Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative FY14 | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative (WALCC) FY14 Grant (F13AS00342)

1) What is this funding opportunity?

This is the Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative (WALCC) FY14 grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F13AS00342) administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). It supports applied science that helps inform landscape-level conservation decision-making in western Alaska, with a strong focus on climate-driven stressors.

2) What is the main purpose of the WALCC FY14 grant?

The opportunity is designed to improve coordination, information sharing, and development of practical science that can guide conservation across large landscapes in western Alaska, including linkages between land and marine systems. A central emphasis is climate change, particularly understanding, monitoring, and interpreting water temperature as an ecosystem indicator and driver of impacts.

3) Who is offering and administering the funding?

The funding call is offered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and tied to WALCC priorities for western Alaska conservation science.

4) What funding mechanism is used?

The award is offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) Network framework.

5) What is the CESU Network and why is it mentioned?

The CESU Network is a partnership framework intended to connect federal agencies with partners who can provide research, technical assistance, and education across biological, physical, social, cultural, engineering, and related disciplines. The announcement is issued through this framework.

6) Is eligibility limited to CESU partners?

No. Although the announcement is issued through the CESU Network, eligibility is described as broad and unrestricted. It is open to virtually any qualified entity, as long as it meets the requirements in the full announcement.

7) What is the main scientific theme of the solicitation?

Climate change is the priority theme, with a specific emphasis on water temperature. The solicitation highlights water temperature as both an ecosystem indicator and a driver of impacts on key natural and cultural resources in western Alaska.

8) What kinds of projects is this opportunity trying to encourage?

The opportunity emphasizes practical, decision-relevant applied science that supports landscape-level conservation. It specifically encourages work that builds common standards, creates workable monitoring strategies, and synthesizes existing information to describe and anticipate impacts.

9) Are one-off temperature measurements a good fit for this opportunity?

The solicitation is framed around comparability and coordination. It emphasizes common standards, monitoring strategies, and synthesis, rather than isolated measurements that cannot be compared across regions or across time.

10) What are the project topics available under this Notice of Funding Availability?

The Notice of Funding Availability is organized into three main topics:

• Topic 1: Baseline standards for water temperature data collection in Alaska (developed collaboratively).
• Topic 2: Implementation strategy for a voluntary water temperature monitoring network within the WALCC area.
• Topic 3: Descriptions of current or existing effects of changing water temperature on important western Alaska resources, emphasizing synthesis and vulnerability work.

11) What is Topic 1 focused on?

Topic 1 focuses on creating baseline standards for water temperature data collection in Alaska through a collaborative process. The goal is to make water temperature measurements consistent and comparable so they can support regional-scale analyses of ecosystem status and trends.

12) What kinds of elements might be included in Topic 1 standards?

The solicitation implies attention to shared protocols and guidance such as sensor placement, calibration, sampling frequency, metadata requirements, quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC), data management approaches, and reporting formats so that data collected by different groups can be combined with minimal compatibility issues.

13) What is Topic 2 focused on?

Topic 2 asks applicants to develop an implementation strategy for coordinating and supporting a voluntary water temperature monitoring network within the Western Alaska LCC area.

14) Why does Topic 2 emphasize a voluntary monitoring network?

The solicitation recognizes that monitoring will rely on voluntary participation and coordination rather than a single centralized program. Proposals are therefore expected to address coordination, recruitment, support, and continuity in a realistic way.

15) What might Topic 2 proposals be expected to cover?

Based on the announcement summary, Topic 2 proposals would typically outline how an awardee (and its organization or partnership) would organize collaboration, recruit participants, provide training or technical support, manage data flows, and maintain long-term continuity of the monitoring effort.

16) What geographic areas does WALCC reference for Topic 2 planning?

WALCC identifies five broad geographic areas aligned with ecosystem boundaries:

1. Kotzebue Sound Lowlands, Seward Peninsula, and Nulato Hills
2. Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
3. Ahklun Mountains and Bristol Bay Lowlands
4. Alaska Peninsula
5. Kodiak and Afognak Islands

17) Does a Topic 2 strategy need to address all five geographic areas?

The provided information states that a strong strategy would typically describe how coordination would work within one or more of these geographies. It does not state that all five must be covered.

18) How does Topic 2 relate to Topic 1?

Topic 2 is about coordinating and supporting an ongoing monitoring network, and it is expected to align with standardized methods (like those developed under Topic 1) so data from different participants can be comparable and useful for broader analysis.

19) What is Topic 3 focused on?

Topic 3 focuses on impacts and vulnerability by asking for descriptions of current or existing effects of changing water temperature on important western Alaska resources.

20) Does Topic 3 require new field studies?

Not necessarily. Topic 3 emphasizes synthesizing and integrating existing datasets, conducting integrative research, and/or producing vulnerability assessments that incorporate climate change predictions, rather than requiring entirely new field studies.

21) What kinds of outputs are implied for Topic 3?

Deliverables under Topic 3 would likely include literature and data syntheses, analytical products, and decision-relevant vulnerability summaries that connect water temperature trends to real-world consequences and help managers and communities prioritize actions.

22) What types of resources or values can be addressed under Topic 3?

The summary references important western Alaska resources and values such as species, habitats, subsistence resources, fisheries, and other valued ecosystem components, including natural and cultural resources.

23) How many awards were anticipated?

USFWS anticipated making about nine awards under this opportunity.

24) What was the estimated total funding available?

The estimated total funding pool was $600,000.

25) What was the expected funding range for individual awards?

Individual awards were expected to range from $20,000 to $250,000.

26) Is cost-sharing or matching required?

No cost-sharing or matching requirement was stated for applicants in the information provided.

27) What CFDA program is associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity is listed under CFDA 15.669, Cooperative Landscape Conservation.

28) What broad activity areas does this funding fall under?

The program falls within environment, natural resources, science and technology, and other research and development.

29) What was the application deadline?

The original application deadline was October 14, 2013. It was later extended to November 4, 2013 through an amendment due to time lost during the federal government shutdown.

30) What is the archive date listed for the opportunity?

The archive date was November 15, 2013.

31) Who is the point of contact for questions about the opportunity?

The listed point of contact was Karen Murphy, the Western Alaska LCC Coordinator.

32) How can applicants contact the point of contact?

Karen Murphy could be reached by phone at 907-786-3501 or by email at karenmurphy@fws.gov.