The mission of this cooperative agreement between the U.S. Fish and wildlife SERVICE (SERVICE) and the nature conservancy at palmyra atoll is to work together to ensure that the field station at the…

The mission of this cooperative agreement between the U.S. Fish and wildlife SERVICE (SERVICE) and the nature conservancy at palmyra atoll is to work together to ensure that the field station at the nature conservancys palmyra atoll preserve, encompassed by palmyra atoll national wildlife refuge, continues to function in a high-quality manner so that the SERVICE can maintain a presence at palmyra atoll national wildlife refuge to carry out its management activities, including operating a visitor program. The goals of the project are for: the SERVICE to provide financial and technical support to the nature conservancy on an annual basis to help keep the field station operational, for positive impacts for all communities that have a connection to palmyra atoll national wildlife refuge, and for the nature conservancy to carry out all activities necessary for the palmyra atoll field station to function continuously for at least the next 5 years. The U.S. Fish and wildlife SERVICE activities to be performed are: actively participate with the nature conservancy to operate a field station at palmyra atoll to conduct collaborative conservation partnership projects such as, but not limited to, addressing invasive coconut palms and conducting research to better understand insular ecosystems provide wildlife and refuge orientations to those using the field station assist in hiring personnel to manage operations by participating in the review of potential candidates, as requested provide the nature conservancy with constructive feedback on the performance of their field station employees, including the nature conservancy preserve manager, and members, as requested provide input into the scheduling of staff, volunteers, researchers, and visitors who will use the field station and their flights to palmyra atoll provide a SERVICE refuge manager to be located on palmyraatoll provide the nature conservancy with technical assistance in the identification and assessment of environmental risks with the field station participate in community cleanup days for the station and issue special use permits for all research at palmyra atoll. The nature conservancy activities to be performed are: provide all paid staff and volunteers required to ensure safe, efficient, reliable operations of the palmyra atoll field station maintain and repair core infrastructure and equipment facilitate emergency response and ensure compliance with policies and procedures. Core infrastructure includes but is not limited to runway, roads, wastewater treatment, potable water treatment and distribution, electrical grid, diesel generator, satellite communications network, local area network, refrigeration, freezers, showers, and toilets. Vital equipment includes boats, tractors, mower, stove, oven, disinfecting dishwasher, clothes washer, dryer, runway roller, excavator, and bulldozer. The deliverables for the SERVICE include providing $150,000 in funding each year for the field station along with additional funding for special projects to support the field station and providing technical support to the nature conservancy related to the field station. The deliverables for the nature conservancy are to take overall responsibility to ensure that the field station functions in a high-quality manner. The expected outcomes for this cooperative agreement are for the SERVICE and the nature conservancy to work together in a highly functioning partnership to ensure the palmyra atoll field station is open continuously for at least the next five years which allows the SERVICE to carry out its management activities and visitor programs, benefiting a number of communities.