OpportunityTitle: Conservation Internships
Description: The Northeast Region of the National Wildlife Refuge System manages the Conservation Internship Program (CIP) for qualified student applicants on National Wildlife Refuges in thirteen states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia. CIP exists to introduce culturally-diverse college students to natural resource careers through &#147;hands on&#148; work with, and training by, natural resource professionals employed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The goal of CIP is to help develop a new generation of enthused and effective conservationists and ecologists from the ranks of college students with traditionally disadvantaged or otherwise diverse ethnic backgrounds. Each selected student is to be given the opportunity to serve a 12-week summertime on-site internship, usually scheduled between May 31st and September 30th. During the internships, CIP students are introduced to various real-world conservation and rehabilitation activities such as invasive species management, habitat restoration, wildlife management, and public education and interpretation, interspersed with informal and formal training sessions directed by USFWS. The Northeast Region hereby expresses its intention to review proposals from all potential qualified sources which respond to a grants.gov announcement posted 01/24/2008, Funding Number FWS-08-CGSRE-001, closing February 15, 2008, respondents to which must be willing and able to cooperatively administer a program for identifying, recruiting and providing administration for college students placed in CIP internships at Northeast Region USFWS stations. Specifically, we anticipate the establishment of one or more five-year &#147;blanket&#148; cooperative agreements under which USFWS will issue task orders to the selected Recipient(s) of award for managing the recruitment, screening, transportation, benefits and payroll services for suitable and qualified interns at the participating USFWS stations. CIP is funded annually by Congress, so USFWS reserves the right to discontinue or suspend any such award whenever limited by lack of appropriated funds. Under the Northeast Region CIP, the total federally-reimbursable costs for identifying, recruiting, placing and compensating interns (including transportation of the student interns to and from the agency-chosen USFWS stations) shall not exceed $7,500 per intern per year. From that amount, each participating student must receive a stipend of at least $4,800 from the cooperating Recipient, at a rate of $10 per hour, no less frequently than bi-weekly, during the12-week internship. This individual student intern stipend may be less than $4,800 only when a student intern fails to complete the full term, in which case the stipend reduction cannot be more than $10 per unfulfilled hour of on-site internship. Any necessary medical insurance and workman&#146;s compensation insurance costs and the cost of food and other incidental expenses shall be the responsibility of Recipients and/or students [proposals are to stipulate]. In addition to the $7,500 federal share, USFWS will also provide either no-cost on-site student housing (when available) or a housing stipend of up to $1,000 per student for the 12-week internship. Applicants for award are to explain in their proposal, preferably by itemization, additional amounts they are willing and able to contribute to the balance of reasonable and necessary costs associated with these internships. Subject to the aforementioned financial constraints, the cooperating Recipient(s) of these awards must be able to identify and recruit interns from a pool of culturally-diverse undergraduate college/university students including but, not limited to those majoring in the following Wildlife Conservation Related Fields of study- Biology, Chemistry, Ecology, Wildlife Science, Botany, Chemistry, Hydrology, Geology, Geography, Cartography/GIS, Forestry, Soil Science, Environmental Science Education, Outdoor Recreation, Environmental Science, Human Dimensions in Natural Resource Management, Law Enforcement, and the like, studying at federally-accredited U.S. colleges or universities. Students must be U.S. citizens to be eligible for the CIP program. Preference may be given to those students within that pool of eligible candidates who are both qualified for and intending to pursue an advanced degree (i.e. Masters or PhD) in a field of study which would align the candidate with a potential career in wildlife resource management. It is estimated that the Northeast Region will annually need between 5 and 15 interns, each serving a 12 -week internship at 5 to15 participating stations, as chosen by USFWS. While the selected interns will be temporarily stationed at USFWS sites, they will be considered volunteers rather than employees of USFWS for payroll, liability insurance and benefit administration purposes. Upon successful completion of their internships, some interns may be offered appointments to the USFWS Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) program or they could be offered other USFWS employment opportunities, but these future opportunities are not guaranteed under one of these internships. USFWS shall retain final selection and retention authority over each intern nominated for the CIP. Recipient(s) of award(s) must be willing to make reasonable efforts to fill the funded slots. Proposals received in response to this announcement shall be evaluated based on the following criteria [listed in no particular order of importance or ranking]: Responsiveness to the stated requirements; Responsibility (including specific demonstrated ability to make and administer targeted college student recruitments); Applicant&#146;s financial wherewithal to conduct this program (including any limitations of, or willingness and ability to subsidize or otherwise contribute the balance of the cost of this diversity program in excess of the Northeast Region&#146;s $7,500 CIP reimbursement limits &#150; whether in cash or in-kind); Applicant&#146;s existing connections/arrangements with source colleges and universities (particularly Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Hispanic Association of College and Universities (HACU) or other institutions primarily serving underrepresented segments of the population); Academic quality of available students; Sufficient quantity of students from which to choose; Geographical limits, if any, for placing interns anywhere within the Northeast Region; and Methods to be used for recruiting interns and managing the internships. Upon award of (a) blanket cooperative agreement(s), USFWS will place Task Orders with the Recipient(s) of award(s) (i.e., the Cooperator(s)) to identify and propose qualified candidates for each internship assignment. USFWS station management will work closely with the Recipient of award during the interview and selection phases of this process, which must be accomplished in a timely manner so that selected interns can report to their assigned USFWS work stations by May 31st of the assignment year. While USFWS will retain final selection/retention rights with regard to all CIP student interns, the Recipient(s) of award(s) will be responsible for identifying and screening candidates, and will ensure that applicant students are screened for suitability in the CIP program. Payments by USFWS will only be made upon the successful completion of Task Orders. Completion of Task Orders is defined as USFWS acceptance of eligible candidates referred by Recipient(s) into the USFWS CIP program. No payments will be made for candidates referred but not accepted into the USFWS CIP program. No applicants currently listed in the Federal Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) will be eligible for one of these awards, nor may those named individuals and companies otherwise partake in the Northeast Region CIP. Applications for this opportunity must be made by an authorized official of the applicant&#146;s organization, using federal forms SF424, SF424A and SF424B plus a narrative that sufficiently explains the applicant&#146;s ability and willingness to establish and manage this type of diversity-student placement process. Applications must be sent to the attention of Rick Jorgensen, Acting R5 NWRS SCEP Coordinator, USFWS, 300 Westgate Center Drive 01035 or electronically at Rick_Jorgensen@fws.gov, with copy to Tasha_Daniels@fws.gov. For more information on this assistance opportunity, contact Rick Jorgensen toll free at (877)-289-8495 Ext. 8581. Applications will be due by close of business on February 15, 2008. The Government also reserves the right to reject late applications, and may refuse to consider or evaluate them for award.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Agency Point of Contact
GrantorContactText: Christal Cutler &lt;br/&gt;Contract Specialist &lt;br/&gt;Phone 4132538233