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Request for Proposals
GREAT LAKES INTERNATIONAL COASTAL
WETLANDS MONITORING
Opening Date: March 3, 2000
Closing Date: April 28,
2000
SUMMARY
The purposes of this request for proposals are: (1) to design, and
validate, indicators to assess the ecological integrity of Great Lakes
coastal wetlands; (2) to design an implementable, long-term program to
monitor Great Lakes coastal wetlands; and (3) to create, and populate, a
binational database accessible to all scientists, decision makers, and the
public. Many organizations have some responsibility for wetlands and
collect information as required to discharge those responsibilities. No
one organization has overarching responsibility for understanding,
monitoring or managing wetlands in the Great Lakes basin. The United
States Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) Great Lakes National
Program Office (GLNPO) considers the creation of a consortium (i.e.
partnership, coalition) an approach that could meet the purposes stated
above and capitalize on the existing mandates and authorities of the
organizations already working on Great Lakes coastal wetlands. GLNPO is
defining consortium as in Webster's Dictionary, "an agreement,
combination, or group (as of companies) formed to undertake an enterprise
beyond the resources of any one member."
The U.S. EPA's GLNPO is requesting proposals from institutions,
organizations, and agencies which have the capacity and experience to
serve as the manager and fiscal agent representing a binational,
multi-disciplinary, broad-based consortium of Great Lakes wetland
scientists and wetland resource managers. The successful applicant will
enter into a Cooperative Agreement with GLNPO to accomplish the three
purposes stated above.
BACKGROUND
Over the last six years, Great Lakes coastal wetlands have received
increasing attention in the progress being made toward developing
indicators that will lead to effective monitoring of coastal wetland
quantity and quality. In 1994, a seminal paper by The Nature Conservancy's
Great Lakes Program called The Conservation of Biological Diversity in the
Great Lakes Ecosystem: Issues and Opportunities, called attention to Great
Lakes coastal wetlands as "a system distinct to the Great
Lakes." Further, the authors underlined the value of Great Lakes
coastal wetlands to the Great Lakes as a whole in the following excerpts
from the paper:
They are
ecologically unique because they are dominated by large lake processes
such as water level fluctuations, wave actions, and wind tides or "seiches."
...Spanning a diversity of types and the full geographic range,
including freshwater estuaries, lagoons and deltas, Great Lakes coastal
marshes sustain a tremendous number and diversity of resident and
migratory species... Great Lakes coastal marshes play a pivotal role in
the aquatic ecosystem of the Great Lakes, storing and cycling nutrients
and organic material from the land into the aquatic food web. They
sustain large numbers of common or regionally rare bird, mammal,
herptile and invertebrate species, including land-based species that
feed from the highly productive marshes. Most of the lakes' fish species
depend upon them for some portion of their life cycles. Large
populations of migratory birds rely on them for staging and feeding
areas. . . . Short-and long-term fluctuations in lake levels play a
critical role in maintaining both marsh and shoreline systems... The
processes of sediment inputs and longshore transport are important in
maintaining bars and spits that shelter waters of many highly productive
marshes...
Papers presented at the 1996 and 1998 State of the Lakes Ecosystem
Conferences (SOLEC) reported on the status of Great Lakes coastal wetlands
(See http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/solec/98
or http://www.cciw.ca/solec/intro.html).
Authors concluded that Great Lakes coastal wetlands are a valuable
resource, but that we currently have no system in place to determine the
status of coastal wetlands either in terms of wetlands loss or
degradation. Furthermore, although many institutions and organizations
focus resources on specific Great Lakes coastal wetlands and related
issues, no one entity has the role of data collection, interpretation,
and/or dissemination basinwide.
SCOPE OF SURVEY AND INVESTIGATION
Great Lakes coastal wetland indicators were developed by a number of
wetland scientists and proposed at the 1998 SOLEC. But, there is currently
no effort in place to coordinate the monitoring required to use the
indicators. To continue the development of indicators and to coordinate
efforts leading to future monitoring, GLNPO is requesting proposals from
consortia to design an implementable, long-term program to monitor Great
Lakes coastal wetlands. GLNPO will provide $400,000 of funding during
Fiscal Year 2000 to be supplemented by at least $200,000 from the
consortium submitting the successful proposal for a one year funding and
project period. If the GLNPO budget remains consistent and the successful
cooperative agreement applicant (applicant) makes adequate progress toward
meeting the expectations discussed below, it is anticipated that the
applicant will be able to apply annually for an additional $400,000 from
GLNPO ecological protection and restoration funds for two subsequent one
year funding and project periods during Fiscal Years 2001 and 2002. This
anticipated future funding by GLNPO will also require the applicant to
provide at least $200,000 annually in supplemental funds. A total of three
years of funding from GLNPO is anticipated.
THE EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS CONSORTIUM OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS ARE AS
FOLLOWS:
The consortium will establish panels of leading wetland scientists and
wetland resource managers from many disciplines and organizations to
accomplish the following:
- Design indicators to assess the ecological integrity of Great Lakes
coastal wetlands.
- Design an implementable, long-term program to monitor Great Lakes
coastal wetlands.
- Provide scientific support for a long-term monitoring program for
Great Lakes coastal wetlands.
- Create an international database that is publicly accessible.
- Develop the leadership required to implement a long-term monitoring
program.
- Develop a network of funders and agencies who will support the
resulting binational Great Lakes coastal wetland monitoring program.
The primary mechanisms for meeting these expectations are as follows:
Within 1 year:
- Establish the following panels of leading wetland scientists and
wetland resource managers: (1) Panel to design coastal wetland
indicators; (2) Panel to prepare the guidance for scientific research
and testing of coastal wetland indicators and scientifically
peer-review the resultant small funding proposals; and (3) Panel to
design an implementable monitoring program.
- Survey and investigate the Great Lakes coastal wetlands and related
nearshore indicators developed through the State of the Lakes
Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) process. (See http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/solec/98)
- Compile all existing data to support a current evaluation of Great
Lakes coastal wetlands.
- Secure all supplementary funds (minimum $200,000), for a total of at
least $600,000 in funds.
- Establish all protocols necessary to operate a peer reviewed funding
program.
- During the one year funding and project period the applicant will
award at least $300,000 in small project funds for pilot studies to
refine Great Lakes coastal wetlands indicators, each documenting data
quality with a quality assurance project plan. The remainder of the
one year funds may be used on consortium related operating costs. To
the extent possible, the pilot studies should be completed with
results given to the consortium by the conclusion of the one year
funding and project period. Ideally the applicant should be
considering what projects it will fund prior to receiving funding
pursuant to the cooperative agreement. At the very least, the
applicant must award at least $300,000 in small project funds for
pilot studies during the one year period. In the event that at least
$300,000 is not awarded during the one year period, the applicant
would need to seek an extension of the cooperative agreement to meet
this goal, and would not be able to apply for a subsequent cooperative
agreement until that goal is obtained. If the applicant has awarded at
least $300,000 in small project funds for pilot studies, but the
projects have not been completed during the one year period, then the
applicant would need to request a time extension so that the
cooperative agreement is extended until the completion of all of the
projects funded under that specific one year cooperative agreement. A
time extension of a cooperative agreement to complete projects would
not require the applicant to wait to apply for the next year of
subsequent funding. Except as described below, the money from a
subsequent cooperative agreement would not be able to be used to
partially fund or assist projects from prior cooperative agreements.
In the event that one of the projects requires additional funding, the
recipient would need to request an amendment and/or supplemental
funding for the specific cooperative agreement that the specific
project was funded under. Extensions and requests for supplemental
funding will be addressed in the same manner for any subsequent
cooperative agreements received by the applicant.
In years 2-3 (provided the GLNPO budget remains consistent):
- Ensure funding for small projects continues at no less than the
level of funding the previous year.
- Implement appropriately scaled pilot studies and analyze sampling
data to demonstrate the feasibility of using the developed indicators
for long-term monitoring of Great Lakes coastal wetlands.
- Develop a statistically-based set(s) of Great Lakes coastal wetlands
sites that represents an appropriate sample size to ensure a
scientifically supportable analysis of the indicators for Great Lakes
coastal wetlands across all five lakes, all coastal wetland types, and
latitudinal ranges.
- Recommend the deletion, revision, replacement, or addition of SOLEC
coastal wetland indicators based on findings of pilot studies and best
professional judgement of consortium members.
The product of this cooperative agreement is an implementable design
for a long-term monitoring program for Great Lakes coastal wetlands based
on refined SOLEC indicators. Details of this design will include: (1) the
selection of monitoring sites; (2) monitoring periods and frequencies; (3)
statistical protocols to detect changes over time and among sites; (4)
demonstration of long-term participation of partners; (5) required
expertise of personnel at all project stages; (6) estimated costs to
implement the monitoring program; (7) a mechanism to deliver the resulting
data to scientists, decision-makers and the public; and (8) established
partnerships in place to secure long-term funding.
The successful cooperative agreement applicant will be responsible for
organizing and consulting with consortium members and with GLNPO on major
directions, and awarding and administering the small project funding
program according to federal requirements as well as ensuring satisfactory
completion of all deliverables. A Quality Assurance Management Plan will
be prepared by the recipient of the award.
The successful applicant will also be expected to coordinate with the
recipient, if applicable, of any grant(s) awarded by U.S. EPA's Office of
Research and Development for a Great Lakes Environmental Indicators in the
Estuarine Environment Research Program under the 2000 Science to Achieve
Results (STAR) Program in order to ensure that all efforts related to
Great Lakes coastal wetlands are integrated. (See
http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/archive/grants/00/2000indicators.html)
SELECTION CRITERIA
The consortium will consist of the following:
- An organization with the experience and capacity to serve as the
consortium manager and fiscal agent.
- Governmental agencies from the United States and Canada.
- Wetland scientists and wetland resource managers from the United
States and Canada.
The successful cooperative agreement applicant, as consortium manager
and fiscal agent, will demonstrate experience in the following:
- Coordination and organization of a wide range of organizations and
individuals, with occasionally overlapping, competing, or conflicting
interests into a viable working relationship.
- Preparation of work plans to accomplish long-range goals.
- Planning and scheduling of meetings.
- Compilation and circulation of all meeting materials.
- Administration of a funding program for small projects, including
requests for proposals, peer review, management of fiscal awards, and
ensuring satisfactory completion of deliverables.
- Administration of travel funds for meeting participants.
- Preparation of Quality Assurance Project Plans.
- Experience in securing innovative funding of long-term projects
involving international public and private partnerships.
Project application information:
- Creativity of the proposed project and the appropriateness of the
methods proposed.
- Qualifications and experience of the applicant and consortium
members.
- Availability and adequacy of facilities and equipment needed for the
proposed project.
- Responsiveness of the project to the expectations cited.
- Adequacy of the proposed budget.
In addition, the following supportive information is required:
- The applicant will have a demonstrated ability to coordinate and
lead a diverse group of agencies and organizations to achieve project
goals.
- The applicant will provide letters of intent to participate in the
consortium from the major players in Great Lakes coastal wetlands
science and wetland resource managers.
- The applicant will provide letters of intent demonstrating
supplemental funding of at least $200,000.
- The consortium will be composed of binational institutions and
agencies.
ELIGIBILITY
Assistance for survey and investigation cooperative agreements is
available pursuant to Clean Water Act § 104(b)(3), 33 U.S.C. §
1254(b)(3), for activities in the Great Lakes basin and in support of the
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. State water pollution control
agencies, interstate agencies, other public or nonprofit private agencies,
institutions, organization, and individuals are eligible. For-profit
organizations are not eligible.
The deadline for receipt of proposals is April
28, 2000. All proposals
will be reviewed and the successful applicant will be notified by June 30,
2000. The anticipated award date is September 30, 2000.
PROPOSAL FORMAT
- Applicant name, address, telephone, FAX and e-mail.
- Project title.
- Project narrative that addresses the expectations and criteria
above.
- Budget.
- Project schedule and milestones.
- Letters of intent to participate from consortium members.
- Letters of intent to contribute supplementary funding of at least
$200,000.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
submit 5 paper copies to:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Great Lakes National Program Office (G-17J)
77 West Jackson
Chicago, IL 60604
For additional information, please contact:
John Schneider at (312) 886-0880, schneider.john@epa.gov;
or
Karen Rodriguez at (312) 353-2690, rodriguez.karen@epa.gov
or at the above address.
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