[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 242 (Monday, December 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75712-75714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-21450]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket Number: 061208325-6325-01]


Announcement of Funding Opportunity for Social Science 
Fellowships in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System

AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division (ERD), Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management (OCRM), National Ocean Service (NOS), National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Announcement of Funding Opportunity for Social Science 
Fellowships in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

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SUMMARY: NOAA's Estuarine Reserves Division, in collaboration with 
NOAA's Coastal Services Center and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Research, Climate Program Office, are offering five fellowships for 
masters and doctoral students to conduct social science research within 
the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. Funds will be provided 
to support research projects that will provide information needed by 
reserve management and coastal management decision-makers, and improve 
public awareness and understanding of estuarine ecosystems and 
estuarine management issues (15 CFR 921.50). The amount of each 
fellowship is $30,000; at least 30% of total project cost match is 
required by the applicant (i.e. $12,858 match for $30,000 in federal 
funds for a total project cost of $42,858). Minority students are 
encouraged to apply. For detailed descriptions of the reserves and to 
view the full funding opportunity, refer to the NERRS Web site at 
http://www.nerrs.noaa.gov or contact the program staff listed in this 
announcement.

DATES: Applicants should submit application materials through http://www.Grants.gov no later than 11 p.m. (EST) on February 1, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The full funding announcement is available via the 
grants.gov Web site at http://www.grants.gov; via the NERRS Web site at 
http://www.nerrs.noaa.gov/fellowship; or by contacting the program 
officials identified below. Applicants must comply with all 
requirements contained in the full funding opportunity announcement.
    Applications preferably should be submitted electronically at 
http://www.grants.gov. If a paper application is submitted, one 
original and 4 copies may be submitted to Attn: Erica Seiden, NOAA's 
Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5, SSMC4, 
Station 10542, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and received by 11 p.m. (EST) on 
February 1, 2007. Any proposals received outside of the above 
requirements will be sent back to the applicant without review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erica Seiden, ERD, at 301-563-1172 or 
via the Internet at [email protected]; or Patricia Delgado, ERD, at 
301-563-1147 or via the Internet at [email protected].

[[Page 75713]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary Description

    The National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) consists of 
estuarine areas of the United States and its territories which are 
designated and managed for research and educational purposes. Each 
reserve within the system is chosen to reflect regional differences and 
to include a variety of ecosystem types in accordance with the 
classification scheme of the national program as presented in 15 CFR 
921.
    Each reserve supports a wide range of beneficial uses of 
ecological, economic, recreational, and aesthetic values which are 
dependent upon the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem. The sites 
provide habitats for a wide range of ecologically and commercially 
important species of fish, shellfish, birds, and other aquatic and 
terrestrial wildlife. Each reserve has been designed to ensure its 
effectiveness as a conservation unit and as a site for long-term 
research and monitoring. As part of a national system, the reserves 
collectively provide an excellent opportunity to address research 
questions and estuarine management issues of national significance. 
NOAA's Estuarine Reserves Division, in collaboration with NOAA's 
Coastal Services Center and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 
Climate Program Office, are offering fellowships for masters and 
doctoral students to conduct social science research within the 
National Estuarine Research Reserve System. For detailed descriptions 
of the reserves and to view the full funding opportunity, refer to the 
NERRS Web site at http://www.nerrs.noaa.gov or contact the program 
staff listed in this announcement.
    Funds will be provided to support social science research projects 
that will provide information needed by reserve management and coastal 
management decision-makers, and improve public awareness and 
understanding of estuarine ecosystems and estuarine management issues 
15 CFR 921.50. All projects must be focused on a National Estuarine 
Research Reserve. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement 
should address social, cultural, economic, or policy aspects related to 
one of the following topics: Community resilience (e.g., individual and 
community vulnerability; resistance, response, and adaptability to 
continuous or episodic natural and anthropogenic stressors; risk 
perception); Ecological restoration (e.g., human behaviors; advocacy 
and volunteerism; responses to social and ecological change; personal 
and societal value orientations); Ecosystem-based management (e.g., 
collaborative decision-making; motivations or preferences for resource 
uses or management practices; ways in which people affect or are 
affected by natural resource management decisions; cultural history); 
Landscape or seascape change (e.g., current or potential effects on or 
threats to the traits, patterns, or structure of a specific geographic 
area of the terrestrial or aquatic environment, including its 
biological, physical, and anthropogenic attributes; population and 
demographic change; coastal urbanization and habitat fragmentation); or 
Climate variability and change (e.g., sea level rise; extreme weather 
events; seasonal or interannual climate fluctuations; effects on water 
resources, living marine resources, agricultural productivity, delivery 
of ecosystem services, or public health and safety).

Funding Availability

    Funding is dependent upon FY2007 appropriations. NOAA's Estuarine 
Reserves Division anticipates that 5 fellowships will be competitively 
awarded to provide funding to qualified graduate students whose 
research applies to the research focus areas above at the reserves 
specified in the full funding opportunity. Minority students are 
encouraged to apply. The amount of the fellowship is $30,000 for 18 
months; at least 30% of total project cost match is required by the 
applicant (i.e. $12,858 match for $30,000 in federal funds for a total 
project cost of $42,858). At least one fellowship will be awarded for a 
proposal addressing climate variability and change.

    Statutory Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1461

    CFDA: 11.420, National Estuarine Research Reserve Program.

Eligibility

    Applicants must be admitted to or enrolled in a full-time masters 
or doctoral program at a U.S. accredited university in order to be 
eligible to apply. Applicants should have completed a majority of their 
graduate course work at the beginning of their fellowship and have an 
approved thesis research program.
    Grants are normally distributed to the graduate student's 
institution. Institutions eligible to receive awards include 
institutions of higher education, other non-profits, commercial 
organizations, international organizations, as well as state, local and 
Indian tribal governments. All reserve staff are ineligible to submit 
an application for a fellowship under this announcement. Funds are 
expected to be available on a competitive basis to qualified graduate 
students for research focused on a reserve(s) leading to a graduate 
degree.

Cost Sharing Requirements

    Requested federal funds must be matched by at least 30 percent of 
the TOTAL cost, not the Federal share, of the project (i.e. $12,858 
match for $30,000 in federal funds for a total project cost of 
$42,858). Requested overhead costs under fellowship awards are limited 
to 10% of the federal amount. Waived institutional overhead costs may 
be used as match.

Intergovernmental Review

    Applications under this program are subject to Executive Order 
12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''

Proposal Review and Selection Process

    Once a full proposal has been received by NOAA an initial 
administrative review is conducted to determine compliance with 
requirements and completeness of the application. All proposals will be 
evaluated for scientific merit by no less than three reviewers from the 
scientific community. If any of these three reviewers are non-Federal 
employees, consensus advice regarding the proposals will not be given. 
The Estuarine Reserve Division, in collaboration with NOAA's Coastal 
Services Center and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, will 
oversee the review process. Efforts are taken to ensure that conflicts 
of interest are avoided. It is permissible for applicants to suggest 
those people whom they feel would have a conflict of interest and 
therefore not appropriate to review their proposal. The merit 
reviewer's ratings are used to produce a rank order of the proposals. 
The Selecting Official shall award in the rank order unless the 
proposal is justified to be selected out of rank order based upon one 
of the selection factors identified below. The Selecting Official makes 
final recommendations for award to the Grants Officer who is authorized 
to obligate the funds and execute awards.

Evaluation Criteria

    Applicants do not need to address Evaluation Criteria Nos. 4 and 5 
in order to have a full proposal.
    1. Academic record and statement of career goals and objectives of 
student (10 percent)
    2. Quality of project and applicability to program priorities (80 
percent)
    3. Recommendations and/or endorsements of student (10 percent)

[[Page 75714]]

    4. Additional relevant experience (0 percent)
    5. Financial need of student (0 percent)

Selection Factors for Fellowship/Scholarships/Internships

    1. Balance/Distribution of funds:
    a. Academic disciplines
    b. Types of institutions
    c. Geography
    2. Availability of funds
    3. Program-specific objectives--These are found in the Full Funding 
Opportunity Announcement in sections I.A and B.
    4. Degree in scientific area and type of degree sought
    Further details on evaluation and selection criteria and procedures 
applicable to this notice can be found in the full funding opportunity 
announcement available through http://www.grants.gov and on the NERRS 
Web site http://www.nerrs.noaa.gov/fellowship.

National Environmental Policy Act

    NOAA must analyze the potential environmental impacts, as required 
by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for applicant projects 
or proposals which are seeking NOAA federal funding opportunities. 
Detailed information on NOAA compliance with NEPA can be found at the 
following NOAA NEPA Web site: http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including our 
NOAA Administrative Order 216-6 for NEPA, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216_6_TOC.pdf, and the Council on Environmental Quality 
implementation regulations, http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ceq/toc_ceq.htm.
    Consequently, as part of an applicant's package, and under their 
description of their program activities, applicants are required to 
provide detailed information on the activities to be conducted, 
locations, sites, species and habitat to be affected, possible 
construction activities, and any environmental concerns that may exist 
(e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous or toxic chemicals, 
introduction of non-indigenous species, impacts to endangered and 
threatened species, aquaculture projects, and impacts to coral reef 
systems).
    In addition to providing specific information that will serve as 
the basis for any required impact analyses, applicants may also be 
requested to assist NOAA in drafting of an environmental assessment, if 
NOAA determines an assessment is required. Applicants will also be 
required to cooperate with NOAA in identifying and implementing 
feasible measures to reduce or avoid any identified adverse 
environmental impacts of their proposal. The failure to do so shall be 
grounds for the denial of an application.

Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative 
Agreements

    The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for 
Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register 
notice of December 30, 2004 (69 FR 78389) are applicable to this 
solicitation.

Limitation of Liability

    In no event will NOAA or the Department of Commerce be responsible 
for proposal preparation costs if this initiative fails to receive 
funding or is cancelled because of other agency priorities. Publication 
of this announcement does not oblige NOAA to award any specific project 
or to obligate any available funds. Recipients and sub-recipients are 
subject to all Federal laws, agency policies, regulations and 
procedures applicable to Federal financial assistance awards.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This notification involves collection-of-information requirements 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The use of Standard Forms 424, 
424A, 424B, and SF-LLL and CD-346 has been approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB control numbers 0348-0043, 0348-
0044, 0348-0040, 0348-0046 and 0605-0001 respectively. Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, no person is required to respond to, nor 
shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a 
collection of information subject to the requirements of the PRA unless 
that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control 
number.

Executive Order 12866

    It has been determined that this notice is not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)

    It has been determined that this notice does not contain policies 
with Federalism implications as that term is defined in Executive Order 
13132.

Administrative Procedure Act/Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Prior notice and an opportunity for public comment are not required 
by the Administrative Procedure Act or any other law for rules 
concerning public property, loans, grants, benefits, and contracts (5 
U.S.C. 553(a)(2)). Because notice and opportunity for comment are not 
required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other law, the analytical 
requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) 
are inapplicable. Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis has not 
been prepared.

    Dated: December 12, 2006.
David M. Kennedy,
Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National 
Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-21450 Filed 12-15-06; 8:45 am]
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