conservation and wetland-wildlife management and values
at a North American scale. While habitat benefits for all wetland-
associated fish and wildlife are recognized, the stated emphasis on the
Act is on ``current or improved distributions of migratory bird
populations'' consistent with ``international obligations.'' The
international migratory patterns of these birds is the thread which
binds the patchwork of regional and national conservation work into a
truly continent-wide quilt of wetland conservation.
1.1.1 Improving NAWCA Implementation Through Evaluation
Section 19 of the 1994 amendments to NAWCA called for the
development of ``a strategy to assist in implementation of the Act''
and ``procedures to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of wetlands
conservation projects completed under this Act.'' Specifically * * *
Not later than January 31, 1996, the Secretary, in cooperation
with the [North American Wetlands Conservation] Council, to further
the purposes of the Act shall--
(1) Develop and implement a strategy to assist in the
implementation of this Act in conserving the full complement of
North American wetlands systems and species
[[Page 28505]]
dependent on those systems, that incorporates information existing
on the date of the issuance of the strategy in final form on types
of wetlands habitats and species dependent on the habitats; and
(2) Develop and implement procedures to monitor and evaluate the
effectiveness of wetlands conservation projects completed under this
Act.
The wording of Section 19 is consistent with the principles of
adaptive resource management in which planning, implementation and
evaluation function as interrelated parts of an iterative cycle.
Planning has merit only to the extent it provides a strategy for
implementation; and evaluation, only to the extent it allows
refinements in future planning. Thus, the greatest benefits of
planning, evaluation, or implementation cannot be realized without
integrated progress in all three elements.
2. Evaluation Grant Goals
To foster persistent partnerships among wetland and wildlife
managers and scientists to generate reliable information through
evaluation that is used to enhance future Act effectiveness through
improved biological planning or partnering strategies.
It cannot be overemphasized that the purpose of Evaluation Grants
is to maximize the effectiveness of future wetlands conservation
projects completed under the Act. Evaluation need should be identified
by wetland or migratory bird managers who have traditionally
implemented conservation activities under the Act. Thus, Evaluation
Grant proposers should be past or potential NAWCA grant recipients
(including, but not limited to, NAWMP Joint Venture representatives)
partnered with technically-capable scientists. This partnering approach
to evaluation will help ensure that Evaluation Grant projects:
(1) originate from priority management information needs for
strategic conservation delivery;
(2) are derived from and support established habitat conservation
plans or objectives;
(3) are sound and scientifically-based; and
(4) are used to direct future NAWCA wetland conservation
implementation.
2.1 Priority Projects
Proposed projects should evaluate the effectiveness of past or
current NAWCA projects in achieving explicit program objectives, or
should result in a refined understanding of wetland/landscape function,
or migratory bird responses to wetland habitat management, in ways that
enhance future NAWCA conservation delivery. Migratory bird functions
should be evaluated in the context of wetland characteristics and
landscape structure. Projects that evaluate the composition,
management, or dynamics of established conservation partnerships such
as NAWMP Joint Ventures with a goal of improving partnering strategies
also will be favorably considered.
2.2 Eligibility
Funding is limited to U.S. project proposals.
2.3 Project Duration
Projects of 1-2 years in duration may be proposed. Projects
spanning 3 years will be considered but are not encouraged. Three-year
project proposals must include an explicit justification for the
extended duration.
2.4 Available Funds
The total funding package presented to the North American Wetlands
Conservation Council (Council) in FY2000 will not total
$500,000 of NAWCA funds. Selected projects will be funded
for their full duration from the FY2000 allocation. A maximum project
funding limit has not been established; however, proposals requesting a
total of $100,000 of NAWCA funds are most likely to be
selected.
2.4.1 Matching Funds Requirements
Project partners must match grant requests with non-federal funds
or other contributions by at least a 1-to-1 ratio. Acceptable matching
contributions are described in Appendix A.
3. Proposal Development
Proposal development will proceed in 2 stages beginning with the
preparation and review of brief (3-5 page) preproposals. Preproposals
will be screened by Council representatives, who will then work with
successful applicants to develop a limited number into full proposals
with objectives, partnerships, products, and outcomes mutually agreed
upon by the Council and grant applicants.
A Principal Investigator (PI) and a Project Officer (PO) that will
administer the grant agreement, should be identified for each project.
The PI and PO may be the same person. All written correspondence will
be sent to the PI and PO; however, the PO must be:
(1) affiliated with the PI's organization;
(2) knowledgeable about biological, partnership, and administrative
aspects of the proposal; and
(3) readily available to provide information.
Preproposals and full proposals should be accompanied by a cover
page with the following information:
A. Project Title
B. Principal Investigator's
1. Name
2. Title
3. Organization
4. Address
5. Telephone number
6. Facsimile number
7. E-mail address
3.1 Project Justification
A detailed project justification should be included in preproposals
and full proposals. The justification should be derived from and refer
to an established conservation organization's biological foundation and
explicit objectives for past or current habitat projects, or for
populations. The justification should be developed in light of
Evaluation Grant goals and review criteria (section 4.2). Achieving
Evaluation Grant project objectives should result in fulfilling the
evaluation needs described in the justification.
3.2 Preproposals
Five copies of preproposals must be submitted by July 15, 1999, and
should provide a project a set of explicit objectives, preliminary
methods, and a budget with a source of matching funds.
Preproposals should adhere to the following outline:
A. Justification (project description, explicit objectives)
B. Preliminary Methods
C. Preliminary Budget (see Appendix B) and Source of Matching Funds
(letters of committment not required for preproposals)
3.3 Full Proposals
Five copies of full proposals are due by November 1, 1999. Full
proposals should adhere to the following outline:
A. Abstract
B. Project Description
1. Justification
2. Objectives
3. Methods
Study Area (if appropriate)
Data Acquisition
Data Analysis
4. Products and Future Applications
5. Management Outreach
C. Project Partners and Management
D. Budget--(see Appendix B)
1. Funds Requested
2. Matching Funds or Services
3. Total Project Budget
E. Project Timetable
F. Literature Cited
G. Appendix A--Investigator Qualifications
[[Page 28506]]
H. Appendix B--Letters of Matching Commitment from Partners (see
Appendix C)
4. Preproposal and Full Proposal Review
Council representatives will review preproposals and full
proposals, and will present funding recommendations based on full
proposal reviews to the Council.
4.1 How To Submit a Proposal
Preprosals and full proposals should be submitted by the required
deadlines (section 6) to: Evaluation Grants Coordinator, North American
Waterfowl and Wetlands Office, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 110,
Arlington, VA 22203.
4.2 Review Team
The review team will consist of the Evaluation Grants Coordinator,
2 North American Wetlands Conservation Council Staff, and 1 USGS-
Biological Resources Division scientist with expertise in wetlands and
landscape ecology. Other individuals will be enlisted to review
preproposal and full proposal methods related to their areas of
expertise when necessary.
4.3 Review Criteria
At a minimum, preproposals and full proposals should address the
following issues, which will constitute the general review criteria. A
rigid ``scoring'' system will not be used to determine which
preproposals and full proposals are most meritorious. The review team
will use sound professional judgment to evaluate proposals, in the
context of communication among qualified professionals.
Partnerships: The Act is predicated on the power of partnerships to
deliver wetlands conservation. Proposals for evaluation and planning
should likewise include strong partnerships. Prospective grantees are
expected to build upon existing wetlands conservation partnerships to
maximize the use of and coordination with existing planning,
implementation and evaluation infrastructures rather than seek to
develop new or competing organizations.
Contribution to increasing the effectiveness of the Act: Act funds
have been used to varying degrees to fund wetlands conservation
projects across the country. Some regions have received little Act
funding while others have applied many millions of dollars to implement
projects. Proposals will be judged on the extent to which they evaluate
and affect NAWCA projects, past and future. Thus, priorities will be
on: evaluation/planning for areas with a large number of projects;
large affected acreages and/or significant investment of Act funds;
and/or projects or methods related to critical wetland conservation
approaches for that region.
Contribution to integration of migratory bird conservation:
Delivering NAWCA implementation funds to projects best fulfilling the
purposes of the Act requires integration of NAWMP goals with those of
other major bird initiatives. The extent to which the proposals advance
integrated conservation of waterfowl, neotropical migratory birds,
shorebirds, and other wetland-associated migratory birds will be a
principal criterion in proposal evaluation.
Contribution to a landscape-level context for wetland conservation:
Evaluation units should be ecologically based and appropriate in scale
to address regional wetlands conservation goals and objectives and
facilitate a meaningful linkage to continental migratory bird
population objectives, and those of other wetlands-dependent wildlife
as available. Therefore, proposals should address the evaluation needs
for wetland habitats in the context of ecologically-based landscapes as
opposed to an individual wetland.
Status of biological planning and evaluation: Biological planning,
evaluation and monitoring is relatively advanced in some regions of the
U.S., and almost non-existent in others. Proposals addressing the full
range of planning and evaluation consistent with Council goals are
encouraged. These may range from initiation of the adaptive management
process in areas currently using little or no proactive, integrated,
biological planning, to evaluation of progress toward fulfilling
objectives derived from ongoing biological planning efforts.
Contribution to the biological foundation for wetland and
associated migratory bird conservation: Projects should facilitate the
linkage of regional or continental migratory bird population responses
to landscape-level habitat conservation objectives. This linkage
represents a fundamental principle in the Council's evaluation
strategy, and projects seeking to establish or significantly improve
that linkage will be a priority.
Contributions to the effectiveness of future partnerships: The
success of future NAWCA implementation is dependent on strong
partnerships backed by sound biological planning. The evolution and
composition of partnerships dictates their success in delivering
migratory bird conservation under NAWCA. Projects that evaluate the
dynamics of past NAWCA partnerships with the goal of increasing the
effectiveness of future partnerships will be seriously considered.
Commitment to long-term regional planning and evaluation: The
extent to which applicants demonstrate the likelihood of
``institutionalizing'' the planning and evaluation efforts for which
Act funding is sought is a significant consideration. The Council seeks
to insure that Act funds are used to catalyze these efforts, and will
deprioritize proposals in which the partners in the planning and
evaluation effort are clearly dependent upon the Act for continued
future progress. This criterion can be viewed as analogous to the
``long-term'' criterion used to evaluate implementation projects.
5. Grants Administration and Performance Reporting
Evaluation Grants will be administered by NAWWO staff, and
evaluation grant recipients will be required to provide detailed annual
and project completion reports (see Appendix D for reporting formats)
by October 1 each year through project termination. Annual and final
reports will be presented to the Council and Council Staff by the
Council Coordinator or Evaluation Grants Coordinator at their November/
December meetings.
6. Schedule
The following schedule will be adhered to in soliciting, reviewing,
and funding Evaluation Grants proposals:
Request for Proposals............ 1 June 1999.
Due Date for Proposals........... 15 July 1999.
Preproposal Reviews Completed and 15 August 1999.
Proposers Notified.
Full Proposals Due............... 1 November 1999.
Funding Recommendations Presented December 1999.
to Council.
Evaluation Grant Awards Announced January/February 2000.
and Funds Disbursed.
[[Page 28507]]
Appendix A--Matching Contributions
Acceptable Matching Contributions--
Direct project-related expenditures for:
Equipment/Supplies
Labor (non-Federal employees)
Travel
Cash (non-Federal sources)
Related evaluation/implementation expenditures (non-Federal funds)
incurred within previous 2 years (consult Evaluation Grants
Coordinator)
Other (consult Evaluation Grants Coordinator)
Waiver-of-Overhead (within non-Federal agency/organization
established policy guidelines)
Unacceptable Contributions--
Contributions of Federal employee staff time
Federal Aid in Wildlife/Sport Fish Restoration grants to States
Funds that have a Federal origin
Evaluation/implementation costs incurred> 2 years before project
performance period
Any contribution used to match a previous Federal or non-Federal
grant
Other contributions determined to be not acceptable (consult with
Evaluation Grants Coordinator)
Appendix B--Budgets
Preproposal Budget Format
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FY00 FY01 FY02
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NAWCA Funds Requested........................................... .............. .............. ..............
Matching Contributions.......................................... .............. .............. ..............
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Total....................................................... .............. .............. ..............
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Full Proposal Budget Format
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FY00 FY01 FY02
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NAWCA Match NAWCA Match NAWCA Match
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Personnel............................................... .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
Jane Doe @ x FTE...................................... .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
Equipment............................................... .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
Supplies *.............................................. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
Travel.................................................. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
Other................................................... .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
Indirect Costs.......................................... .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
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Total............................................... .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
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* Criteria for supplies.
Appendix C--Sample Letter for Commitment of Matching Contributions
April 19, 1999.
Mr. David A. Smith,
Coordinator, North American Wetlands Conservation Council, North
American Waterfowl and Wetlands Office, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Rm
110, Arlington, VA 22203
Dear Mr. Smith: The is committed to providing funds to match the grant
request entitled submitted by . Contributions meet the
eligibility requirements explained in the Request for Proposals for
the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Evaluation Grants. The
contribution does not include funds from the Federal Aid in
Wildlife/Sport Fish Restoration grants to State programs or other
Federal monies. Following is an explanation of contributions:
We intend to provide <$$> in FY00 and <$$> in FY01. Of these
funds, <$$> will be used for . This is the fair market value of
these services.
<$$> will be used for . This is the fair market value of these
expenditures.
<$$> are in-kind contributions that will be used for . This is the fair
market value of these services.
is pleased
to be a partner in and this match is put
forward with full knowledge and support to leverage other non-
Federal and Federal grant funds.
Sincerely,
Appendix D--Reporting Formats
Return 3 copies to: Evaluation Grants Coordinator, North
American Waterfowl and Wetlands Office, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Rm
110, Arlington, VA 22203.
A. Annual Performance Reporting--
I. Cover Page:
Project Title
Reporting Period
PO and PI names and addresses
II. Executive Summary
III. Project Justification
IV. Objectives
V. Methods
VI. Accomplishments/Summary of Findings to date
VII. Management Outreach to date
VIII. Grant Funds Expended/Remaining
IX. Projected Activities/Time Table
X. Literature Cited
B. Project Completion Report--
I. Cover Page:
Project Title
Reporting Period
PO and PI names and addresses
II. Executive Summary
III. Project Justification
IV. Objectives
V. Methods
VI. Results and Discussion/Productsa
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\a\ Include 3 hard copies of cartographic products
that result from NAWCA Evaluation Grant projects.
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VII. Management Outreach and Impacts to date
VIII. Future Management Outreach and Outcomes
IX. Continuing Evaluation Needs--
Institutionalizing the Evaluation Project
Future Evaluation--the next steps
X. Literature Cited
The detailed description of the submission and review schedule,
format for pre-proposals and full proposals, and proposal review
criteria, contained herein, may also be viewed and downloaded from the
North American Waterfowl and Wetlands Office (NAWWO) internet web site
at: http://www.fws.gov/r9nawwo/nawcahp.html after June 1, 1999, or by
calling the NAWWO secretary at 703/358-1784. Pre-proposals and full
proposals must contain all required components on the postmarked date.
Pre-proposals and full
[[Page 28508]]
proposals lacking required components are subject to being declared
ineligible and not further considered for funding.
We have submitted information collection requirements for the NAWCA
Evaluation Grants Program to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review and approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104-13. The OMB control number is 1018-0100. An agency may
not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a
collection of information request unless it displays a currently valid
OMB control number. The information solicited: is necessary to gain a
benefit in the form of a grant, as determined by the North American
Wetlands Conservation Council and Migratory Bird Conservation
Commission; is necessary to determine the eligibility and relative
value of evaluation projects; and results in an approximate paperwork
burden of 8 hours for each pre-proposal and 40 hours for each proposal;
and does not carry a premise of confidentiality. The information
collected in this program will not be part of a system of records
covered by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552(a)).
Dated: May 21, 1999.
Jamie Rappaport Clark,
Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 99-13424 Filed 5-25-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
