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June 2007
En Español
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Environmental education workshops offered in SJV region
 In 2005, the Environmental Education Exchange (the Exchange), through a NAWCA grant, performed a review and evaluation of environmental education materials and programs from five different wetland conservation projects supported by NAWCA in different parts of Mexico. The outcome of this study was a report that gathers the most effective tools and strategies, as well as lessons learned from all these projects and presents “Best Practices for Wetlands Education in Mexico".
In June 2006 the Exchange received funding through the SJV Awards Program to organize a series regional training workshops geared towards conservation biologists and project managers in the SJV region interested in using environmental education as a tool for achieving their conservation goals. The first of these workshops was held in Bahía de Kino, Sonora, Mexico on 28 April 2007. Approximately 50 people from Mexican government agencies, NGOs, primary schools, secondary schools, and universities attended the workshop, which included a presentation of the “Best Practices for Wetlands Education in Mexico,” as well as the North American Association for Environmental Education’s Guidelines for Excellence in Environmental Education. Participants received a copy of the guidelines, recently translated to Spanish, and had an opportunity to work through the process of creating an environmental education resource for their own specific programs, implementing the recommendations from these two documents. SJV staff attended the workshop and gave a presentation about the SJV and our projects in the region.
The second is this series of free workshops will be held in Ensenada, Baja California, on 12 June 2007 from 11am-5pm. Other workshops are planned in early summer 2007 for Culiacán, Sinaloa and La Paz, Baja California Sur. For more information about the workshop, including how to register, contact Pepe Marcos.
IMBD Festival at San Pedro House a success!
 On 12 May 2007 the SJV, with the collaboration of the Friends of the San Pedro River and the Bureau of Land Management, hosted an International Migratory Bird Day Festival at the San Pedro House in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Approximately 125 people attended the event over the course of the day, which included bird, beaver, and nature walks, hands-on workshops about bird feeding and nest box building, talks about reptiles, and a variety of information tables. Many thanks to the following groups for volunteering their time and expertise for the day's events: Coronado National Forest, Gray Hawk Nature Center, Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory, Tucson Audubon Society, UA Cooperative Extension Waterwise Program, University of Arizona, and Wild Birds Unlimited (Sierra Vista). More details about the event are available by clicking here.
At-Risk Wildlife Corridors Identified
Along U.S.-Mexico Border
Report recommends alternatives for protection includingv“virtual wall,” wildlife-friendly barriers
by Kim Vacariu and Jenny Neely
Critical cross-border wildlife corridors between Mexico and southern Arizona and New Mexico must be protected from the effects of solid security barriers, says a report released today by two national conservation organizations.
The report focuses on four traditional cross-border wildlife pathways used by numerous native species, many already listed as endangered, including jaguars, bears, wolves, and several birds, fish and amphibians. The corridors and animals were identified through collaborative workshops at which conservationists, scientists, educators, and state and federal agencies combined data and field experience to reach their conclusions.
“We are fortunate to be able to supply these recommendations to security officials now so they can consider alternatives before constructing barriers that will harm wildlife movement in critical areas,” says Kim Vacariu, Western Director of the Wildlands Project, co-sponsor of the ecological symposiums that produced the report.
Thirty-five agencies, universities, zoos, and conservation organizations participated in writing the “Stakeholders Recommendations” report, which identifies the Baboquivari, Pajarita, Huachuca, and Peloncillo Mountain complexes in the Sky Islands ecoregion of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico as the major cross-border connections for key species between the U.S. and Mexico.
The report lists priority alternatives to solid walls, including “virtual wall” technologies such as unmanned aerial surveillance, motion sensors, laser barriers, and infrared cameras. Other barriers that allow wildlife movement but stop vehicles are also encouraged. Additional emphasis is placed on compliance by U.S. officials with existing environmental regulations such as NEPA, the Wilderness Act, and the Clean Water Act—laws that the Department of Homeland Security are allowed to avoid under recent legislation.
According to Jenny Neeley, Southwest Representative for Defenders of Wildlife, the other sponsor of the symposiums, solutions that protect both border security and wildlife habitat will require broad collaboration to succeed. “We understand that some activity is going to be required to secure the border,” she said, “but that should not include blocking critical wildlife corridors essential to the survival of endangered species.”
Vacariu noted that the report’s recommendations, while important to incorporate into ongoing security planning, are merely a stop-gap until the real solution to the immigration problem is found.” “We need comprehensive immigration reform legislation that provides controlled incentives for legal entry into the U.S. through legal ports of entry rather than forcing immigrants to travel through the wild country of the borderlands,” he said.
Click here to download the report online. For a paper copy of the report, “Addressing the Impacts of Border Security Activities On Wildlife and Habitat in Southern Arizona: Stakeholder Recommendations,” contact the Wildlands Project at (505) 557-0155.
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Upcoming grant deadlines
We have recently added information about a number of new funding opportunities for those doing work in the SJV region. Please take the time to browse through the complete list of funding opportunities.
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Deadline: 7 June 2007
Description: NOAA's Office of Education (OED) is requesting applications to establish an institutional award for the purpose of supporting a professional development program for pre-service and in-service educators that is designed to support NOAA's mission by improving their knowledge of atmospheric and ocean sciences. The successful project will be national in scale with implementation on a local level. The project will include distance-learning and face-to-face components and allow teachers to earn graduate-level credit-hours from an accredited university in the United States. The project will involve NOAA scientists and other members of the scientific community.
- Multistate Conservation Grant Program
Deadline: 8 June 2007
Description: The Multistate Conservation Grant Program (MSCGP) is intended to address regional or national level priorities of state fish and wildlife agencies. The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) cooperatively administer the MSCGP, with the Association soliciting, selecting, and recommending to the FWS a "priority list" of projects to be funded. The USFWS selects projects from the "priority list" and awards and manages grants.
Up to $6 million ($3 million each from both the Sport Fish Restoration and Wildlife Restoration Programs) is available each calendar year to fund Multistate Conservation Grants, depending upon how much of the funds have been obligated for multi-year grants.
To be eligible, proposals must:
1) Meet the MSCGP's legal requirements (e.g., submitted by an eligible organization type; benefits appropriate states/regions; benefits sport fish, wild birds, and/or wild mammals);
2) Address one, or more, of the seven 2008 National Conservation Needs;
3) Adhere to the formats and requirements for the accompanying narrative and budget; and
4) Include all the standard federal application forms.
- Bureau of Reclamation: Limitrophe Endangered Species Habitat Restoration
Deadline: 15 June 2007
Description: The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Lower Colorado Region, Yuma Area Office is requesting proposals to fund projects for habitat restoration activities in support of their Endangered Species program. The Yuma Area Office periodically makes funding available for conducting activities for Threatened and Endangered species and their habitats. The objective is to fund habitat restoration opportunities for endangered bird species in the Limitrophe division of the lower Colorado River. Restoration efforts funded under this award should include a minimum of 40 acres of Southwest Willow Flycatcher habitat and 40 acres of Yuma Clapper Rail habitat.
- Nature of Learning Grants
Deadline: 15 June 2007
Description:The Nature of Learning is the FWS National Wildlife Refuge System’s community-based environmental education initiative that seeks to: use National Wildlife Refuges as outdoor classrooms to promote a greater understanding of local conservation issues;
encourage an interdisciplinary approach to learning that seeks to enhance student academic achievement;
utilize field experiences and student-led stewardship projects to connect classroom lessons to real world issues; and
involve a partnership among local schools, community groups, natural resource professionals and local businesses.
- Ecological Impacts from the Interactions of Climate Change, Land Use Change and Invasive Species: A Joint Research Solicitation – EPA, USDA
Deadline: 26 June 2007
Description: The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program are seeking applications for research on the ecological impacts from interactions of climate change, land use change, and invasive species. An invasive species is an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. The EPA is interested in proposals addressing aquatic ecosystems and the USDA in proposals addressing managed terrestrial systems, both of which can be used to enhance decision support tools used by decision makers to respond to invasive species.
- The Ramsar Small Grants Fund
Deadline: 30 June 2007
Description: The Ramsar Small Grants Fund was established as a mechanism to assist developing countries and those with economies in transition in implementing the Convention and to enable the conservation and wise use of wetland resources. Suitable project proposals are those which contribute to the implementation of the Convention's Strategic Plan 2003-2008 for the conservation and wise use of wetlands; provide emergency assistance for Ramsar sites; or provide 'preparatory assistance' to allow non-Contracting Parties to progress toward accession. Complete information and required forms are now available on the Ramsar website. The Secretariat's regional teams also offer an advisory service to help with the preparation of suitable proposals, for which drafts should be submitted to the Senior Regional Advisors by 30 April 2007.
- Captain Planet Foundation
Deadline: 30 June 2007 and 30 September 2007
Description: The Captain Planet Foundation will fund projects that promote understanding of environmental issues, focus on hands-on involvement, involve children and young adults 6-18 (elementary through high school), promote interaction and cooperation within the group, help young people develop planning and problem solving skills, include adult supervision, commit to follow-up communications with the Foundation. The Foundation only funds projects to organizations or sponsoring agencies that are exempt from federal taxation under the Internal Revenue Code Section 501. Grants typically range from $250-$2500 USD. In an effort to conserve paper the Captain Planet Foundation requires grant applicants to apply for funding using the online application form. Should you have any questions regarding the grant application or the small grants program, please contact Taryn Murphy, CPF's program director.
- North American Wetlands Conservation Act Program
Deadline: 27 July 2007 (U.S. Standard Grants); 30 November 2007 (U.S. Small Grants)
Description: The North American Wetlands Conservation Act provides matching grants to private or public organizations or to individuals who have developed partnerships to carry out wetlands conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The program provides US, Mexican, and Canadian Standard Grants (between $50,000 and $1,000,000) and US Small Grants (up to $75,000). For more details on how to apply, visit the NAWCA section of the SJV website. And be sure to check out the Playa Lakes Joint Venture's Timeline for preparing a NAWCA Proposal. Important note: Anyone considering applying for a U.S. grant should coordinate their application with SJV Science Coordinator Carol Beardmore (602-242-0524 ext. 248). The SJV will need to be involved not only to provide guidance but also because we rank all applications that are submitted (Mexican applicants do not need to coordinate with the SJV, although we are happy to provide assistance).
Upcoming meetings and workshops
See complete details about upcoming meetings and workshops.
American Ornithologists' Union: 8-11 August 2007, Laramie, Wyoming.
California Partners in Flight: 6-7 September 2007, near Sacramento, California.
Western Field Ornithologists Meeting: 27-30 September 2007, Henderson, Nevada.
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