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Seattle City Light is offering wildlife research funds to qualifying applicants. The Wildlife Research Program (WRP) was established in response to federal licensing requirements related to the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project. The primary goal of the WRP is to facilitate the development of improved methods for the understanding, management, and protection of wildlife resources in the North Cascades ecosystem. A secondary goal of the program is to contribute to the training of new researchers and investigators.
Key criteria to qualify for research funds:
- Projects must meet all of the WRP's goals as outlined in the
Mission and Goals
statement;
- Selected projects should complement, contribute to, or build onto the existing body of wildlife research;
- Professional standards must be met for all research funded;
- Projects may not duplicate or substitute for usual agency responsibilities and programs;
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to contribute in-kind services and/or obtain additional funding from other sources;
- The application process is competitive through the pre-proposal and full proposal stages. If an applicant is invited to submit a full proposal, there is no guarantee that an award will be made for that project.
Program funding:
- The annual WRP budget is approximately $85,000 through 2025. The amount of funds disbursed in a given year will depend on the quality of the proposals received; if qualifying proposals are not received, the funds for that year will be added to the next year's budget;
- Grant awards are likely to range from $5,000 to $30,000; however, larger awards have been made. The Wildlife Research Advisory Committee (WRAC) may choose to commit future funds to a proposal received in a given year. If this happens, one or more years may pass before additional funds become available.
Process:
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The Wildlife Research Advisory Committee (WRAC), which oversees the WRP, will review and select pre-proposals that best meet the program's goals. All applicants will be notified in writing of their pre-proposal status;
- Applicants with pre-proposals that pass through the initial screening will be invited to submit a complete proposal. Full proposal guidelines will be mailed to all qualifying applicants along with their notification letter. The WRAC may ask some qualifying applicants to modify their proposals;
- The full proposals will be distributed to independent peer reviewers for scientific review. Peer review comments will be provided to applicants who have submitted a full proposal;
- The WRAC will make final selection and funding decisions; these decisions will be based on how well the proposal meets the WRP's goals and whether the peer reviews are favorable;
- Funds will be made available once successful applicants have entered into a grant agreement with Seattle City Light.
Schedule:
Proposals will be accepted twice per year according to the schedule outlined below. Please note that these dates are approximate and may shift:
| Fall 2008 |
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| Pre-proposals due |
September 12, 2008 |
| Requests for full proposals |
October 10, 2008 |
| Full proposals due |
November 14, 2008 |
| Peer Reviews |
December 19, 2008 |
| Funding decisions made by WRAC |
January 16, 2009 |
Spring 2009 |
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| Pre-proposals due |
April 24, 2009 |
| Requests for full proposals |
May 22, 2009 |
| Full proposals due |
June 19, 2009 |
| Peer Reviews |
July 17, 2009 |
| Funding decisions made by WRAC |
July 31, 2009 |
Contracts and funding:
Successful proponents must enter into a contract with Seattle City Light that stipulates the conditions that must be met during the term of the funding award. Ten percent (10%) of the final contract amount will be withheld until the applicant has completed all contract requirements and submitted a final invoice. Researchers may only submit invoices for work that has actually been completed; no up-front payments will be made.
While there may be more than one principal investigator for a project, one agency/organization must assume the lead role. For each project, Seattle City Light will enter into a grant agreement with only one agency/organization; multi-party agreements are not permissible.
Priorities research topics
The resource agencies on the Wildlife Research Advisory Committee have identified a number of priorities for wildlife research in the Skagit watershed and North Cascades/western Okanogan ecoregions:
U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Wolverine (Gulo gulo) habitat use, population estimate, and/or demographic rates
- Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) demographic rates
- Marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) nesting habitat selection
- Effects of noise and human disturbance on marbled murrelet nesting behavior and productivity.
- Northern spotted owl/barred owl (Strix occidentalis/Strix varia) interactions
- Quality of potentially suitable habitat and abundance of potential prey for the Pacific fisher (Martes pennanti)
- Evaluation of Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) reintroduction sites.
- Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), lynx (Lynx canadensis), and gray wolves (Canus lupus): habitat use, population estimates, and/or demographic rates of these species.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)
- Impacts/benefits of the hydroelectric projects in the Skagit watershed.
- Federal or state candidate, threatened or endangered wildlife species in the North Cascades (includes spotted owl, marbled murrelet, wolverine, fisher, grizzly bear, gray wolf)
- Priority species or animal aggregations, as identified by federal or state agencies or tribes for the North Cascades, because of their population status, sensitivity to habitat alteration, and/or recreational, commercial, or tribal importance (elk, mountain goats, etc.)
- Wildlife or ecosystem relationships for WDFW's Priority habitats in the Skagit watershed (see http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/hab/phshabs.htm)
North Cascades National Park:
- Occurrence, distribution, habitat use, and demographics of wolverines and lynx in the North Cascades National Park Service Complex.
Demographic rates of mountain goats.
- Effects of recreational use on wildlife species (for example, corvids as an indicator in campsites or trail corridors; effects on mountain goat behavior and demographics; impacts on marmot populations or behavior).
- Abundance, distribution, habitat use, and/or demographic rates of wolves in the North Cascades National Park Service Complex. Is there a breeding pack of wolves within the park?
- Abundance and distribution of coyotes (Canus latrans). Is their distribution expanding due to climate change and development?
- Are wildlife species (deer, elk, goats, bear, etc) being hunted at sustainable levels?
- Abundance, distribution, and genetic diversity of the Cascade frog (Rana cascadae) within the North Cascades
- Distribution of the northern spotted owl in the North Cascades.
- Distribution, abundance, and population dynamics of high-elevation mammal populations including marmots, pikas, heather voles.
- Impacts of climate change on wildlife within the North Cascades ecosystem and responses of wildlife to climate change For example:
- What species are expected to be most affected by climate change or the combination of climate change and on-going habitat conversion outside NCNP boundaries?
- Are high-elevation pollinator populations changing?
- How is climate or the combination of climate and habitat fragmentation influencing the distribution of predators? And how will changes in predator distributions change prey abundance and distribution - is this already occurring?
- How will or is climate affecting high-elevation mammal populations such as marmots, pikas, heather voles?
- What is the status of ptarmigan populations? Will they be or are they already affected by climate change?
- Are species that are on the edge of their range changing in distribution or abundance due to climate change (e.g. red squirrels and Columbia ground squirrels)?
- Are hybridization rates along suture lines (such as red squirrel and Douglas squirrel) changing with the influence of climate change?
To apply for a Research Grant
To submit a pre-proposal for consideration by the WRAC, follow the Pre-Proposals Guidelines
For more information, please contact:
Ron Tressler, WRP Manager
Email address: ron.tressler@seattle.gov
Phone: 206.386.4506
Fax: 206.386.4589
Mailing address:
Seattle City Light - Environmental Division
Attn: Ron Tressler
PO BOX 34023
Seattle, WA 98124-4023
List of funded projects. The kinds of projects we have funded in the past.
Reports from completed projects
Habitat Selection by Lynx in the North Cascades
Genetic Diversity of Long-toed Salamanders
Grizzly Bear Outreach Evaluation
Macroinvertebrate Drift
North Cascade Grizzly Bears
Other potential funding sources:
Project proponents are encouraged to contact the following organizations for grant information:
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Customer Service
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Call (206) 684-3000
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