National Whale Conservation Fund
2007 General Call Request for Proposals

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (Foundation) is soliciting proposals for the 2007 General Call grants cycle for the National Whale Conservation Fund (NWCF). In 1999, the Foundation was directed by Congress to manage the NWCF in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Marine Mammal Commission (MMC), in order to accomplish long-term goals to protect and restore whale populations that reside in and migrate through United States waters. Since its inception, the NWCF has awarded 73 project grants and has committed nearly $9 million to whale conservation efforts.

Guiding Philosophy and Mission

The National Whale Conservation Fund was established to support research, management, conservation and education/outreach activities related to the conservation and recovery of the great whale species occurring in U.S. waters. The Foundation seeks to foster the conservation and recovery goals of the NWCF by supporting innovative research, management, and education projects of high quality and promise. The Foundation actively seeks to form new partnerships with corporations, organizations, and individuals to leverage NWCF’s resources sufficiently to meet its conservation goals. The NWCF review committee is comprised of individuals from NOAA’s Office of Protected Resources, the Marine Mammal Commission, The Ocean Foundation, and a panel of leading experts and managers from local government agencies, academia, NGOs, stakeholder groups, and cooperating entities.

Awards

Approximately $450,000 is available for the 2007 calendar year. Grants are expected to fall between $50,000 and $200,000. Larger grants will be reserved for those projects that are structured to definitively answer key research questions or implement projects over a broad scale.

Eligibility
Applications will be accepted from U.S. or international non-profit organizations, academic institutions, privately-owned companies, and government agencies (except U.S. federal agencies). U.S. federal agencies are encouraged to work collaboratively with non-federal project partners.

Geographic and Programmatic Focus Areas

The NWCF supports conservation efforts for the great whale species that migrate through or reside within U.S. waters – from shore to 200 nautical miles off the U.S. coasts. Projects taking place outside U.S. waters or working on non-great whale species may be considered if there are direct conservation outcomes to U.S. great whale populations.

In 2007, the NWCF is focused on addressing and reducing anthropogenic impacts on large whale species. Proposals must address one of the following priorities:

Fishing Gear Interactions / Entanglement – To reduce negative impacts to whales from fishing gear, including entanglement, and to conduct large whale biological research to support the management of large whale entanglements:

(1) Innovative research & gear modification technology, including:

• Research related to reducing risk associated with vertical lines. For a listing of priority studies under this topic please click here: http://www.nfwf.org/whalefund/sample1/whale_rfp_extra.pdf
• Research related to lowering the profile of groundlines, especially studies to improve the abrasion resistance and overall durability of sinking/ neutrally buoyant rope; research and development of a stiff line to reduce the risk of the line wrapping around whales or substrate
• Research on the horizontal and vertical distribution of large whales in the water column throughout their range in US waters. Important data gaps include behavior over rocky/reef inshore areas and depths over 100 fathoms, especially on migratory corridors and breeding grounds

• Develop technical advances/improvements for disentanglement including sedatives and tools. Also, investigate behavioral issues that may affect and should be considered during disentanglement.
• Research on the development of non-invasive, long-term tracking tags.

(2) Gear Buy Back Programs to remove floating groundline

• Areas along the East Coast for which floating groundline gear buyback programs have NOT YET been conducted and for which there is interest include:
  • Rhode Island; trap/pot fishermen
  • New York; trap/pot fishermen
  • North Carolina; trap/pot fishermen South of Cape Hatteras
  • Massachusetts; non-lobster (ie black sea bass) trap/pot fishermen

Ship Strikes – Ship-strikes are a threat to endangered large whale species. As traffic from commercial shipping and cruise lines increase in U.S. waters, the likelihood of whale-ship interactions are expected to increase. The NWCF is looking for innovative projects that will address this mounting issue with the end goal of understanding why these interactions occur and reducing their frequency. The NWCF will address the mounting ship-strike issue through:

• Education and Training programs (should include measures for quantifying performance/effectiveness)
  • Port pilot, vessel captain/crew training programs for the shipping and cruise line industries
  • Development of ship-strike awareness certification courses through maritime licensing authorities
  • Distribution of existing educational materials developed with NOAA’s Northeast Regional Office and Southeast Regional Office
• Basic Research
• Identification and quantification of factors influencing ship- strikes
• Developing, designing and/or implementing an Automated Identification System-based program to characterize vessel traffic and behavior relative to whale distributions and ship strike reduction measures
• Empirical tests to document/quantify large whale – large ship encounters (e.g., how ship speed effects such encounters)
• Identification and/or testing of potential technologies to address the issue of whale-ship collisions

(3) Development of a national campaign for increased reporting of ship strikes and creation of a centralized national database.

Applications to NWCF for funding should clearly describe

• Anticipated benefits to whale conservation;
• Projected goals, objectives and methods; including provisions for monitoring and evaluation;
• Qualifications of key personnel;
• Detailed budget describing use of NWCF grant;
• Relation of proposed research to provisions of any applicable recovery or conservation plans;
• Dissemination of results to the concerned research and management community;
• Cooperation and coordination with other appropriate federal, state, and private organizations; and
• Ability to leverage NWCF grant award.

Note that all proposals will be evaluated and selected based on criteria that includes but is not limited to the above as well as merit, proposal quality and available funding. Other selection criteria include how each proposal benefits overall whale conservation goals within the NWCF priorities and contributes to the goals and mission of the Foundation.

Matching Funds

Matching funds are required for this program. Proposals that can demonstrate at least a 1:1 match will be most competitive. The Ocean Foundation has partnered with the Foundation to provide a limited amount of matching funds to applicants whose proposal has been approved by the NWCF review committee who are unable to reach a full 1:1 match on their own. Matching funds must be non-federal in origin and used directly for the project over the life of the grant. At the time of application submission these funds do not need to be in hand, but they must be either applied for or pending. Matching funds can be cash, in-kind or volunteer services. More information on matching criteria can be found by visiting the links provided in the application form.

Restrictions
Funds cannot be used for political advocacy, boycotts, litigation expenses, terrorist activities or activities conducted in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

How do I apply?
**The program will NOT be using a pre-proposal form this year.**

Step 1 : Organizations interested in applying should e-mail Susie.Holst@nfwf.org, the following information in order to receive access to an on-line application:

(1) Project Name, (2) Organization Name, (3) Primary Contact Name and Mailing Address (4) Primary Contact Phone, Fax and Email

Step 2 : Once the Foundation has received this information, applicants will receive e-mail instructions for full application submission online. Note: Allow 3 days to receive the instructions.

• Full proposals must be received through the on-line application submission system, no later than 11:59 PM EDT on August 8th, 2007 .

If applicable, successful applicants will be required to provide sufficient documentation in regards to all necessary permits and clearances that the project expects to receive or has received in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and any other federal, state, or local ordinances.

When will I be notified about whether I’ve received a grant? Applicants will be notified about grant awards by the end of October 2007.

Who can I contact with Questions?
For further information, please contact:

Susie Holst at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
1120 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 857-0166; Fax: 202-857-0162; Email: susie.holst@nfwf.org.

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