BOEM FY 2016 Environmental Studies Program

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The Environmental Studies Program (ESP) of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is offering a cooperative agreement opportunity to conduct research in topics that serve the public interest of safe and environmentally sound energy and mineral production on the nations outer continental shelf. The region of focus for BOEM is from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras, where renewable energy leasing is already underway. The telemetry network is also very robust in this area. BOEM will evaluate study proposals under this program to ensure that they not only meet BOEM���s information needs but involve resource users, such as commercial fishermen, in the project design and/or project execution. Projects are intended to provide information and data that will support environmental impact assessments and consultations; inform resource management decisions and statutory consultations required under the Endangered Species Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act; and build trust in data for management decisions between BOEM, academic institutions, and fishery resources users. Generally, BOEM envisions project proposals that demonstrate an ability to characterize the benthic and oceanographic environment selected for the proposal and project proposals that will characterize fish utilization of the study site by use of acoustic transmitters attached to target fish species (those of important commercial value or protected under the Endangered Species Act). Study proposals may assess fish distribution, habitat use, and migration at fine resolutions such as around important habitat features within a wind energy area, and at larger resolutions such as occurrence across an entire wind energy area. Fishery resource users should be involved in the project where appropriate. There are several objectives that may be addressed through study proposals submitted under this broad announcement of financial assistance. Studies awarded under this program may address one or more of the following objectives: Collect data that will benefit consultations regarding environmental assessments of potential impacts from OCS leasing activities as well as improve data for the management of the species; Obtain information in order to assess impacts to commercially important and protected fish species in the mid-Atlantic and New York bights where offshore wind projects may occur; Support data management of acoustic telemetry networks; and Build upon baseline knowledge of fish use of proposed development sites.

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