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This requirement will address measures included in the 2008 United States Fish & Wildlife (USFWS) Biological Opinion (BO) for Military Operations on San Clemente Island (SCI) related to plant management on SCI. The BO identifies the need to continue control of invasive weeds that may be limiting the recovery of six listed plant species. Currently, the invasive species management program on SCI is structured around the five goals identified in the 2008-2012 National Invasive Species Management Plan: (1) Prevention; (2) Early Detection and Rapid Response; (3) Control and Management; (4) Restoration; and (5) Organizational Collaboration. Once invasive species have been established, which is the scenario on SCI, at least five types of management can be utilized (biological, chemical, mechanical, harvest management, and fire). This Cooperative Agreement will focus on the first four methods of management (i.e. excluding fire) and will be a continuation of work begun in late 1990. This action is considered to be a new cooperative agreement as work has not been recently procured.

The purpose of Pest Management Alternatives Program (PMAP) is to provide support for the development and implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) practices, tactics, and systems for specific pest problems while reducing human and environmental risks. This purpose addresses the broad goals outlined in the "National Roadmap for Integrated Pest Management," developed by federal and non-federal IPM experts, practitioners, and stakeholders in 2004. The successful management of pest problems in commercial production is facing severe challenges due to regulatory changes, emergence of new pest problems, and the development of pest resistance to present management technologies. The greatest impact on current management technologies is in the production of specialty crops; however, other crops, including grain, forage and fiber, as well as animal health, are also being impacted by these changes.

Two reports, (1) the Local Workgroup Report for the National Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring Strategy (BLM 2007) and (2) the Findings and Recommendations for Regional Monitoring for Wildlife and Water with an Emphasis on Energy Development (Falise et al. 2008), were also completed and provided vision toward developing an Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) Strategy. The AIM Strategy is intended to reach across programs, jurisdictions, stakeholders, and agencies to provide data and information valuable to decision makers. The strategy focuses on 10 management questions important to land managers at varying levels of the Bureau, from field office to national levels. Answering each of the management questions requires a multiscale, coordinated, and integrated approach for new data collection while recognizing the value of many current monitoring activities. This approach will provide: (1) an opportunity to collect vegetation and soils monitoring data that can be used many times for many purposes and (2) the quantitative data essential for informed, defensible land management decision making, (3) opportunities to work with organizations that provide experience for entry level field positions within natural resource management agencies.

The fishery research program consists of a portfolio of funded basic (discovery, descriptive, or hypothesis generation) and applied (descriptive or hypothesis-driven) research organized by theme areas given below. Research theme areas are: Human Dimensions of Great Lakes Fishery Management -- Human dimensions-related issues play a central role in Great Lakes fisheries in terms of values and beliefs, management challenges and desired outcomes, economics, and governance. Fishery objectives often focus on a limited number of ecological and social management goals; this theme aims to expand our understanding of the human dimension of fishery management and help in having that dimension reflected in fishery management practices. Physical Processes and Fish Recruitment in Large Lakes -- TBD. Energy Dynamics of Great Lakes Food Webs -- To understand energy dynamics in Great Lakes food webs and the role of food web members in structuring resilient communities and ecosystems. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission (Commission) grants funds to academic institutions, government agencies, and private corporations through research contracts. A Principal Investigator (PI) for each research project must be designated; the PI must be a permanent employee of the institution receiving the funds who can be held accountable for ensuring the work is completed as outlined in the contract.

The objective of this task statement is to inform planning and implementation of landscape(1) fuel treatment(2) strategies that allow for safe and effective management of wildfire to meet protection and resource management objectives. Projects funded under this task statement are intended to support the vision of the 2014 National Cohesive Wildfire Management Strategy, in particular progressing towards resilient landscapes.

The objective of this task statement is to inform planning and implementation of landscape(1) fuel treatment(2) strategies that allow for safe and effective management of wildfire to meet protection and resource management objectives. Projects funded under this task statement are intended to support the vision of the 2014 National Cohesive Wildfire Management Strategy, in particular progressing towards resilient landscapes.

The Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) Competitive Grants Program provides funds to (1) improve the farm management knowledge and skills of agricultural producers; and (2) establish and maintain a national, publicly available farm financial management database to support improved farm management.

The National Conservation Lands financially supports studies aimed at increasing our understanding of the resources present on BLM lands and the effectiveness of BLM¿s resource management decisions. The program seeks to develop and maintain strong partnerships with State, local, and private stakeholders in shared conservation stewardship by engaging partners in conducting management-focused research on the National Conservation Lands. Results from these studies on National Conservation Lands will inform management strategies utilized throughout BLM as well as other land management entities.

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from federally-recognized tribes or intertribal consortia for the development and implementation of hazardous waste programs and for building capacity to address hazardous waste management in Indian country. In accordance with the EPA Indian Policy of 1984, EPA recognizes tribal governments as the primary parties for managing programs for reservations. To maximize the benefits to tribes from the limited funding to support the Hazardous Waste Management Grant Program for Tribes, EPA has reassessed the criteria used to evaluate applications submitted for funding through this grant program beginning in FY 2015. The goal of this effort is to provide technical assistance to a greater number of tribes for activities that involve hazardous waste management on tribal lands.

This program will provide professional training, through the use of internships, mentoring, environmental education, and interpretive educational opportunities in order for young people to learn conservation and land management processes and policies as they relate to natural resources management of public lands. Furthermore, this program will achieve a variety resource management projects on public lands managed by the BLM¿s Eastern States Field Offices. Routine workload may include provision of outreach and interpretive services, visitor service patrol, facility maintenance, trail work, exotic species control or any other action supporting the implementation of BLMs approved plans.

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 Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Subsistence Management (OSM) administers the Partners for Fisheries Monitoring Program (Partners Program). OSM is seeking proposals for the Partners Program that strengthen Alaska Native and rural involvement in Federal subsistence management. The Partners Program is a competitive grant that is directed at providing funding for biologists, social scientists and outreach/educator positions in Alaska Native and rural nonprofit organizations with the intent of increasing the organizations ability to participate in Federal subsistence management. In addition, the program supports a variety of opportunities for local, rural students to connect with subsistence resource monitoring and management through science camps and paid internships.

The U.S. Forest Service supports Moving Toward Shared Stewardship Across Landscapes as part of a conceptual framework for making strategic investments across landscapes to co-manage wildfire risk and achieve positive outcomes at the most appropriate scale. Within this framework, The Northeastern Area Cohesive Fire Strategy Competitive Request for Applications is designed to support and carry out the goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (NCS) across the Midwestern and Northeastern States as well as meet the intent of the current year budget direction. These national goals are: Restore and Maintain Landscapes: Landscapes across all jurisdictions are resilient to fire-related disturbances in accordance with management objectives. Create Fire Adapted Communities: Human populations and infrastructure can withstand a wildfire without loss of life and property. Improve Wildfire Response: All jurisdictions participate in making and implementing safe, effective, efficient risk-based wildfire management decisions.

Background: Kuenzler's Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus fendleri var. kuenzleri) is a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). It shares many similarities with a common species, Fendler's Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus fendleri var. fendleri) and with many intermediates. This has caused confusion for land managers. The BLM management of Kuenzler's Hedgehog Cactus impacts the multiple uses (i.e. public land users) across the landscape as it restricts land management decisions in order to conserve the imperiled species. Currently, there is no information on the genetic differences of the Kuenzler's Hedgehog Cactus, the Fendler's Hedgehog Cactus, and intermediaries. Without this information it is difficult to determine importance of populations in order to prioritize recovery actions to enable the species to be de-listed. The use of the most current genetic methods for defining species, plastome sequencing, microsatellite development and genotyping, and ddRAD sequencing is needed to accurately determine whether the two species and associated intermediates are in fact the same. If studies show there are two different varieties it will be important to understand how the different Kuenzler's Hedgehog Cactus populations are related to each other across the landscape. This information can help the BLM prioritize populations according to rarity of the element occurrences. The objective of this project is to determine the genetic differences and similarities between Kuenzler's Hedgehog Cactus (all known element occurrences), Fendler's Hedgehog Cactus, and associated intermediates as well as the differences in population structure of the element occurrences of Kuenzler Hedgehog Cactus across the landscape in order to assist with land management decisions and potential de-listing of the species.

This funding opportunity is an ongoing effort to ensure bald eagles are managed so that they remain a success story. Existing management actions provide important population and nest success that allows for adaptive management of local closures to reduce impacts to recreation users on public lands while meeting the objects for bald eagles. Strong science is continuously being evaluated and re-evaluated for best practices to inform management of bald eagles. This has led to the southwest population of bald eagles being removed from the list of threatened and endangered species list. Breeding bald eagles are sensitive to human disturbance. The Bald Eagle Nest Watch Program has been successful in increasing nest success by reducing conflicts with bald eagles. This project is vital to ensure the bald eagle population in Arizona continues to thrive and avoid once again being federally listed as endangered species.

This will require a coordinated effort, as Montanaâ¿¿s intermingled land ownership patterns make it impossible to fight this battle alone. For example, a single lake may have multiple entities managing the shoreline. If only one area were treated, the untreated areas would likely serve as a source area for re-invasion. The project will include detection, eradication, education (prevention), and monitoring. All four of these steps are key to the success of the project. Implement actions to prevent, control, and contain including education and awareness monitoring and reporting aquatic invasive species in cooperation between Bureau of Land Management Districts through implementation of cooperative agreements. Promote the Bureau of Land Management interests in an Integrated Weed management (IWM) system approach to undesirable plants and aquatic invasive species. Implement an IWM system using all available methods or a combination of methods including: (1) the most efficient and effective method of preventing, containing, or controlling undesirable plants species; (2) scientific evidence and current technology; (3) the physiology and habitat of a plant species; and (4) the economic, social, and ecological consequences of implementing the program

This funding opportunity will provide support for the grantee to develop and administer a comprehensive national program that funds extramural collaborative science projects to address the system-wide research and management needs of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, while being responsive to local and regional reserve priorities and those of NOAA. The NERRS collaborative science program is intended to deliver highly credible and relevant information to the coastal management community by incorporating user input into the design and implementation of research projects and ensure that the outcomes support the needs of stakeholders. This program will also increase the capacity of the NERRS management, research, education, stewardship, and coastal training sectors to transfer information and skills to end-users and more effectively support coastal and estuarine resource management.

This funding opportunity is a notice of intent to award a single source grant to Winston-Salem State University to help meet the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) need for information and collaboration directed at high impact questions surrounding threats to fish and wildlife resources for which management and/or mitigation is required to maintain species at healthy, sustainable, desired levels. The Service must base its decisions on the best science available, in order to defend its regulatory decisions, biological opinions and species conservation recommendations to land managers. The Service uses a science-based, adaptive framework for setting and achieving broad-scale conservation objectives that strategically address the problems fish and wildlife will face in the future. This framework, called Strategic Habitat Conservation, is based on the principles of adaptive management and uses population and habitat data, ecological models, and focused monitoring and assessment efforts to develop and implement strategies that result in measurable fish and wildlife population outcomes. This process uses the best available scientific information to predict how fish and wildlife populations will respond to changes in the environment, thus enabling the Service to focus habitat conservation and other management activities where they will be most effective.

The Environmental Research and Education Foundation is accepting pre-proposals for its Research in Sustainable Solid Waste Management grants program. The program supports research projects related to sustainable solid waste management practices, including waste minimization; recycling; waste conversion to energy, biofuels, chemicals, or other useful products; strategies aimed at promoting diversion to higher and better uses (e.g., organics diversion, market analysis, optimized material management, logistics, etc.); and landfilling.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is pleased to announce the availability of research funding in 2018 to investigate issues related directly to the management of white-nose syndrome (WNS). The WNS Program provides financial and technical assistance to non-governmental, university, and private researchers, as well as state and local governments, Native American tribes, and federal agencies, for the management of WNS and conservation of bats. Funded projects will investigate priority questions about WNS to improve our ability to manage the disease and implement management actions that will help to conserve affected bat species.

This project will seek to produce geospatial products and corresponding reports/guidebooks to improve riparian-wetland resource management, including but not limited to the following general statewide needs: (1) New geospatial layers that represent riparian-wetland characteristics. Now that riparian-wetland mapping is nearly complete for most areas throughout the state, individual layers that represent unique riparian-wetland characteristics will maximize the utility of those efforts because the attributes that need to be considered for a project depend on the proposed actions and facilitating access to the various geospatial representations will enable resource specialists to analyze key features at multiple scales and thereby improve their ability to develop holistic management plans that include the physical, biological, and ecological components of riparian-wetland management. New geospatial layers should help groups across the state to develop Resource & Drought Management Plans, identify desired resource values (fisheries, water quality, wildlife, etc.), and describe the corresponding Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences sections of NEPA documents (or MEPA documents associated with Montana State authorizations under the Montana Environmental Policy Act). Examples of potential geospatial layers include: Risk/Vulnerability rating for livestock grazing during drought