[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 109 (Thursday, June 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32051-32053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12459]


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MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION


Availability of Grant Funds for Fiscal Year 2008

AGENCY: Marine Mammal Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Authority: Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (1361 et seq.)

SUMMARY: The U.S. Marine Mammal Commission is seeking proposals for 
research and related activities that will further the conservation and 
management goals of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Proposals should 
be tailored to address either of two focused research topics: (1) 
Conservation of Critically Endangered Marine Mammal Species or 
Populations and (2) Indirect Effects of Fisheries on Marine Mammals.

DATES: Proposals must be received by 15 July 2008, 5 p.m., EDT.

ADDRESSES: Proposals should be submitted electronically in MSWord, 
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF format to Ms. Mina Innes, Research Program 
Officer, at the Marine Mammal Commission, e-mail address: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Inquiries should be directed to Dr. 
Robert Gisiner, Scientific Program Director, by mail (4340 East-West 
Highway, Room 700, Bethesda, MD 20814), phone (301-504-0087), or e-mail 
([email protected]). Please also copy e-mail inquiries to Ms. Mina Innes 
([email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Marine Mammal Commission FY2008 Focused Research Topics.
    Purpose: The U.S. Marine Mammal Commission is seeking proposals for 
research and related activities that will further the conservation and 
management goals of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Proposals should 
be tailored to address either of two focused research topics: (1) 
Conservation of Critically Endangered Marine Mammal Species or 
Populations and (2) Indirect Effects of Fisheries on Marine Mammals.
    Grantees or contractors whose projects involve the taking of marine 
mammals will be expected to obtain all necessary permits and 
authorizations for their projects before engaging in such activities.
    Information on the focused research topics, selection criteria, 
required formats for full proposals, the submission process, and the 
submission schedule is provided below.
    Financial Information: A total of $450,000 has been allocated for 
this RFP. Allocation of the total amount between the two focused 
research topics will be determined by the nature and quality of 
proposals within each topic and the degree to which the selected 
proposals contribute to an integrated program of effort within each 
research topic as determined during the final review phase.
    Duration of Effort: The Commission strongly encourages that 
proposals be limited to a single period of effort, usually one year. 
Multi-year proposals, not to exceed three years, may be considered, but 
only if a strong case can be made for the necessity of a prolonged 
effort.
    Individual Award Amount: No upper or lower limit has been set for 
an individual proposal due to the wide range of potential levels of 
effort within each focused research topic. However, it is anticipated 
that few if any awards will exceed $50,000 to $100,000, and that most 
will range between $30,000 and $50,000, based on the Commission's

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desire to focus on initial phase scoping efforts and to be able to 
address a sufficient range of actions and approaches within each area. 
Proposers are encouraged to present a budget consistent with the type 
and level of effort proposed, rather than on a specific dollar target, 
since budget realism, aligned with anticipated scientific and 
conservation impact, constitutes the largest share of the review 
weighting process.
    Indirect Costs: Proposers are encouraged to keep their overhead 
costs at or below 10 percent in keeping with the Marine Mammal 
Commission's stated policy on indirect costs. This policy is intended 
to maximize the impact on science and conservation from the limited 
resources available to the Commission for discretionary spending (also 
see http://www.mmc.gov/research/).

Focused Research Topics

1. Conservation of Critically Endangered Marine Mammal Species or 
Populations

    The Commission is requesting proposals for research or other 
activities that will promote the conservation of critically endangered 
marine mammal species or populations, with a particular focus on those 
for which current research efforts are non-existent or underfunded. 
Such proposals could include the following:
     Collection and analysis of data on critically endangered 
marine mammals and/or the threats facing them, with the goal of 
informing conservation decisions;
     Development and implementation of strategies for 
prioritizing and commumcating critical conservation needs to the public 
and decision-makers;
     Initiation of conservation activities to address the 
principal threats facing critically endangered marine mammals.
    The at-risk species or populations may occur in domestic, foreign, 
or international waters. The Commission is not likely to fund proposals 
to continue ongoing conservation programs but will consider proposals 
to provide seed money or start-up funds to initiate new efforts, with 
the goal of creating self-sustaining conservation efforts that do not 
duplicate pre-existing efforts. Priority will be given to proposals 
based on the degree of endangerment to the species or population, the 
usefulness and relevance of the research in addressing a threat and 
promoting conservation, and the extent to which other funding sources 
are or are not available. Proposals should reflect a thorough knowledge 
of ongoing research and conservation efforts and should clearly 
indicate both the importance of the proposed work and the limitations 
imposed by current funding levels or opportunities.

2. InDirect Effects of Fisheries on Marine Mammals

    Commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries have the 
potential to affect marine mammals and other predators directly through 
bycatch and indirectly by altering the availability of prey resources 
(e.g., exploitative or interference competition). The Marine Mammal 
Protection Act establishes a comprehensive framework for managing 
bycatch of marine mammals, but the indirect effects of fishing are 
poorly understood and largely unmanaged. Despite growing emphasis on 
ecosystem-based fisheries management, much of the research effort to 
date has been limited to the indirect effects of fishing on non-target 
fish stocks with little attention paid to the effects on higher-
trophic-level predators. Indirect effects of fisheries can be complex, 
and research programs to investigate those effects have been slow to 
develop.
    The Commission is requesting proposals for studies that seek to 
describe quantitatively the indirect effects of fishing on marine 
mammals or to develop approaches for mitigating those effects. 
Proposals may include, but are not limited to, the following 
approaches:
     Comparative experiments between fished and unfished areas 
to assess the potential impact of fisheries on marine mammals;
     Development and performance testing of conceptual fishery 
management approaches that explicitly consider indirect effects of 
fishing on marine mammals;
     Ecosystem dynamics modeling studies that investigate the 
functional relationships between marine mammal predators, their prey, 
and fisheries in appropriate spatial/temporal context (i.e., including 
consideration of spatial and temporal overlap between predators, prey, 
and fisheries);
     Field validation of such modeling studies.
    Methodological approaches and data requirements for such projects 
are described on pages 41-44 of Chapter 3, ``Indirect Fisheries 
Interactions,'' in J.E. Reynolds III et al. ``Marine Mammal Research: 
Conservation Beyond Crisis'' (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 
Baltimore, MD). Proposers may find this reference helpful in organizing 
their proposed efforts, although adherence to the referenced guidance 
is not required. Proposals will be considered both for small stocks and 
fisheries as well as for larger marine mammal populations or large-
scale fisheries.
    Proposals on other aspects of indirect fishery effects on marine 
mammals will be considered, but priority will be given to proposals 
that address critical gaps in current understanding of indirect fishery 
effects. In all cases, proposals should indicate a thorough knowledge 
of relevant topics and should describe explicitly how the proposed work 
will build upon, but not duplicate, previous efforts. The Commission 
will consider proposals for workshops or reviews of historical data as 
well as original research projects.
    Selection criteria: Proposals will be evaluated using the normal 
consultative process of the Marine Mammal Commission with its Committee 
of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mammals and the Commission staff. The 
following factors will be considered.
     Relevance to the focused research topic as described in 
this statement and to the overall mission of the Marine Mammal 
Commission as described on the Commission's Web site (http://www.mmc.gov/aboutmmc/) (40 points).
     Scientific and conservation merit of the proposed approach 
and anticipated end products (30 points).
     Qualifications of the proposal team (15 points).
     Realism of the proposed budget (15 points).
    Commission staff will compile reviewer recommendations and forward 
the ranked recommendations to the Commissioners for final review. The 
Commissioners will make the final funding determination based on their 
assessment of the combination of projects that will most effectively 
promote the conservation and management goals of the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act within the funds allocated for this funding opportunity.

Proposal Format

    The proposal body must not exceed eight pages (single-sided, or 
four pages double-sided) using 12 point font, exclusive of cover page, 
budget page(s), curriculum vitae, and supporting materials.
     Cover Page: The cover page shall include the following 
information, in any format:
    [cir] Title: The full title of the proposal. A shorter, running 
title is optional.
    [cir] Research Topic: List the RFP topic to which the proposal is 
addressed (1) Critically Endangered Species or (2) Indirect Effects of 
Fisheries. Listing of topic subheadings (items indicated by bullets 
under each topic) is optional.

[[Page 32053]]

    [cir] Keywords (optional): a list of three to six keywords, 
indicating species, regions, research methods, or disciplinary areas of 
effort.
    [cir] Principal Investigator: Please list only one (corresponding) 
principal investigator even if your proposal team consists of two or 
more co-equal investigators and institutions (also see instructions for 
Curricula Vitae, below).
    [cir] PI Contact Information: Address, phone, and e-mail for the 
principal investigator.
    [cir] Financial Point of Contact: The individual (with or without 
institutional affiliation, as appropriate) who will be responsible for 
contractual and fiscal matters. This may or may not be the same 
individual and institution listed as principal investigator.
    [cir] Financial Point of Contact Information: address, phone, and 
e-mail for the financial point of contact.
     Body of Proposal
    [cir] Abstract (optional): Provide an abstract of the proposal 
summarizing the problem or question to be addressed, the methods to be 
used to address the problem or question, possible outcomes of the work, 
and the utility of the research for advancing science and management 
related to marine mammals. Please limit the abstract to approximately 
200 words.
    [cir] Introduction, Background, or Problem Statement: Provide a 
review of past related effort by the research team or others. Indicate 
knowledge gaps, shortfalls of prior efforts, or challenges to further 
progress and describe how the proposed effort will address these 
issues.
    [cir] Goals and Objectives: Provide statements of both the general 
or broad goal of the proposed research and the specific objectives that 
will be addressed within the scope of this proposal to make progress 
toward the broader, general goal.
    [cir] Methods: Provide a detailed description of the methods of the 
investigation so that the reviewer can understand how you will address 
each of the specific objectives. If you are not conducting original 
research but are developing a workshop, review panel or other activity, 
describe the nature of the activity, the planned agenda or working 
format, likely attendees/participants, and
    [cir] Tentative dates and location of the planned activity.
    [cir] Anticipated Outcomes: Describe the short-term outcomes and 
those anticipated to occur within the scope of effort and time span of 
the proposed project (e.g., completion of a workshop report, one or 
more peer-reviewed journal articles, an equipment prototype, and 
report).
    [cir] Research and Management Utility (Long-Term Outcome): Describe 
the anticipated long-term utility of the project and its implications 
for future research, management, or conservation activities.
     Budget and Time Line: Although there is no specified 
format for the budget, this section should provide sufficient detail to 
inform the reviewer of expenses or costs by general category (salary, 
equipment, supplies, travel, publication, overhead, miscellaneous) and 
by sub-tasks within the proposed effort, as appropriate. Include 
information on other sources of funding for the project, if applicable. 
For multi-year or multi-stage projects, include a time table for 
completion of each phase as a means of gauging progress toward 
completion of the full proposed effort.
     Curricula Vitae, Research Team Qualifications: Provide a 
curriculum vitae or short biography of no more than two pages for all 
key members of the proposal team (those individuals whose unique 
background and experience are essential to completion of the project), 
including their experience or expertise related to the subject 
proposal. Although there can only be one principal investigator (see 
Title Page guidance), multiple co-investigators can be designated in 
this portion of the proposal, if desired.
     Supporting Materials: Supporting materials such as recent 
publications, short descriptions of relevant work in progress or 
recently completed, organization charts or time lines will be accepted, 
but should be limited to information absolutely essential to 
understanding the significance, approach and context of the proposed 
work. The presence or absence of supporting materials will not be a 
consideration in proposal evaluations. It is highly recommended that 
supporting materials be limited to fewer than 20 to 30 pages or 5 Mb; 
the more material provided, the less likely it is to be used by the 
reviewers in developing their evaluations.
    Submission process: Proposals should be submitted electronically in 
MSWord, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF format to Ms. Mina Innes, Research 
Program Officer, at the Marine Mammal Commission, e-mail address 
[email protected].

Timing of Submission and Review Process

    15 July 2008; 5 p.m. EDT Full proposals due to the Marine Mammal 
Commission.
    11 August 2008; 5 p.m. EDT Successful applicants informed of final 
Decisions.
    Proposals received after the due date and time listed above will 
not, under any circumstances, be forwarded for review.
    Inquiries: Inquiries should be directed to Dr. Robert Gisiner, 
Scientific Program Director, by mail (4340 East-West Highway, Room 700, 
Bethesda, MD 20814), phone (301-504-0087) or e-mail 
([email protected]). Please also copy e-mail inquiries to Ms. Mina 
Innes ([email protected]).

    Dated: May 29, 2008.
Timothy J. Ragen,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. E8-12459 Filed 6-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-31-M