Shorebird Conservation Project

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD TO A SINGLE-SOURCE AND THERE IS NO FULL ANNOUNCEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS NOTICE. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) intends to award a grant agreement to Terra Peninsular to implement a survey to assess the status of nesting shorebirds and wintering migratory shorebirds along the coast of northwest México. Activities associated with this project include repeated breeding season surveys at priority sites to determine current population status of the American Oystercatchers and Snowy Plovers, two focal species of the Pacific Americas Strategy. Winters surveys will be conducted during high tides to locate and document important roosting sites for these two focal species, search for banded individuals to establish connectivity, and evaluate conservation issues at roosting sites. Information gained during surveys will be used to develop a conservation and management strategy for nesting and roosting shorebirds. Terra Peninsular was selected to receive this award based on unique qualifications associated with an 18-year history of working to conserve and protect the natural ecosystems and wildlife of Northwest México, and their staff and partners are recognized shorebird experts in the region and throughout México. Terra Peninsula will partner with the Ensenada Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education and the Autonomous University of México in Mazatlán to deliver this program. Both Terra Peninsula and the Universities have been strong partners of the Service in developing and implementing the Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Strategy. This project addresses Secretarial Priority #1: Creating a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt as it promotes natural resource conservation through sustainable use, integrating the best science (population monitoring network) to make management decisions for the conservation of migratory shorebirds. Collecting high-quality population data will inform local managers and help identify best practices to manage land and wildlife resources. Shorebird conservation in this region is a matter of habitat conservation and major reproductive areas must be identified along with best practices to balance human use of these critical areas. Terra Peninsular has a history of working cooperatively with Mexican land management agencies and is an advocate for a balanced management strategy. The recipient also works to achieve active, conscious and autonomous participation of local communities in conservation activities including the proposed project which addresses Secretarial Priority #3: Restoring trust with our local communities. Funding for this project is provided under the authority of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 742a-754; Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958, 16 U.S.C. 661-667(e); Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. 2901-2911; the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 16 U.S.C. 709a, and the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2017.