OpportunityTitle: Avian Health and Disease Surveillance and Monitoring Support for Region 1
Description: Avian Health and Disease Program Region 1 Request for Proposals FY2012 INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS This announcement solicits proposals for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service&#146;s (USFWS&#146;s) Pacific Region Avian Health and Disease (AHD) program. The AHD program supports avian conservation, surveillance and monitoring goals of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by including health and disease assessments into activities related to the management of migratory bird species. Proposals should be relevant to native Migratory Birds in the Pacific Region (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Hawaii and the Pacific Trust Territories). OBJECTIVES OF THE AVIAN HEALTH AND DISEASE PROGRAM Conduct health and disease surveillance of wild bird populations to: 1. Establish avian health baselines 2. Identify existing and emerging avian health and disease risks 3. Ensure disease preparedness and prevention 4. Develop, guide, and implement appropriate and effective management actions To address these objectives, we are requesting proposals that will allow us to provide support in one of the following areas: 1. Health and disease impact investigations 2. Technical assistance for management issues 3. Infrastructure and provisions needed for field operations 4. Morbidity and mortality monitoring, response and technical assistance 5. Personnel 6. Communications and informing policy 7. Collaborations Below are specific topics identified within the Avian Health and Disease National Strategic Plan (NSP) that could be considered in proposals seeking funding from the R1-AHD program. HEALTH AND DISEASE IMPACT INVESTIGATIONS Integrate health surveillance into field activities &#149; Initiate or expand investigation of regionally specific avian health and disease problems &#149; Collect baseline data on avian species to assess health and disease concerns &#149; Evaluate critical avian populations: species of concern, threatened and endangered species (conduct field investigations in combination with the ongoing management activities) &#149; Investigate infectious diseases (viruses, bacteria, fungal infections) &#149; Investigate non-infectious diseases (parasites, biotoxins, contaminants) &#149; Conduct targeted pathogen surveillance &#149; Investigate indigenous and exotic disease problems Climate change &#149; Incorporate AHD activities into DOI climate change strategic plans and the National Wildlife Refuges Inventories and Monitoring disease surveillance priorities &#149; Investigate the impact of climate change on the biology of wildlife disease reservoirs and vector species &#149; Investigate disease impacts on species adaptation strategies &#149; Identify ancillary stressors influencing avian susceptibility to disease (decoupling of biological processes) Human-induced effects on disease transmission &#149; Assess the increased disease risks associated with urban, suburban, and agricultural environments (water quality, habitat fragmentation, contaminants) &#149; Aid in the prevention and management of invasive species introduction &#149; Adjust FWS personnel behaviors during field activities to decrease the potential of disease transmission to humans, other wildlife, other geographic sites PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT Funding for this program is subject to change without notice; therefore we are requesting that proposals be submitted for single-year projects only. If funding is available in future years, you will be given the option to submit a proposal for subsequent steps in a project. Projects should be organized in a manner that produces a measurable result from each independently-funded phase. Additional ranking criteria will be how well the project addresses the program objectives stated above and the applicability of results to evaluating management strategies and/or defining the relevance of future research. No set budget limit exists for individual projects; however, efficiency will be another criteria used in evaluating projects. Ability to leverage or to match funds from other sources is also a plus. Proposals should be 2-5 pages and include enough information for a reviewer to understand how the objectives of the project will be met. No specific form is required for proposals. Relevant information to be included is identified in a draft template at the end of this document. TIMELINE FOR PROJECTS-2012 January 10: Request for Proposals released by Regional Coordinator February 24: Proposals due to Regional Coordinator March 1: Annual Progress Reports from previous year due to Regional Coordinator March 31: Selections on Funded Projects Announced REPORTING For all projects, an annual progress report is due by March 1. REGIONAL AVIAN HEALTH AND DISEASE PERSONNEL The Regional Avian Health and Disease Coordinator (Coordinator) is responsible for ensuring that USFWS Region 1&#146;s AHD program is meeting the objectives and fulfilling requirements identified in the National Strategic Plan. For questions regarding the AHD program in the Pacific Region, or to request copies of the NSP or Region 1 Strategic Plan, please contact the Regional Coordinator listed below. Please also submit completed proposals to the Regional Coordinator. Do not submit proposals to Grants.gov. Proposals may be submitted electronically or by mail. Regional Coordinator: Jenny Hoskins USFWS Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs 911 NE 11th Avenue Portland, OR 97232 503-231-6716 office 503-382-7056 cell 503-231-2019 fax Jenny_Hoskins@fws.gov Avian Health and Disease Program Region 1 Proposal Template FY2012 I. TITLE SECTION A. Title of Project B. Principal Investigator (include contact information) C. Co-Investigators II. INTRODUCTION A. Background and Justification Briefly describe the project, including species, location, avian health issue or concern. B. Objective(s) List all objectives of the proposed project C. Management Action(s) Identify any on-going management activities associated with the proposed project (e.g., annual banding drive, aerial surveys etc) and any management actions that may result as a consequence of this project. III. METHODS A. Data Collection Methods should be described with enough detail to allow reviewers of the proposal to clearly see how the objectives of the proposal will be met. Key elements to be described in this section include (1) type, number, and location samples to be collected and analyzed, (2) type of health parameter, pathogen or non-infectious agent to be addressed (3) Other information that will be collected as part of this or ancillary projects B. Analysis Identify laboratory or other analyses that will be conducted on the samples. Briefly describe methods used for data analyses. IV. RELEVANCE TO NATIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN Describe how your project addresses any of the components listed in the &#147;Health and Disease Impact Investigations&#148; section above. You may also discuss how your project relates to any other objectives or support areas identified in the National Strategic Plan. V. LITERATURE CITED V. PARTNERSHIPS Identify collaborators and describe their contribution to the project. Also, identify contract laboratories or agencies. VI. BUDGET Include costs for FY2012 and all out-years. Be as specific as possible; include line-item estimates for for salary, travel, supplies, equipment, laboratory analysis, helicopter or airplane costs, fuel, food, contracts etc.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Jenny Hoskins email
GrantorContactText: Jenny Hoskins  &lt;br/&gt;USFWS Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs &lt;br/&gt;911 NE 11th Avenue &lt;br/&gt;Portland, OR 97232 &lt;br/&gt;503-231-6716 office &lt;br/&gt;Jenny_Hoskins@fws.gov &lt;br/&gt;