Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative - Fiscal Year 2013 Research Funding Opportunity: Prairie Rivers and Streams

The Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GPLCC) is an applied science and conservation partnership that supports the strategic, science-based conservation of fish, wildlife and plants in the mid- and short-grass prairie of the southern Great Plains; see http://www.greatplainslcc.org/about/ for a map of the GPLCC geographic area. On behalf of the GPLCC, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is soliciting Letters of Intent (LOI) for applied scientific work to inform resource management decisions that address landscape-scale stressors to fish, wildlife, and plants of the Great Plains, with a focus on prairie rivers and streams. The GPLCC anticipates awarding up to $1,000,000 in grants to support projects that address the priority science categories discussed below and outlined in Attachment 1. All awards are subject to the availability of funds.

The GPLCC Steering Committee has identified several key issues of concern and science priorities for prairie rivers and streams in the Great Plains. Specifically, three categories of science needs have been identified as priorities for the GPLCC for Fiscal Year 2013 funding. The first science category focuses on the need for applied research to fill critical knowledge gaps on the status and trends of priority species (see Table 1 below) and habitats in prairie rivers and streams of the Great Plains. This includes studies that examine the ecological requirements of priority species (and community-level interactions) that will help lead to the development of improved conservation strategies that support the long-term sustainability of populations of priority species. The second science category focuses on the need to fill critical knowledge gaps that support the development of water conservation and management strategies consistent with the ecological requirements of priority species. Examples include studies that examine the effects of climate change on hydrology and the functional processes that support maintenance of habitats for priority species, as well as studies that examine reservoir storage and release strategies and the related effects on populations of priority species in fragmented river segments. The third science category focuses on the need to fill critical knowledge gaps related to the effects of watershed alteration and fragmentation on the long-term sustainability of populations of priority species. This includes studies that examine projected trends in land use and related effects on species and habitats, and studies that support the development of improved habitat restoration techniques and strategies (e.g., restoration of springs, riparian buffers, and in-stream habitats, including in-stream connectivity and fish passage). For a comprehensive list of science needs identified as priorities for this funding announcement, please refer to the specific problem statements and the listed Research Needs/Monitoring Needs/Data Needs outlined in Attachment 1.