Engaging Volunteers in Post-Invasion Habitat Restoration

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This agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) and Earth Sangha (ES) is entered into in support of integrating volunteers into post-invasive species removal on national wildlife refuges. Since FY 2003, the NWRS has been engaging volunteers and Friends groups in mapping, monitoring, and managing invasive species on refuge lands. To further engage volunteers and enhance post-invasion habitat conservation and restoration, the Engaging Volunteers in Post-Invasion Habitat Restoration: A Pilot Project for National Wildlife Refuges (EVPIHR) will involve volunteers in invasive plant removal, native seed collection and propagation, and re-vegetation activities. This is a pilot project that will take place in the mid-Atlantic section of Region 5, on Occoquan Bay NWR, and will serve as a model for replication across the NWRS. Justification for Single Source Determination: In accordance with Department of the Interior guidance (505 DM 2.14), the USFWS provides notice of its intent to make a single-source award in the amount of $70,168.00 via a Cooperative Agreement with Earth Sangha. Competition is not practicable for this project for the following reason. The applicant’s Unique Qualifications: Earth Sangha (ES) is uniquely qualified to provide refuges in the mid-Atlantic area with technical support for engaging volunteers in post-invasion habitat restoration activities. ES operates a volunteer-based restoration program to help stabilize streams, restore native plant communities, and control invasive alien plants. All of the work they conduct in the mid-Atlantic area is designed for public participation, as a venue for environmental education, and builds on their extensive network of collaborators and volunteers. Over 500 people now volunteer with ES every year at various field sites in northern Virginia; total volunteer field-time last year came to nearly 12,000 hours. ES is also uniquely qualified due to their specific technical expertise. ES has developed a community nursery that serves as the hub of an extensive local-ecotype native plant propagation program. Their Wild Plant Nursery, in Springfield, Virginia, is the DC region’s most comprehensive source of wild-propagated native plant material. ES is currently working with over 180 species of native trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants, all of them propagated from seed that they collect themselves from local natural areas. The nursery is the sole local source for many of the species that they grow.

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