News Release Archive

Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative Seeking Applicants for Applied Science Funding Opportunity

Media Contact: Peter Soeth, 303-445-3615, psoeth@usbr.gov

For Release: May 01, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Bureau of Reclamation today made a funding opportunity available for applied science grants through the Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative.

Proposed projects are expected to meet the science needs identified by the Southern Rockies LCC steering committee and must be able to be used by resource managers to address natural and cultural resource issues that have a connection to water resource management in a changing climate.

The identified science needs for the Southern Rockies in 2013 are:

Science Need 1: Development of models to inform management decisions related to habitat protection/preservation for desired population numbers of riparian obligate and wetland species.

Science Need 2: Assessment of the vulnerability of species and habitats to reduction in habitat size.

Science Need 3: Assessment of species or population vulnerability through identification of migration and connectivity corridors, and identification of adaptation strategies that mitigate vulnerability.

Science Need 4: Identification of changes in source-water runoff, and resultant changes to surface/groundwater interaction, resulting from climate change and other stressors.

Science Need 5: Incorporation of climate change projections and ecological flow needs into hydrological models in order to develop water supply scenarios that would inform decisions about water allocation to meet human and ecological needs.

Science Need 6: Data cataloging and acquisition of spatial data to aid in identification of LCC focal resources and associated needs.

Science Need 7: Identify Tribal information needs related to conservation and management of natural and cultural resources.

Funding for each project is limited to $150,000 and requesting entity must provide at least a 50-percent cost-share. Entities eligible to receive funding include: states, tribes, irrigation districts, water districts, universities, nonprofit research institutions, organizations with water or power delivery authority and nonprofit organizations.

The Southern Rockies LCC encompasses large portions of four states: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, as well as smaller parts of Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. The area is geographically complex, including wide elevation and topographic variation; from 14,000 foot peaks to the Grand Canyon and cold desert basins. This topographically complex region includes the headwaters of the Colorado River and Rio Grande, the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains to the west, and the Southern Rocky Mountains to the east, separated by the rugged tableland of the Colorado Plateau.

LCCs are partnerships of governmental (federal, state, tribal and local) and non-governmental entities. The primary goal of the LCCs is to bring together science and resource management to inform climate adaptation strategies to address climate change and other stressors within an ecological region, or "landscape."

The funding opportunity is available at www.grants.gov by searching for funding opportunity number R13AS80010. Applications are due by 4 p.m. MDT, June 11, 2013.

To learn more about this funding opportunity visit www.usbr.gov/WaterSMART/LCC/. To learn more about the Southern Rockies LCC, please visit southernrockieslcc.org.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.

Relevant Link:

Southern Rockies LCC

WaterSMART