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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION 1. Authority This Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Federal Financial Assistance Funding Opportunity is being announced under the following legislative authority: WATERSHED RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT AGREEMENTS (WYDEN AMENDMENT), Public Law 104-208, Section 124, as amended Public Law 105-277, Section 136, which states: "Appropriations made for the BLM may be used by the Secretary of Interior for the purpose of entering into cooperative agreements with the heads of other Federal agencies, Tribal, State, and local governments, private and nonprofit entities, and landowners for the protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other resources on public or private land and the reduction of risk from natural disaster where public safety is threatened that benefit these resources on public lands within the watershed, and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other resources on public or private land and the reduction of risk from natural disaster where public safety is threatened that benefit these resources on public lands within the watershed." 2. Description of Program and/or Project a. Background: The Yuma Field Office includes many acres along the lower Colorado and Gila Rivers. Extensive damming and conversion to upland has re-characterized the lands along the river that once were natural system, but are now dominated by invasive species. An increase in wildland fires in these areas also greatly affect the reduction in native vegetation and increase in invasive species. Rehabilitation efforts to improve sites offer migratory birds and other wildlife species native habitat for foraging and potential nesting. The Walker Fire in December of 2014 burned 1,110 acres of native marsh and riparian habitat. This area is home to the largest population of the Federally endangered Yuma clapper rail. The native riparian habitat also provides migratory habitat for the southwestern willow flycatcher. The Walker ESR Plan outline

The Southwest Border Resource Protection Program (SWBRPP), located within the National Park Service (NPS) Intermountain Regional Office in Denver, provides financial assistance to NPS units, as well as educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, tribes, and local and state agencies to improve resource stewardship, achieve international cooperation, provide meaningful interpretation and conduct scientific research, which will lead to increased appreciation and understanding of our shared natural and cultural heritage along our international border with Mexico. Several National Parks located along the U.S. border with Mexico have recently experienced serious resource damage due to illegal cross border activities including drug traffickers and undocumented persons traversing the parks. Other national park units within the desert southwest have also experienced impacts to their natural and cultural resources. Thousands of miles of unauthorized roads and trails have been created, major ecological processes and the migration patterns of wildlife have been disrupted, important historic sites have been vandalized, and archaeological sites have been looted. Program funding is available for conducting scientific research and monitoring of species, as well as conservation, interpretation and preservation projects designed to help protect and preserve natural and cultural resources located near or along our international border.

Improve access to and use of heritage resources, and promote their educational, scientific, cultural, and recreational values in a manner that meets U.S. Department of Interior priorities and Cultural Heritage and Paleontology Program goals. Individual projects shall meet one or more objectives: 1. Conduct studies, including inventory, excavation, records research, and collections-based research to improve the understanding of America¿s natural and cultural history; 2. Monitor at-risk heritage resources to track trends in condition and project effectiveness; 3. Stabilize at-risk heritage resources; 4. Train future cultural resource management practitioners and paleontologists through research projects, field schools and internships that capitalize on BLM heritage resources; 5. Assist with cultural heritage data and records management activities such as organizing, maintaining, and scanning site and survey records; creating, digitizing and maintaining geospatial data; and performing data entry; and 6. Preserve existing collections at recognized curation facilities through such activities as archival housing, stabilization or conservation. 7. Promote engagement with Native American communities and foster partnerships with tribal governments and programs; and 8. Promote public engagement, learning opportunities, and archaeological and/or paleontological ethics through heritage resources education and outreach programs, events, and products. 9. Conduct studies directed at determining impacts to heritage resources caused by activities such as prescribed fire, juniper control projects, vegetation removal by chaining or any land disturbing activity. 10. Stabilize at-risk historic structures 11. Develop and maintain historic sites with interpretive and educational potential.

From rangeland management to protection of cultural resources; fire suppression to energy development; trails and travel management to National Conservation Lands, the BLM values public involvement and a collaborative environment. When we facilitate activities and uses of the public lands, they are designed, permitted, and monitored with the goal of retaining or returning the land to a healthy condition once the use or activity ends. Our objective is to provide opportunities for youth (ages 16-30 years of age) to engage in BLM cultural and natural resource conservation-related projects and to increase public awareness and appreciation of those resources and recreational resource values found on public lands. These projects will provide participants with a mix of work experience, education, training, community involvement and support services, as well as the opportunity to develop citizenship values and skills through service to their community and the United States. As the young men and women gain experience in natural and cultural resource management, they will also develop an appreciation for public lands and learn about conservation-related career fields

The goal of this cooperative project is to implement an NPS framework to address climate change impacts on cultural resources in the Intermountain Region (IMR). Building on Phase I research (2014) that compiled existing climate change models and data for cultural resources in the IMR, the objectives of this Phase II DIP are to: 1). Update Phase I compilation of data to review and incorporate recent NPS work on climate change and cultural resources at the national and regional scales; and 2). Complete a climate change vulnerability assessment for cultural resources in national parks of the Intermountain Region based on current data and norms established by the NPS. This regionally scoped project, conducted by a team of natural and cultural resources experts, will produce and disseminate information that can be used by site managers to plan for protection of vulnerable cultural resources in conjunction with the NPS Climate Change Response Program.

NRCS is the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) conservation agency working with farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners nationwide to identify and address natural resource objectives in balance with operational goals in order to benefit soil, water, wildlife, and related natural resources locally, regionally, and nationally. NRCS works in partnership with other entities to accelerate getting conservation on the ground. Through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), NRCS seeks to co-invest with partners in innovative, workable, and cost-effective approaches to benefit farming, ranching, and forest operations, local economies, and the communities and resources in a watershed or other geographic area. RCPP partners develop project applications, as described in this notice, to address specific natural resource objectives in a proposed area or region.

This project represents an opportunity to enter into a cooperative agreement for cultural resources outreach, education and training to further effective cultural resource management on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Project lands. Stewardship of historic and cultural resources can be achieved by educating students, Corps staff, and public and private landowners holding outgrant leases, easements or licenses on USACE lands. A cooperative agreement with an educational institution will provide educational benefits and awareness to college students, interns, volunteers, neighbors, frequent users, the general public and future stewards of the sites, and provide benefits to the community of which these USACE sites are a part. The program would provide job training, education, and early career development for college-level students in archaeology, anthropology, and natural / cultural resource management. Students will learn appropriate survey and monitoring methods, field techniques, archival research, regulations and policy, and the latest technology to document and analyze cultural sites and historic properties.

The Nation faces an increasing set of water resource challenges. Aging infrastructure, rapid population growth, depletion of groundwater resources, impaired water quality associated with particular land uses and land covers, water needed for human and environmental uses, and climate variability and change all play a role in determining the amount of fresh water available at any given place and time. Water shortages and water-use conflicts have become more commonplace in many areas of the United States, even in normal water years. As competition for water resources grows-for crop irrigation, growing cities and communities, energy production, and the environment-the need for information and tools to aid water resource managers also grows. Water issues and challenges are increasing across the Nation, but particularly in the West, due to prolonged drought. These water issues are exacerbating the challenges facing traditional water management approaches which by themselves no longer meet today's needs. The U.S. Department of the Interior's (Department) WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America's Resources for Tomorrow) Program establishes a framework to provide Federal leadership and assistance on the efficient use of water, integrating water and energy policies to support the sustainable use of all natural resources, and coordinating the water conservation activities of various Department bureaus and offices. Through the WaterSMART Program, the Department is working to achieve a sustainable water management strategy to meet the Nation's water needs.

The Prince Bernhard Nature Fund was established in 1994 by the late Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. The Fund's mission is to support small, preferably local initiatives towards the conservation and wise use of nature and our natural resource base.  The Prince Bernhard Nature Fund aims to help save critically endangered flora and fauna in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America. 

2015 Forest Service National Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost Share Grant Deadline: December 15, 2015 The Secretary of Agriculture has a congressionally designated advisory council that assists the U.S. Forest Service in establishing the grant categories and recommendations of final proposals for the Forest Service to consider. This is the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC). The Council serves to advise the Secretary of Agriculture on the status of the nation's urban and community forests and related natural resources. The NUCFAC seeks to establish sustainable urban and community forests, by encouraging communities of all sizes to manage and protect their natural resources, which, if well managed, improves the public's health, well-being, economic vitality, and creates resilient ecosystems for present and future generations. The Council recommends urban and community forestry projects that have national or multi-state application and impact through the U.S. Forest Service's competitive Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost Share Grant Program. This year, the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC) has identified three national grant categories: 1. Analysis and Solutions for Development and Redevelopment Impacts on Urban and Community Forests, 2. Building Human Health Through Urban and Community Forestry, and 3. Climate Change and Its Impact on Trees and Water. An applicant may apply to more than one category; however they are to use a separate application for each category. The purpose of these grants is to address national issues. This RFP is not for local or State-wide projects. Click on link http://www.fs.fed.us/ucf/nucfac.shtml for full information on the 2016 Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost Share Grant. Search [CFDA number: 10.675], or [Grant Opportunity No.: USDA-FS-UCF-01-2016]. The grant applications are to be submitted through www.grants.gov. Contact Nancy Stremple, Natural Re

This project will create a Cultural Landscapes Inventory (CLI) and associated National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) nomination for the primary tourist walkways within the underground landscape of CAVE. The project will include an inventory and analysis of all associated cultural features, impacts and relationships with cave natural systems, and views associated with the trail system. The documents will contain a historic context, statement of significance, and evaluation of integrity of the inventoried resources and underground cultural landscape. A Determination of Eligibility (DOE) will result from this process. If found eligible, a NRHP nomination will be completed. As a living document, the CLI is updated every 6-10 years. The initial research created in this document will provide a baseline for cave monitoring, including how natural and cultural resources impact each other over time to guide park management strategies in the future. The final project reports and findings will be uploaded to IRMA, the NPS public access site. The project will engage student involvement through partnership with the University of Arkansas. Student engagement insures training of next generation scientists and preservation professionals. This project will focus on collaboration between cultural and natural resources, providing a critical and unique learning experience.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) intends to enter into a nationwide cooperative agreement with a nonprofit organization (Recipient) for training and education services relating to natural resources conservation and outdoor recreation management. Funds are intended to provide young adults and veterans with real life work experiences in stewardship of the environment in all fifty states by offering opportunities for education, leadership and personal development to the Recipient's participants, while providing a high quality public service in natural resources/recreation management and conservation. Recipient must have an extensive history of providing young people and veterans with opportunities to serve within the leading federal land management agencies, providing hands-on career training, internships and other education programs to young adults and veterans. Recipient recruits, selects, trains and places qualified young adults and veterans to serve in support of conservation and recreation management projects and has the capability and expertise to provide a series of conservation/recreation management experiences for youth ranging from high school to post graduate that collectively comprise a continuous opportunity for young adults to enhance their understanding of conservation and prepare for careers in natural resources/recreation management. Recipient has the experience, plant capacity and demonstrated capability to immediately and successfully place interns and conservation crews at over 400 USACE lake and river projects and other sites nationwide to include all fifty states in the United States.

The National Park Service Shared Beringian Heritage Program (SBHP) recognizes and celebrates the unique natural resources and cultural heritage shared by Russia and the United States in the region known as Beringia. From the Kolyma River in Russia to Alaska's border with the Yukon Territory in Canada, this region includes the people, the land, and the water that connected the continents of North America and Asia during the Pleistocene ice ages. The area provides unparalleled opportunities to study both earth and human history. The overall purpose of the SBHP is to advance local, national, international understanding and preservation of the region¿s resources and to sustain the cultural vitality of its indigenous people. Specific programmatic goals are to: ¿ Improve conservation, sustainability, and knowledge of the region¿s natural and cultural resources; ¿ Preserve subsistence opportunities and other historic traditions and practices; ¿ Interpret and communicate about the region¿s unique and internationally significant resources and values; ¿ Provide opportunities for cultural connections and knowledge exchange. To meet its goals, the SBHP funds projects that connect people and activities in the Beringia region. Proposed projects may be research-focused, community-based, educational, cultural, or conservational. Every project must demonstrate how it fulfills the goals of the SBHP.

he U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) are soliciting proposals under the Wildlife Without Borders-Mexico Program for projects that address Mexico's capacity building for biodiversity conservation. Program Goal: Build human and institutional capacity for biodiversity conservation and management in Mexico through training. Of interest are projects that provide direct and significant training to Mexican personnel in terms of the number of individuals trained, the strategic or innovative nature of the training, and the impact of the training on the conservation of biodiversity. Program Objectives: * To address the training needs of Mexican natural resources managers for managing and conserving biodiversity; * To provide local communities access to training that links sound management practices in priority biodiversity areas with the creation of sustainable economic opportunities; * To involve key stakeholder groups to address biodiversity conservation challenges to enable the delivery and implementation of effective conservation actions.

The goals of this agreement are to engage approximately 20 youth in a park-based educational/recreational experience to learn and apply science, engineering, and best practices for protecting natural sounds and night skies in national parks, while fostering an awareness and appreciation of recreation opportunities in national parks. The objectives are to advance recreational access for non-traditional/underserved park visitors (e.g., youth who haven¿t visited parks due to socio-economics or perceived barriers based on physical, hearing, or visual impairments); use recreation to develop understanding and appreciation of national parks and public lands; impart knowledge to enhance park resources, values, and visitor experience; and leverage funding through cost-sharing. The outcomes will include: 1) increased recreational access, 2) application of best practices developed to benefit resource conditions and visitor experience, 3) improved natural soundscapes and night skies through noise and light reduction service activities, 4) increased relevancy of national parks.

The DoD Legacy Resource Management Program (Legacy Program) provides funding to high priority conservation projects that foster mission sustainment while promoting long-term stewardship of our nation's natural and cultural heritage. All projects must address at least one of the Areas of Emphasis (AOEs) and support the mission-relevant priorities that form the basis of DoD's Natural and Cultural Resources Programs. Proposals must identify any relationship between the proposed work and other similar efforts that are currently underway or completed.

Section 104g of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 requires that this competitive grant program focus on water problems and issues of a regional or interstate nature beyond those of concern only to a single State and which relate to specific program priorities identified jointly by the Secretary of the Interior and the water resources research institutes. Objectives of this program also include the following A. Promote collaboration between the USGS and university scientists in research on significant national and regional water resources issues. Proposals exhibiting substantial collaboration between the USGS and the applicant are encouraged and will receive extra weight in the evaluation and selection process. Collaborative proposals should describe in detail the respective roles of the USGS and the applicant in the proposed work. Potential applicants seeking collaborative opportunities are encouraged to contact USGS Water Science Center Directors.

The AZ Cultural Heritage and Paleontology Resource Management Programs seek to establish partnerships that collaboratively encourage the public to learn about and engage with heritage resources in Arizona, with the goals of creating a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt, restoring trust and being a good neighbor, and sustainably developing energy and natural resources.

Mexico makes up only one percent of the Earth���s land area, but is home to an impressive one-twelfth of all of the species known to science. A megadiverse country, Mexico is also a major center of origin and domestication of plants and a key flora and fauna dispersal corridor. Its rainforests are among the richest reservoirs of biological material on the planet, and its diverse habitats are home to a broad array of wildlife, including many seasonal residents that migrate to and from the U.S. and other areas. Despite the multiple efforts and initiatives by local authorities, international agencies, non-government organizations and donors, Mexico���s astonishing natural diversity remains threatened by habitat loss and degradation, agricultural encroachment and intensification, invasive alien species, human intrusion and disturbance, illegal wildlife trade, poaching and human-wildlife conflicts. In response to these challenges, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) together with the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico (SEMARNAT) established the Wildlife Without Borders ��� Mexico program, as a cooperative effort between the United States and Mexico to preserve our shared natural heritage. Program Goal: To conserve priority species, habitats and ecological processes across landscapes with high biodiversity value in Mexico. Authorizing Legislation: Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531-43)

This Funding Announcement is not a request for applications. This announcement is to provide public notice of the National Park Service, intention to fund the following project activities without competition. North Cascades Institute (NCI) is a nationally regarded nonprofit environmental organization maintained in the State of Washington, and is dedicated to increasing understanding and appreciation of the natural and cultural landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. The Institute's mission is to conserve and restore Northwest environments through education. The Institute was created for the specific purpose of providing programs of public education and involvement in conservation, natural science, history and related fields of study, in order to foster and enhance understanding and appreciation of the North Cascades bioregion. NCI has been a valued partner of North Cascades National Park Complex (NOCA) since 1986. The two agencies have a solid track record of cooperatively developing successful, cost-effective programs that meet both park and Institute educational and budgetary goals. NCI is considered to be the lead educational partner of NOCA, providing over $2.6 million in integrated education programming during the 29-year relationship. NCI operates the residential North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, an 11.6 million dollar facility which is imbedded within NOCA as required by a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) agreement with Seattle City Light, operator of three hydroelectric dams within NOCA. The Learning Center is one of the required mitigation elements for Seattle City Light's federal FERC license for continued operation of three hydroelectric reservoirs on the Skagit River. The NPS and the Institute are mutually interested and desire to cooperate in conducting interpretive activities, public education, and training related to the understanding, protection, and management of the natural and cultural resources of (1) the North Cascades ecosys