The purpose of this program is to support the development of science and tools needed to address landscape-scale conservation challenges affecting water, fish and wildlife, cultural resources, and land managers. Support is available for applied science projects that result in tools or information useful in the management of natural and cultural resources. Projects may be related to drought resiliency, watershed management, and availability of water resources data.
Applicants may propose projects that include one or a combination of the following task areas:
- Applied research to inform resource decision making related to drought resiliency: Projects should identify how drought may impact natural and cultural resources and support decision making that leads to increased resilience. Supported project may include:Assessing the impacts of specific drought characteristics to natural and/or cultural resources to inform the selection of response and mitigation actions
- Working with tribes to identify and quantify drought impacts
- Developing thresholds for aquatic and riparian ecosystems and key species and/or activities, in relation to the timing and availability of flows, water quality, and temperature to inform the selection of management actions
- Developing water management practices to address water supply needs, meet thresholds or triggers for species, and address water quality issues during times of drought
- Synthesize information and develop related decision-support tools to inform watershed management decisions: Supported projects must synthesize and assess information related to adaptive management strategies, as well as develop at least one related decision-support tool to help resource managers identify adaptation strategies and select conservation practices to increase watershed resilience.
- Develop tools and information to improve use of water resources data to inform management decisions: Projects may include the development of a water resources “dashboard” that provides a one-stop location for comprehensive resource management information or the development or expansion of a landscape conservation cooperative (LCC) environmental database.
- Project results must be disseminated, transferred, and communicated directly with partners within the Desert and Southern Rockies LCCs.
Projects must focus on the geographic areas within the boundaries of the Desert or Southern Rockies LCCs. The Desert LCC contains portions of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as a portion of Northern Mexico. The Southern Rockies LCC includes portions of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.