U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceOffice of the Science Advisor

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC)

Adaptive ScienceCatalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 15.669 & 15.670

Notice of Funding Availability and Application Instructions

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives – National science, conservation information, and related conservation decision support tool development

process

I. Description of Funding OpportunityThe USFWS uses a science-based, adaptive framework for setting and achieving cross-program conservation objectives that strategically address the problems that fish, wildlife, and their habitats face now and into 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. In addition, by leveraging resources and strategically targeting science to inform conservation decisions and actions, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC) have been established to create a network of partners working in unison to ensure the sustainability of land, water, wildlife and cultural resources.Financial assistance will be awarded for projects that address the priority theme areas identified in section IX of this announcement.

A broad group of states, non-government organizations, academic institutions and federal agencies, has recognized the need to substantially enhance science and partnerships to adapt to climate change and other stresses on land, water, ocean, fish, wildlife, and cultural heritage resources. The complicated and inter-related nature of climate change, land use change, invasive species, energy development, water withdrawals, and other stresses on our natural and cultural

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resources increasingly demand that resource management actions should be targeted, evaluated for effectiveness, and better informed by the growing body of science on climate change and its interaction with other landscape scale stresses. Scientists and resource managers need to have new and more effective opportunities to collaborate, communicate, and develop scientific direction to inform resource management.

The Department of the Interior has recognized this challenge and its obligation to work with partners to address the impacts that climate change and other landscape scale stressors are having on America’s natural and cultural resources by developing integrated adaptation and mitigation strategies. In part of its overall response, Secretary Salazar signed a Secretarial Order (No. 3289) on September 14, 2009 and amended February 22, 2010, entitled, “Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on America’s Water, Land, and Other Natural and Cultural Resources.” The Order established a Department-wide approach for applying scientific tools to increase understanding of climate change and to coordinate an effective response to its impacts on tribes and on the land, water, ocean, fish and wildlife, and cultural heritage resources that the

Department manages. As a result, the Department, other federal agencies, states, non-governmental organizations and others have established 22 Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC). The LCC’s are landscape-scale applied conservation science partnerships that will support and enhance on-the-ground conservation efforts by facilitating the production and dissemination of applied science for resource management decision makers. LCCs may

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consist of Federal, State, Tribal, international, local, and private stakeholders. LCCs will identify and seek to coordinate among existing relevant conservation partnerships, plans, agreements, and programs with the specific goals of identifying common needs for information and sharing information and science.

II. Award InformationThis program has no statutory formula. This program has no matching requirements. However, to the extent possible, recipient in-kind and /or cash match is encouraged. Project period of performance may be up to three years. This program uses grant agreements and cooperative agreements. A determination of award instrument (grant or cooperative agreement) will be based on the level of Federal involvement. A cooperative agreement award should only be used when substantial Federal involvement is expected. Per 505 DM 2, Section 2.9 substantial involvement is expected when FWS:

Participates and collaborates jointly with the recipient partner, volunteer, scientist, technician or other personnel, in carrying out the scope of work, training recipient personnel, or detailing Federal personnel to work on the project effort;

Reviews and approves one stage of work before the next stage can begin; Reviews and approves proposed modifications or sub-grants, prior to award; Helps select project staff or trainees; Directs or redirects the work because of interrelationships with other projects; Has power to immediately halt an activity if detailed performance specifications are not

met; Limits recipient discretion with respect to scope of work, organization structure, staffing,

mode of operations and other management processes, coupled with close monitoring or operational involvement during performance under the award.

A total estimated amount of $700,000 may be awarded under this announcement for supporting OSA partners and landscape conservation delivery. The minimum amount for projects is $25,000 and the maximum amount that will be awarded to a project is $250,000. Projects can be developed with up to a three-year project completion plan but projects with substantial deliverables in a single year relative to the desired outputs will be preferred.

III. Basic Eligibility RequirementsEligible Applicants: All potential applicants are eligible.

Federal law mandates that all organizations applying for Federal financial assistance must have a valid Dun & Bradstreet Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number and have a current registration in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). Exemptions: Individuals submitting an application on their own behalf and not on behalf of a company or other for-profit entity, State, local or Tribal government, academia or other type of organization are exempt from registering in DUNS and CCR. Foreign entities not already registered and applying for an award for less

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than $25,000 for activities to be performed outside the United States are also exempt from registering in DUNS and CCR.

A. DUNS RegistrationRequest a DUNS number online at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. U.S.-based organizations may also request a DUNS number by telephone by calling the Dun & Bradstreet Government Customer Response Center, Monday – Friday, 7 AM to 8 PM CST at the following numbers:

U.S. and U.S Virgin Islands: 1-866-705-5711Alaska and Puerto Rico: 1-800-234-3867 (Select Option 2, then Option 1)For Hearing Impaired Customers Only call: 1-877-807-1679 (TTY Line)

Once assigned a DUNS number, organizations are responsible for maintaining up-to-date information with Dun & Bradstreet.

B. CCR RegistrationRegister with the CCR online at https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx. Beginning on or about June 1, 2012, applicants needing to register in CCR will be directed to register in CCR through the new System for Award Management (SAM) portal at http://sam.gov/. Once registered in CCR, organizations must renew and revalidate their CCR registration at least every 12 months from the date previously registered. Organizations are strongly urged to revalidate their registration as often as needed to ensure that CCR is up to date and in synch with changes that may have been made to DUNS and IRS information. If your organization does not renew its CCR registration, it will expire. Foreign applicants who wish to be paid to a bank account in the United States must enter and maintain valid and current banking information in their CCR profile.

C. Excluded PartiesEntities identified on the Excluded Parties List System (current website is https://www.epls.gov ; beginning on or about June 1, 2012 will be moved to http://sam.gov ) as debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, excluded or disqualified under the non-procurement common rule, or otherwise declared ineligible from receiving Federal contracts, certain subcontracts, and certain Federal assistance and benefits will not be considered for Federal funding.

IV. Application RequirementsTo be considered for funding under this funding opportunity, an application must contain:

A. A completed, signed, and dated Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424). The SF-424 form is available online at http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/FormLinks?family=15.

B. Project SummaryBriefly summarize the project, in one page or less. Include the title of the project, geographic location, LCC Theme addressed by the proposal (see section IX, below), and a brief overview of the need for the project, goal(s), objectives, specific project activities, beneficiaries, and expected outcomes consistent with this funding opportunity. As applicable, describe how you/your organization has coordinated with and involved other

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relevant organizations or individuals in planning the project, and detail if/how they will be involved in conducting project activities and/or disseminating project results.

C. Project Narrative [Maximum of 5 pages - not including curricula vitae for key personnel, literature cited, or the map or description of the project area. Use a font size of no smaller than 11 points and margins of no less than 1-inch on all sides.]

1. Statement of Need: Describe why this project is necessary (significance/value) and include supporting information. Specifically describe the Theme (see below) and component of the theme that the project addresses. Summarize previous or on-going efforts (of you/your organization, and other organizations or individuals) relevant to the proposed work.

2. Identify the LCC sponsor(s) of the proposed project: List the LCC name and individual LCC staff referenced as sponsor. All projects submitted through this process must be sponsored by at least one LCC. Note that some Themes (see section IX below) require a minimum of five LCCs as sponsors. Sponsorship simply means that an LCC has been provided the opportunity to review the proposal and agrees that it will be of benefit to the LCC effort as defined in one of the thematic areas. The concept of sponsorship in this context does not equate with endorsement or support of the proposal. This is simply a process step that will provide a minimal means of assurance to both the author and the LCC community that the proposal will be of benefit to the LCCs. The applicant is responsible for contacting the LCC Coordinator or Science Coordinator to obtain this sponsorship. Contact information for all LCC staff is found at: http://www.fws.gov/science/SHC/lccinfocontacts.html. If an LCC staff cannot be contacted, you have questions about the appropriate LCC to contact, or need additional information, please contact either Ben Thatcher or Doug Austen (information below).

3. Project Goals and Objectives: State the long-term goal(s) of the project. Objectives are the specific steps to be taken to reach the stated goals. State the objectives of the project, which must be specific, measurable, and realistic (attainable within the project’s proposed period of performance). State the anticipated outcomes and/or benefits of the project.

4. Project Activities, Methods and Timetable: State the proposed project activities, and describe how they relate to the stated project objectives. The proposed project activities narrative must be detailed enough for reviewers to make a clear connection between the proposed activities and the proposed project costs. For projects being conducted within the United States, the narrative must provide enough detail so that reviewers are able to determine project compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. For projects being conducted on the high seas, the narrative should provide enough detail so that reviewers are able to determine project compliance with Section 7 of Endangered Species Act. Provide a detailed description of the method(s) to be used to carry out each activity. Provide a timetable indicating roughly when activities or project milestones are to be accomplished. Include any resulting tables, spreadsheets or flow charts within the

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body of the proposal narrative (do not include as separate attachments). The timetable should not propose specific dates but instead group activities by month for each month over the entire proposed project period.

5. Anticipated Products/Outputs: Describe any expected project products/outputs. Once identified, describe the intended impact of the products/outputs on the target resource. Detail if/how products will be distributed to resource managers, researchers and other interested parties. Detail any applicability of the project methods/activities/outcomes to other projects.

6. Project Monitoring and Evaluation: The project must incorporate a monitoring and evaluation plan that will allow proponent to ascertain the quality of benefits and outputs and to ensure that the benefits/outputs reach the intended beneficiaries. Describe how you/your organization (or others) will monitor project progress and measure the project’s impacts. Include details on how you/your organization will assess progress towards reaching objectives, and, as applicable, how project participants and beneficiaries will participate in these activities.

7. Description of Organization(s) Undertaking the Project: Provide a brief description of the applicant organization and all cooperating entities and/or individuals. Identify which of the proposed activities each agency, organization, group, or individual is responsible for conducting or managing. Provide complete contact information for individual within your organization that will oversee/manage the project activities on a day-to-day basis. This is the person commonly referred to as the Project Officer or Project Manager. If eligibility for funding is based in whole or in part on the qualifications of key personnel, provide brief (1-2 pages) curricula vitae for key personnel, identifying their qualifications to meet the project objectives. Do not include Social Security numbers, the names of family members, or any other personal or sensitive information on the curricula vitae!

8. Sustainability: As applicable, detail which of the proposed project activities are expected to continue beyond the life the proposed project period, and the expectation of how and at what level these future activities will be funded.

9. Literature Cited

10. Map or Description of Project Area: Map or description should clearly indicate the geographic area for both project focus and ability to extrapolate information.

D. A completed Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A) or Budget Information for Construction Programs (SF-424C) form. Use the SF-424A if your project does not include construction and the 424C if it does include construction. The budget forms are available online at http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/FormLinks?family=15.

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When developing your budget, keep in mind the following:

Cost Principles : Financial assistance awards and subawards are subject to OMB Circulars A-122, Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations (2 CFR Part 230), A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions (2 CFR Part 220), and A-87, Cost Principles for States and Local Governments (2 CFR Part 225), as applicable to the recipient organization type. These OMB circulars are available online at http://www.doi.gov/pam/financialassistance/resources/index.html.

Federally Funded Equipment : Applicants cannot attribute equipment paid for by the U.S. Federal Government under another award as matching or in-kind contributions. Do not include this type of equipment in your budget! Instead, provide a separate list of any equipment paid for by the U.S. Federal Government that will be used for the project, including the name of the Federal agency that paid for the equipment.

Indirect Costs : An applicant without an established indirect cost rate agreement with a Federal agency may not charge indirect costs to Federal financial assistance awards and must charge all costs directly. Individuals submitting an application on their own behalf and not on behalf of a company or other for-profit entity, state, local or tribal government, academia or other type of organization must charge all costs directly.

If indirect costs are included on proposed budget, the applicant must submit copy of their most recently submitted/approved indirect cost rate agreement. Non-profit organizations that have received, or expect to receive, the greatest amount of Federal funding in direct awards from the Department of the Interior, should go to http://www.aqd.nbc.gov/Services/ICS.aspx for online guidance and tools for submitting an indirect cost rate agreement proposal to the Department of the Interior. Organizations may also contact the National Business Center directly at:

Indirect Cost ServicesAcquisition Services Directorate, National Business CenterU.S. Department of the Interior2180 Harvard Street, Suite 430Sacramento, CA 95815Phone: 916.566.7111 Fax: 916.566.7110Email: ics@nbc.gov

All other types of applicants except individuals should contact the USFWS program point of contact identified in the Grants.gov funding opportunity with any questions on how to establish an indirect cost rate agreement with a Federal agency.

E. Assurances Include the appropriate signed and dated Assurances form available online at http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/FormLinks?family=15. Use the Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B) if your project does not involve construction. Use the Assurances for Construction Programs (SF-424D) if it does involve construction.

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F. Disclosure of Lobbying ActivitiesUnder Title 31 of the United States Code, Section 1352, applicants must complete and submit with their application the SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form (available online at http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SFLLL-V1.1.pdf ) when they have made payment or have agreed to make payment to any lobbying entity for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of or the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any Federal contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or loan. Recipients may not use funds awarded under a Federal grant or cooperative agreement to conduct such lobbying activities.

G. Statement Regarding A-133 Single Audit Reporting: Following OMB Circular A-133 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/a133/a133_revised_2007.pdf), domestic entities expending $500,000 USD or more in Federal award funds in a year must submit an A-133 Single Audit report for that year through the Federal Audit Clearinghouse’s Internet Data Entry System. State if your organization was/was not required to submit an A-133 Single Audit report last year (either your organization is a non-U.S. entity or a domestic entity that did not spend $500,000 USD or more in Federal funds last year). If your organization was required to submit an A-133 Single Audit report last year, state if that report is available on the Federal Audit Clearinghouse Single Audit Database website (http://harvester.census.gov/sac/).

Application Checklist

□ A complete, signed and dated SF 424-Application for Federal Assistance□ Project Summary and Narrative text and attachments□ A complete SF-424A or SF-424C Budget Information form□ If Federally funded equipment will be used for the project, a list of that equipment as

described in section D above□ If indirect costs are included in proposed budget, a copy of the organization’s current

approved indirect cost rate agreement or proposal□ Signed and dated SF-424B or SF-424D Assurances form□ If applicable, completed SF-LLL form□ Statement regarding applicability of and compliance with OMB Circular A-133 Single

Audit Reporting as described in section G above

Failure to provide complete information, as outlined above, may cause delays, postponement, or rejection of the application.

V. Submission InstructionsProposals may be submitted by mail, by email, electronically through Grants.gov, or as otherwise described in the Grants.gov funding opportunity. Please select ONE of the submission options. The deadline for submissions is July 15 by 5pm EDT.

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To submit a proposal by mail:Number all pages of your printed proposal. Mail one, single-sided, unbound copy (do not staple or otherwise permanently bind pages) of your complete proposal to the USFWS program point of contact (Ben Thatcher or Doug Austen) identified in the Grants.gov funding opportunity.

To submit a proposal by e-mail:Format all of your documents to print on Letter size (8 ½” x 11”) paper. Format all pages to display and print page numbers. Scanned documents should be scanned in Letter format, as black and white images only. Where possible, save scanned documents in .pdf format. E-mail your proposal to the USFWS program point of contact (Ben Thatcher or Doug Austen) identified in the Grants.gov funding opportunity.

To submit a proposal in Grants.gov:Go to the Grants.gov Apply for Grants page (http://www07.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp) for an overview of the process to apply for grant opportunities on Grants.gov. In order to apply for a grant, you/your organization must complete the Grants.gov registration process. Registration can take between three to five business days or as long as two weeks if all steps are not completed in a timely manner.

Important note on Grants.gov application attachment file names: Please do not assign application attachments file names longer than 20 characters, including spaces. Assigning file names longer than 20 characters will create issues in the automatic interface between Grants.gov and the USFWS’ new financial assistance management system.

VI . APPLICATION REVIEW Criteria:Recommendations for funding will be based on an evaluation of proposals against the following general criteria:

Applicability and Relevancy to the Themes Described in Section IX (40%) – (Please be sure to review the Statement of Need, Desired Proposals, and Desired Results/Expected Benefits sections of the theme(s) your proposal is addressing)

Soundness of Design / Technical Feasibility / Scientific Merit (25%) – Is there a clear statement of project objectives, explanation of what the project will accomplish and why it is important for the LCC Network? Have the applicants demonstrated a clear understanding of the problem being addressed, the present state of knowledge in the field, and the project’s relation to other work? Is there sufficient information to evaluate the project technically? What are the strengths and/or weaknesses of the technical design relative to securing productive results? Is there an assessment of project uncertainties and how they could impact the success of the project? Have the applicants clearly described the form or manner in which the work’s products will be made available so as to be most readily used?

Applicant Capability to Satisfactorily Complete Project (15%) - Does the proposal demonstrate that the applicant is capable of successfully completing the project, taking into account such factors as the applicant’s 1) past performance in

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successfully completing projects similar in size, scope and relevance to the proposed project, 2) organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the project, 3) staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability to obtain them, to successfully achieve the objectives of the project, and 4) other factors as relevant.

Timeline and Costs (15%) - Is there a clear table detailing appropriate timelines and associated measurable milestones, objectives, accomplishments, and deliverables that can be used to track and evaluate project performance through the entire award period? Is the time line realistic and has a high probability of being met? Is the justification and allocation of the budget, in terms of the work to be performed, unreasonably high or low?

Matching Funds (5%): Although match is not a requirements, projects with match will be provided additional points in scoring. Match must be directly relevant to the proposed work.

Review and Selection Process:Proposals will be evaluated by using a tiered evaluation approach. Proposals that are not sponsored by at least one LCC (please see section C.2. above) will not be reviewed further. Proposals receiving further review will be evaluated with respect to the five criteria listed above. High ranking proposals will then be evaluated with respect to additional criteria, including: the breadth and magnitude of benefit to the LCC Network; and the degree of impact to the capacity of the LCCs and the associated partner organizations to conduct landscape conservation.

Ultimately, a suite of proposals for funding will be selected in consideration of the individual project evaluations, the value of the final suite of selections to the LCC Network, and the ability of the final suite of selections to provide the best foundation for the LCC Network to meet its conservation goals. The result may be that proposals are not funded in all thematic areas and/or that multiple proposals are funded within one or more themes.

USFWS staff will notify applicants of review results by either issuing a fully executed Award either electronically or through the mail, or by sending written notification to the applicant that the application will not be funded.

VII. Award AdministrationAward Notices: Following review, applicants may be requested to revise the project scope and/or budget before a final award can be made. Successful applicants will receive written notice in the form of a Notice of Award document. Notice of Award documents are typically sent to recipients by e-mail. If e-mail notification is unsuccessful, the documents will be sent by courier mail (FedEx, DHL, Airborne Express). Award recipients are not required to sign/return the Notice of Award document. Acceptance of an award is defined as starting work, drawing down funds, or receiving the award via electronic means. Awards are based on the application submitted to, and as approved by, the USFWS. Applicants whose projects are not selected for funding will receive written notice, most often by e-mail, within 30 days of the final review decision.

Domestic Recipient Payments:

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Prior to an award being issued to you/your organization, the USFWS program office will contact you/your organization to either enroll in the U.S. Treasury’s Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) system or, if eligible, submit to the USFWS program a request to obtain approval from the Department of the Interior to be waived from using ASAP.

Domestic applicants subject to the CCR requirements (see Section I above) who receive a waiver from receiving funds through ASAP must enter and maintain valid and current banking information in their CCR profile. Domestic applicants exempt from the CCR requirements who receive a waiver from receiving funds through ASAP will be required to submit their banking information directly to the USFWS program. However, do NOT submit any banking information to the USFWS until it is requested from you by the USFWS program!

Recipients are responsible for ensuring any sensitive data being sent to the USFWS is protected during its transmission/delivery. The USFWS strongly recommends recipients use the most secure transmission/delivery method available. The USFWS recommends the following digital transmission methods: secure digital faxing; encrypted emails; emailing a password protected zipped/compressed file attachment in one email followed by the password in a second email; or emailing a zipped/compressed file attachment. The USFWS strongly encourages recipients sending sensitive data in paper copy to use a courier mail service. Recipients may also contact their USFWS Project Officer and provide any sensitive data over the telephone.

The Notice of Award document from the USFWS will include instructions specific to each recipient on how to request payment. If applicable, the instructions will detail any additional information/forms required and where to submit payment requests.

Foreign Recipient Payments:Foreign recipients receiving funds to a bank outside of the United States must be paid electronically through U.S. Treasury’s International Treasury Services (ITS) system.

Foreign recipients receiving funds electronically to a bank in the United States must be paid by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) through the Automated Clearing House network. Foreign recipients subject to the CCR requirements (see Section I above) to be paid by EFT must enter and maintain valid and current banking information in their CCR profile. Foreign recipients exempt from the CCR requirements to be paid EFT will be required to submit their banking information directly to the USFWS program. However, do NOT submit any banking information to the USFWS until it is requested from you by the USFWS program!

Recipients are responsible for ensuring any sensitive data being sent to the USFWS is protected during its transmission/delivery. The USFWS strongly recommends recipients use the most secure transmission/delivery method available. The USFWS recommends the following digital transmission methods: secure digital faxing; encrypted emails; emailing a password protected zipped/compressed file attachment in one email followed by the password in a second email; or emailing a zipped/compressed file attachment. The USFWS strongly encourages recipients sending sensitive data in paper copy to use a courier mail service. Recipients may also contact their USFWS Project Officer and provide any sensitive data over the telephone.

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The Notice of Award document from the USFWS will include instructions specific to each recipient on how to request payment. If applicable, the instructions will detail any additional information/forms required and where to submit payment requests.

Standard Award Terms and Conditions: Acceptance of a Federal Financial Assistance award from the Department of the Interior (DOI) carries with it the responsibility to be aware of and comply with the terms and conditions of award. The text of all standard award terms and conditions are available online at http://www.doi.gov/pam/TermsandConditions.html. Acceptance is defined as starting work, drawing down funds, or accepting the award via electronic means. Awards are based on the application submitted to, and as approved by DOI and are subject to the terms and conditions incorporated either directly or by reference in the following:

Program legislation/regulation

Special terms and conditions

Code of Federal Regulations/Regulatory Requirements, as applicable:

− 2 CFR Part 25 Central Contractor Registration and Data Universal Numbering System

− 2 CFR Part 170 Reporting Subawards and Executive Compensation

− 2 CFR Part 1400 Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Non-procurement)

− 2 CFR Part 1401 Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Financial Assistance)

− 2 CFR Part 175 Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000

− 43 CFR 12(A) Administrative and Audit Requirements and Cost Principles for Assistance Programs

− 43 CFR 12(C) Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local

− 43 CFR 12(F) Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, other Non-Profit and Commercial Organizations

− 43 CFR 18 New Restrictions on Lobbying

− 305 DM 3, Integrity of Scientific and Scholarly Activities and 217 FW 7, Scientific Integrity and Scholarly Conduct. Grant and cooperative agreement recipients must ensure quality project results. Results must consist of unbiased assessments through proper management and enforcement of scientific integrity standards, which includes avoiding conflicts of interest as defined in USFWS policy 212 FW 7 (complete text available online at http://www.fws.gov/policy/212fw7.html).

Recipient Financial and Performance Reporting Requirements: Interim financial reports and performance reports may be required. Interim reports will be required no more frequently than quarterly, and no less frequently than annually. A final

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financial report and a final performance report will be required and are due within 90 calendar days of the end date of the award. Performance reports must contain: 1) a comparison of actual accomplishments with the goals and objectives of the award as detailed in the approved scope of work; 2) a description of reasons why established goals were not met, if appropriate; and 3) any other pertinent information relevant to the project results. The USFWS will specify the performance reporting frequency applicable to the award in the Notice of Award document.

VIII. Agency ContactsHeadquarters Office: Ben Thatcher or Doug Austen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N Fairfax Dr, Room 222 , Arlington, Virginia 22203 Email: ben_thatcher@fws.gov; Phone: 703-358-2060Email: doug_austen@fws.gov ; Phone: 703-358-1953 Website Address: http://www.fws.gov/science/ http://www.fws.gov/science/shc/lcc.html

IX. Funding Themes and supporting material

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Theme A - Synthesis Products to Advance National LCC Network Coordination and Function

Statement of Need: The LCC Network is in need of common sets of processes and tools to inform and support landscape-scale conservation planning, climate change adaptation, and effectiveness measurement. Many such processes and tools exist, but determining which are best suited to the LCC enterprise requires familiarity with an extensive technical literature and communities of practice. These may not be accessible to most LCC staff, precluding selection and adoption of the best options. Acknowledging this, the LCC Network has to date funded syntheses and “best practice” assessments for climate model downscaling and scenario planning. Additional synthesis products may function to introduce the LCC network, and stakeholders, to unfamiliar but potentially useful techniques from a variety of disciplines, to assess the utility of existing tools under various circumstances, and to guide development of new methods in light of lessons learned or where no current ones are adequate to support LCC tasks.

Desired Proposals: Proposals addressing this theme will create a product that allows LCCs to select or adopt optimal products, processes, or techniques to accomplish LCC goals. Proposals may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Assessing and synthesizing approaches and products for biological planning, conservation design, and/or other LCC-relevant components of strategic large-scale conservation planning (i.e., those currently being used by LCCs and/or those exhibiting potential for this application);

A comparison and decision guide for selecting landscape conservation planning software (e.g., Miradi) for LCC-relevant planning;

A comparison and decision guide for selecting among alternative methods (e.g., scenario planning, projection, overlay) that account for the impacts of future change (e.g., invasive species, urbanization, climate change) and multiple resource perspectives (e.g., birds, fish, water quality) in identifying and prioritizing areas that are important for conservation.

A survey and comparison of methods of measuring effectiveness of landscape-scale conservation actions.

Desired Results/Expected Benefits: 1. Successful proposals will create products that allow individual LCCs, regional groups of LCCs, or the LCC network as a whole to adopt practices or technologies that effectively create or communicate actionable information for managers and other stakeholders. 2. By surveying and summarizing the current state of knowledge, technique, or technology/software, and proposing selection criteria or best practices, such projects would dramatically reduce duplication of effort and the risk of LCCs adopting a patchwork of contrasting or incompatible practices.

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Theme B - Addressing Existing Needs Identified by National or Large-scale Conservation Efforts

Statement of Need:The Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC) recognizes that there are a number of existing conservation efforts that work nationally or at large regional scales. These may include but are not limited to:

National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP; www.fishhabitat.org) Migratory Bird Joint Ventures (JV;

http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/JointVentures/index.shtm ) Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (http://www.parcplace.org/) National Phenology Network (NPN; http://www.usanpn.org/ ) Science and information needs identified in key national reports such as the State of the

Birds Report (http://www.stateofthebirds.org/) Large existing regional conservation efforts that transcend multiple LCCs

Many of these large-scale efforts have completed thorough assessments of the research and information needs that are limiting their conservation efforts or that would support enhanced efficiency of their conservation planning and implementation. Because a fundamental premise of the LCCs is to build upon existing large-scale conservation efforts, the LCCs will support advancement of well-defined needs that are clearly LCC-relevant and will entertain proposals that reflects these needs. Note: In order to ensure and demonstrate the direct relevancy of the work to the LCC Network, submitted proposals under this theme must include statements of sponsorship by at least five LCCs. Please see instructions and contact information on sponsorship in section C.2., above. Please note that the sponsorship requirement attests to a minimal level of relevance but the author(s) should also describe how the project is relevant to at least five LCCs.

Desired Proposals: Successful proposals would be clearly built upon existing statements of need by national or large-scale conservation efforts, programs, or alliances. Proposals may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Research, information, decision tool development or other needs specifically defined through a completed and structured process by an existing large-scale conservation effort.

Workshops, synthesis papers, or other activities that are designed to address specific objectives identified as key needs to advance conservation planning, coordination, monitoring, or other needs as identified by existing national assessments. Any products of these efforts must result in tangible guidance, recommendations, or other actionable outputs.

Development of enhanced monitoring design and coordination that supports an adaptive management (strategic habitat conservation) framework at the large-scale conservation level.

Desired Results/Expected Benefits:

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The proposals anticipated in this thematic area are expected to benefit the initiating organization(s) and to strengthen the work of the LCCs. The original framing of the LCCs, for example, include recognition of the existing work of the Migratory Bird Joint Ventures, State Wildlife Action Plans, and the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, among many other existing programs. Each of these conservation efforts has developed thoughtful and strategic science and information need statements. By advancing this body of work, the LCCs can further their conservation efforts and fill in critical gaps without having to recreate previously completed science needs assessments.

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Theme C - Development of Performance Measures for Landscape Conservation and the LCCs

Statement of Need:The Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC) are highly collaborative partnerships involving a wide variety of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, tribes and others. The LCC’s vision is to develop conservation science and create a forum of conservation planning that will ensure that we have fully functional landscapes supporting our natural and cultural resources for future generations. Each of the 22 individual LCCs and the national network of all LCCs are expected to document how they are contributing to accomplishing this vision both within individual LCCs, and as a complete network. Congressional committee report language underscores this need, “The conferees support these efforts but also expect the Service to establish clear goals, objectives and measurable outcomes for LCCs that can be used as benchmarks of success of the program”. The Office of Management and Budget has similarly requested a more mature and appropriate set of performance measures for the LCCs. Current LCC performance measures have been developed at several levels:

At the level of the Department of Interior the following “Priority Goal” has been established (note that it applies more broadly than just to LCCs) – By September 30, 2013, for 50 percent of the Nation, the Department of the Interior will identify resources that are particularly vulnerable to climate change and implement coordinated adaptation response actions.

Within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the following performance goals have been established in two categories that reflect the two funding codes:

Cooperative Landscape Conservation 1. Number of LCCs formed.2. Number of LCCs operational.3. Number of LCCs with a management/operating plan in place.4. Number of decision-support tools provided to conservation managers to inform management

plans/decisions and Endangered Species Act (ESA) recovery plans.5. Number of conservation delivery strategies and actions evaluated for effectiveness.6. Number of landscape-scale conservation strategies developed (including explicit species-

specific, scalable populations objectives and adaptation approaches) that can direct management expenditures where they have the greatest effect and lowest relative cost.

Adaptive Science 1. Number of risk and vulnerability assessments developed or refined for priority species or

areas.2. Number of inventory and monitoring protocols developed, refined or adopted to capture data

on priority species addressed in LCC work plans that are expected to be vulnerable to climate change.

3. Number of population and habitat assessments developed or refined to inform predictive models for changes in species populations and habitats as a result of climate change.

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4. Number of biological planning and conservation design projects developed in response to climate change.

5. Number of management actions evaluated for effectiveness in response to climate change and research activities conducted to address information needs in response to climate change.

6. Number of conservation genetics projects to improve and enhance conservation design and delivery for fish and wildlife populations in response to climate change.

These performance measures were created in the very early stages of LCC development, and though they reflect a set of activities that the LCCs are involved with, they do not reflect some of the core roles of LCCs. Further, they are heavily oriented towards climate change issues, don’t reflect the full suite of LCC activities, and are written for DOI agencies most notably for the FWS.

To begin development of performance measures that could be used across the diverse LCC partnerships a performance measures work group has been established. Initially, this group is staffed by LCC Coordinators from DOI agencies and representatives from the FWS Division of Cost and Performance Management. This group will begin by reviewing FWS performance measures and recommending revised and new measures that provide meaningful measures of performance for FWS. These FWS measures will be used as templates for development of performance measures appropriate for other DOI agencies. The FWS and DOI measures will be used to generate performance measures for LCCs that can be accepted and used by individual LCCs and the LCC network.

Desired Proposals: Funding recipients would develop a comprehensive synthesis paper on the application of performance measures to landscape conservation efforts and would communicate the key findings to the LCC working group on performance measures. This should include:

a. A review and assessment of a wide variety of existing landscape efforts that describe, compare, contrast and evaluate the existing application of large-scale conservation performance measures. This should include evaluating comparable efforts in other sectors (e.g., industry, health) with similar identification of relevant efforts with analysis of efficacy and application. This should also include assessing (or taking into account) the types of work the LCCs are doing and plan to do so that when performance measures are developed they will account for regional variation while being broadly applicable across the LCCs.

b. Provide a set of recommendations based upon that assessment. Resulting work should address one or more of the following: (1) descriptions of performance measures and approaches that worked, and also that didn’t work, from the example entities, and (2) examples or processes that led to meaningful performance measures that reflect programmatic success, and (3) clear definition of how to define success at the level of large-scale conservation; e.g., ecological, social, political.

c. Provide seminars, workshops, or other training to the LCC working group on performance measures to transfer research findings to work group for incorporation into their efforts.

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Desired Results/Expected Benefits: 1. Results of this work should support the development of LCC performance measures that

move from the current “output” model to an “outcome” based approach. The result should be “meaningful, quantifiable indicators of performance” that measure success of the LCC enterprise. A more appropriate set of performance measures for the FWS funding appropriation for the LCCs will allow for an improved understanding of funding impacts and provide a mechanism for projecting the ramifications of budget increases or decreases.

2. Performance measures developed for FWS LCC investments may be applicable, with appropriate modifications, to other bureaus that provide funds to the LCCs.

3. It is expected that performance measures will be scalable and be able to be rolled up from the most direct application of individual actions within an LCC, to the complete set of actions of LCC Network.

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Theme D - Enhancing Landscape Planning and Ensuring Compatible Landscape Planning across the National LCC Network

Statement of NeedA key function of LCCs is to integrate priorities across resource perspectives. For example, at the level of the individual LCC, a key role is the development of common conservation goals and the development of tools and strategies to inform landscape-scale planning and management decisions. At the scale of the National LCC Network, the goal is to provide a forum for national and international conservation planning, integrate the efforts of the 22 LCCs, and to facilitate efforts across and among individual LCCs. Importantly, a role of an LCC partner is to define and share individual large-scale conservation priorities to help shape a common landscape-scale conservation framework for science and conservation actions. This is all accomplished while fully respecting the individual authorities and responsibilities of the LCC partners and is intended to support their achievement of conservation goals that can only be attained through a landscape approach.

However, designing a landscape that sustains the multitude of species, habitats, and processes that we value is a monumental organizational and technical challenge. This needs to happen within an individual LCC but, critically, it must take place seamlessly across LCCs. Currently, individual LCCs are exploring alternative means of overcoming these conservation planning challenges. While this diversity of approaches is welcomed from the perspective of innovation, it also has the potential to undermine the ability of the LCCs to fully function as a seamless network. Thus, there is an immediate need to develop explicit linkages among potentially divergent approaches now to ensure that there are not incompatibilities in terms of resolution, scope, or scale of the outputs later.

Conservation planning at large scales is not a new exercise. Large scale conservation has been addressed by organizations such as The Nature Conservancy through their ecoregional planning, in several large conservation efforts such as the Everglades, Crown of the Continent, and Chesapeake Bay, and through state-based exercises such as the State Wildlife Action Plans. A situation of comparable challenge is being addressed by the Western Governors’ Association Wildlife Council through the development of eight separate Crucial Habitat Assessment Tools (CHAT) that must have consistent definitions in order to be inter-operable.

The LCCs need to have a full understanding of conservation planning tools and processes, including those developed by key partners. Similarly, the LCCs need to be able to understand and integrate across the existing assessments within their geographies, in order to identify and address gaps and ultimately arrive at landscape designs that sustain natural and cultural resources. Further, the LCCs need to develop a network-wide community of practice and standards that account for regional variation while supporting the development of planning products that are compatible, interoperable, and seamless across the landscape.

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Desired Proposals: Funding recipients would complete the following types of projects for the LCC Network:

1. Assessment and synthesis of existing LCC biological planning and conservation design approaches and products, and the framing and development of workshops, documents, tools, or other products to increase the capacity of LCCs to conduct effective biological planning and conservation design, and to facilitate sharing of best practices across the LCC Network.

2. Working in consultation with the LCCs, develop best practices, or other guidance that will ensure that individual LCC conservation plans and products are compatible, interoperable, and seamless with adjacent LCCs.

3. Development of synthesis papers, workshops, or other learning tools to raise the level of technical knowledge of LCC Conservation Science staff about landscape planning. Forums or workshops to convene key partners, experts, and practitioners to share practices, develop new approaches, and develop a community of practice in support the LCC biological planning and conservation design process.

Desired Results/Expected Benefits:1. Development of state-of-the-art frameworks and approaches that improve the ability of LCCs

to conduct landscape planning and design, and that are sufficiently compatible, interoperable, and seamless across the network of LCCs. This needs to be accomplished while simultaneously supporting the ability of individual LCCs to account for regional variation in landscape context, resources, threats, and partner needs and concerns.

2. Full engagement by the LCC partners through planning tools that embrace their individual landscape planning goals and objectives and that integrates these into a larger landscape level approach that reflects common objectives and that produces conservation results that are of greater benefit to the partners than would be obtained through discrete, independent planning efforts.

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Theme E - LCC Network-wide Data Integration and Dissemination

Statement of Need:Coordinated data management, development and delivery in support of landscape conservation efforts of the LCC partners are critical needs of the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. The National LCC Network identified data management as a priority theme to be addressed via a coordinated working group at the National LCC Meeting in April 2011. Further, coordinated data management and delivery is identified as a key need in the Department of Interior’s guidance documents including “Interior’s Plan for a Coordinated Science-based Response to Climate Change Impacts on our Land, Water, and Wildlife Resources” (http://www.doi.gov/csc/upload/Detailed-LCC-and-CSC-Information.pdf). Several LCCs have developed or are developing data management and integration platforms, yet there is sub-optimal coordination among various efforts. Several LCCs have also identified development and updating of key national datasets as necessary to support their conservation efforts. The need for coordination involves a comprehensive solution for data identification, discovery, acquisition, application, and delivery.

Desired Proposals:The National LCC Network seeks proposals that will support LCC conservation science and planning efforts through improved availability and dissemination of information on ecological, biological, cultural, and other relevant features. This includes data describing climate change impact and vulnerability, as well as access and decision-support to scientists, resource managers, decision makers, and the general public. The National LCC Network seeks to support the Secretary’s Climate Change Response Council by promoting data sharing and science collaboration among the broadest possible partnership, developing mechanisms for data and information management, and preventing duplication of effort among the national network of LCCs. Specifically, the Office of the Science Advisor is seeking proposals which address:

1. Information management processes that facilitate LCC science product (e.g., project proposals, reports, data, models, toolboxes, decision tools) submission, storage, and dissemination, or project tracking, potentially including integrated quality-control support and documentation to science product development. This could include an assessment of current LCC project tracking, data needs identification, or expansion or further development of existing information management applications that provide the necessary capabilities. The system should be broadly applicable across the network of LCCs and interoperable with the USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) project management system.

2. Information management system expansion to accumulate and deliver foundational data, conduct data gap assessments, provide repository and tracking mechanisms for modeling, research, or other science. Proposals addressing this need can include activities such as expansion of an existing natural resource information system that is currently utilized or directly applicable to multiple LCCs and that can be more broadly utilized by the entire LCC Network, or a broader partnership. Systems or applications of interest here would address:

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a. Development or modification of a platform or virtual workspace to support landscape development, application , and delivery of planning tools, models, training, decision support tools and other cross-jurisdictional science and management efforts. Note: this is not a call for specific tool development which is addressed by Theme A in this solicitation; here we are seeking an integrated workspace that supports shared model and tool development.

b. Expansion or integration of multiple existing (and future) information resources in support of LCC efforts. Target data resources should be broadly applicable to at least five LCCs but supporting the entire LCC network would be desirable. Example resources include, , but are not limited to:

i. Geospatial Fisheries Information Network (GeoFIN; https://ecos.fws.gov/geofin/)

ii. National Conservation Easement Database (http://www.conservationeasement.us/)

iii. Landscape-scale Energy Action Plan (LEAP)iv. Tracking and Integrated Logging System (TAILS;

http://ecos.fws.gov/tailssite/site/home.do;jsessionid=580279AFB093860F980470FFA3E2BE3C)

v. Sagebrush And Grassland Ecosystem Map Assessment Project (SAGEMAP; http://sagemap.wr.usgs.gov/)

vi. DataBasin (http://databasin.org/)vii. ShoreZone (http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/shorezone/)

viii. Wildlife Tracking and Reporting Actions for the Conservation of Species (TRACS; http://www.wildlifetracs.com/)

ix. National Wetlands Inventory (http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/)

3. Development of guidance, user-guides, or tutorials designed to improve the utility of existing repositories, decision support tools, models or toolboxes and effectively improve our ability to apply those resources to conservation. Any such product must be applicable to multiple LCCs or the entire LCC network.

Preference will be given to proposals that build off of existing resources via integration of disparate resources, expanding or improving functionality, or developing associated modules that use existing resources in novel ways to further conservation, but all will be considered.

Desired Results/Expected Benefits:1. The net benefit of products expected to be developed for this solicitation will be better conservation delivery via data management and application support to conservation planning or design, coordinated conservation activities, application, and/or monitoring and evaluation of resource status and trends. 2. Data management is a core science and management need for all partners of all LCCs, yet our ability to build upon our extensive knowledge base and apply that knowledge to natural resource problems is limited by our ability to access and understand traditional, legacy and newly-generated data. Products funded under this solicitation are expected to correct one or more aspects of that problem.

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