Wyoming Game & Gish Department Evaluation Assistance for the Protection of Fish and Wildlife Habitat

The summary for the Wyoming Game & Gish Department Evaluation Assistance for the Protection of Fish and Wildlife Habitat grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Bureau of Land Management, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Wyoming Game & Gish Department Evaluation Assistance for the Protection of Fish and Wildlife Habitat: Project Background Information Section 365 directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a federal permit streamlining Pilot Project in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Chief of Engineers (Appendix 1). The Act also states that the Secretary may also request the Governors of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico to participate in the Pilot Project. The Act further specifies that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field offices in Rawlins and Buffalo, Wyoming; Miles City, Montana; Farmington and Carlsbad, New Mexico; Glenwood Springs, Colorado; and Vernal, Utah be part of the Pilot Project. The Act directs the Secretary of the Interior to enter in to a MOU with the USDA, EPA, and the Chief of Engineers, and states the Secretary may request that the Governors of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico be signatories to the MOU. The MOU was to be prepared and signed within 90 days after the Energy Policy Act was enacted on August 8, 2005. The MOU was signed on October 24, 2005. The Act requires that no later than three years after enactment, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit a Report to Congress that outlines the results of the Pilot Project to date and makes a recommendation to the President regarding whether the Pilot Project should be implemented throughout the United States. The Cooperative Agreement to be entered into by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Wyoming State Office and the State of Wyoming, Wyoming Game and Fish Commission (WGFC) for the purpose of funding two Pilot Office oil and gas biologist positions [WGFC Assessment Assistance for the Protection of Fish and Wildlife Habitat]. These positions will be used to monitor and assess the effectiveness of lease stipulations and project-level conditions of approval (COAs) and make recommendations for the improvement of stipulations and COAs for fish and wildlife habitats and populations in northeastern and south-central Wyoming. These positions will be used to protect fish and wildlife habitat and populations being impacted by extensive oil and gas development. Section 365 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project. BLM Wyoming is responsible for two of the seven designated Pilot Offices. These Pilot Offices include the Buffalo and Rawlins Field Offices (BFO/RFO). Project Objectives The objective of these oil and gas biologist positions are to provide full-time on-the-ground coordination with the BLM Buffalo and Rawlins Offices, WGFD, and the oil and gas industry to: 1. Monitor the effectiveness of existing RMP lease stipulations, conditions prescribed by project-level EISs records of decision, environmental assessment decision records, and oil and gas project permit-level conditions of approval (COAs) in accomplishing their intended results for fish and wildlife habitats; and 2. Based upon a summary of the effectiveness results, provide adaptive management recommendations for consideration and subsequent implementation by BLM to improve the usefulness and benefit of these stipulations and conditions to protect fish and wildlife and their habitats. To successfully meet the two objectives described above, the oil and gas biologist positions are intended to: 1. Determine and disclose the usefulness and effectiveness of BLM lease stipulations and permit-level COA performance requirements; 2. Participate within Pilot Office teams recognized as fully functional and completely integrated entities within BLM Wyomings Section 365 Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Office organizations. 3. Through ongoing work to determine the effectiveness of stipulations and COAs, the positions shall identify data and information gaps that prevent that determination, recommend methods useful in providing adequate data, and provide that information to others in reviewing and approving proposed NEPA actions. 4. These positions do not participate in permitting, gathering baseline data, or reviewing NEPA actions. Their efforts also do not perform long-term research efforts on stipulation or COA effectiveness, but rather continuously assess the effectiveness of BLM lease stipulations and permit COAs, and make adaptive management recommendations to the BLM Pilot Offices for necessary changes in current stipulation and conditions to improve their usefulness and benefits to protect fish and wildlife and their habitats. This is very much a continuous assessment and adaptive management BLM and WGFD effort. Benefits The activities to be undertaken through this agreement are in furtherance of the BLM and WGFDs mission by the providing the following benefits: For the purposes of the Section 365 Pilot: 1. Establishment of interagency coordination mechanisms that can adapt to changing demands or circumstances; 2. Creation of better staff relationships among the BLM and WQFD to improve the performance of the Pilot Offices in monitoring permit implementation; 3. Identification of new or improved interagency practices that should be used in other locations; 4. Test process improvement concepts in the Pilot Offices; For BLM Wyoming: 1. The Department of Interior will benefit from the data and information developed by these positions to help the agency meet its energy mineral and fish and wildlife habitat management planning and land use management objectives and statutory obligations. Specifically, BLM will obtain insights on necessary changes in current stipulation and conditions to improve their usefulness and benefits to protect fish and wildlife and their habitats. This is very much a continuous assessment and adaptive management BLM and WGFD effort. For the WGFD: 1. The WGFC will benefit from providing input and participating within the assessment of the effectiveness of EIS, EA and project permitting NEPA fish and wildlife protection requirements, and by making adaptive management recommendations to the BLM Pilot Offices for necessary changes in current stipulation and conditions of approval to improve their usefulness and benefits to protect fish and wildlife and their habitats. For the Public: 1. The public would benefit from the improved protection of Wyomings fish and wildlife populations and habitat. Statement of Joint Objectives/Project Management Plan The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission agree to: 1. Facilitate BLM Pilot Office management input during the selection of the best-qualified applicants based on the States merit system for hiring potential candidates. The positions to be filled are that of a trained fish and wildlife habitat biologist with expertise in fish and wildlife and habitat mitigation and management; an individual with a college degree in one of the forms of fish and wildlife management sciences. 2. Collaborate with the BLM Pilot Office management to develop the day-to-day operational parameters for these positions. 3. Provide a vehicle and related operator costs of that vehicle, along with other necessary field, office, and computer equipment, for the position described herein. 4. Provide overall supervision and personnel oversight of the oil and gas biologist and work performed by the position in accordance with the aforementioned operational parameters. 5. The routine operational parameters of the work include: a. Review of existing permit conditions for oil/gas development projects and determining their mitigation, monitoring, and reclamation effectiveness. b. Provide input concerning the appropriateness of methodologies used to accomplish permit conditions. c. Field monitoring (spot checks) of effectiveness of permit conditions regarding impact controls and/or mitigation and reclamation, and coordinate with others to ensure that adequate monitoring occurs. d. Identification of any special data needs for filling data gaps concerning impacts to fish and wildlife habitat from oil and gas development. e. Provide adaptive management recommendations based on the results of monitoring, to identify any necessary changes in current stipulations and conditions to improve their usefulness and benefits for wildlife and their habitats, and periodic presentations and other communication for BLM, WGFC, or other groups requesting information developed through these positions. f. Oversee the preparation of all progress and final work reports and other work related documents. The BLM agrees to: 1. Be members of the review and selection committee and make recommendations for personnel selection for the positions. 2. Collaborate with the WDFC management to develop the day-to-day operational parameters for these positions. 3. Provide office space in the Buffalo and Rawlins BLM Pilot Offices, support services, and office supplies (except computer equipment) for the position. 4. Coordinate with the WGFC on the work performed by these positions and assist WGFC in direction of the work performed in accordance with the aforementioned operational parameters. 5. Provide advance payments or reimbursements to the WGFC in accordance with VI of this agreement and applicable OMB and Treasury Circulars. 6. Review progress and final reports and other documents resulting from the work effort for their adequacy. 7. Provide final payments or reimbursements to the WGFC in accordance with VI of this agreement and applicable OMB and Treasury Circulars. The WGFC and BLM mutually agree to: 1. Cooperatively evaluate at a field office level the progress of this work effort as it proceeds on a semi-annual basis. A review will also take place between the BLM State Director and the WGFD State Director on an annual basis. 2. Review and develop management recommendations from the results of this work effort as presented in the progress and final reports. Deliverables and Period of Performance 1. WGFC shall provide the BLM Pilot Office management with an annual report of the work performed by the position. 2. WGFC shall submit one copy of a draft annual performance report to the AR by September 30th each year for work performance through the end of the preceding state fiscal year. The draft performance report must be prepared in accordance with 43 CFR, Subpart F, Section 12.951 and address items such as a comparison of actual accomplishments with established goals, reasons why goals may not have been met, and material deviations of expenditures from budget. The AR will review the draft performance report by October 21st each year and return the report with any comments to the WGFC. WGFC shall then incorporate comments by November 15th each year to the AR, constituting a final annual performance report.