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 Asociación Calidris to engage local communities in science and capacity building projects to improve knowledge on threats shorebirds face along the Pacific coast of Colombia through building conservation constituencies for wise management of mangrove forests and coastal ecosystems. Two important shorebird sites along the Pacific coast of Colombia are the Iscuandé River Delta and Sanquianga National Park. The area is the only designated Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site in Colombia and is important to shorebirds migrating through the U.S. Asociación Calidris was selected to receive this award based on unique qualifications associated with its work with communities in the Iscuandé River Delta and Sanquianga National Park to develop locally derived conservation solutions for migratory shorebirds, while accounting for the human dimensions of local inhabitants. Engaging local communities by Asociación Calidris to achieve and improve shorebird conservation in this region addresses Secretarial Priority #3: Restoring trust with our local communities. Asociación Calidris is an active partner in the development of the Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Strategy and this project directly addresses a key strategy of managing and conserving existing shorebird habitats by empowering local communities via increasing partner and stakeholder capacity to achieve conservation outcomes. The recipient has also developed a successful ⿿Wings of the Rice⿠initiative as a strategy to conserve waterbirds by promoting environmentally friendly practices for rice cultivation by local communities and producers. This work with Asociación Calidris also addresses Secretarial Priority 1: Creating a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt by supporting conservation organizations that advocate for a balanced management strategy promoting natural resource conservation (mangrove ecosystems) through sustainable use employing science to identify best practices for land and natural resource management with the benefit of conserving habitat for migratory shorebirds. 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.