Bicknells Thrush Monitoring, Research and Planning

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THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, but a NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD the Vermont Center for Ecostudies up to $30,000 under justification 505 DM 2.14 (B4). The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712) authorizes appropriations to carry out the provisions and to accomplish the purposes of the migratory bird conventions with Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the Soviet Union. The Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE), a non-profit conservation organization, is uniquely qualified because of their role as the primary organization in the United States conducting monitoring and research on the distribution and ecology of Bicknell’s Thrush throughout its annual migratory cycle since 1992, and their past experience as the recipient of a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for work on this species. The VCE staff are widely recognized as the experts on this species, and there are no other organizations in the United States with comparable experience and knowledge regarding this species. Previously, they have provided services such coordination and operation of Mountain Birdwatch, a population monitoring program for Bicknell’s Thrush and other high-elevation birds in the northeastern U.S. VCE is also a leader in building a coalition of conservation groups, scientists, biologist, and land managers, known as the International Bicknell’s Thrush Conservation Group, which is working to identify key threats to the species and implement conservation actions to address those threats. VCE has the resources and expertise necessary to complete this project in a timely manner. The purpose of the proposed agreement is to further Bicknell’s Thrush Monitoring, Research, and Conservation Planning project. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712) authorizes appropriations to carry out the provisions and to accomplish the purposes of the migratory bird conventions with Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the Soviet Union. The grantee will coordinate and implement the Mountain Birdwatch program in the northeastern United States. Services will include: A. Coordinate implementation of the Mountain Birdwatch monitoring protocol in the field through volunteers and paid technicians, as described in the manual of Mountain Birdwatch protocols and standard operating procedures, with a focus on implementing Mountain Birdwatch 2.0 as practicable given funding available through IBTCG partners, B. Supervise data entry, conduct data quality assurance, and submit final data to the Avian Knowledge Network for archiving after the end of each field season, C. Train volunteer observers in bird identification and bird survey methodologies used for Mountain Birdwatch, D. Supervise paid technicians, especially for the field season (anticipated in 2010) when the new survey locations for Mountain Birdwatch 2.0 will be established and surveyed for the first time, E. Summarize data and provide annual reports on results to the Service and IBTCG, and F. Prepare a peer-reviewed publication on 2000-2010 results and avian population trends from Mountain Birdwatch 1.0.

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