Marine Turtle Conservation Fund 2011

Document Type: Grants Notice
Funding Opportunity Number: MTCF11
Opportunity Category: Discretionary

The purpose of this competitive grants program is to assist in the conservation of marine turtles by supporting the following activities: academic and technical training in the conservation and management of marine turtles; applied research on marine turtle populations and their habitat including surveys and monitoring; conservation education and community outreach for the protection of nesting and near shore foraging habitat; development and execution of marine turtle conservation management plans; habitat conservation and management; information exchange to promote international collaboration; projects to protect nesting females and eggs on important nesting beaches; promotion of networks, partnerships and coalitions that assist in the implementation of conventions, treaties, protocols and other international activities for the conservation and management of marine turtles; protected areas/reserve management of important nesting beaches; strengthening of local capacity to implement conservation programs on nesting beaches; and strengthening law enforcement capacity and forensic skills through training and equipment.

Due to the limited funding available and the desire to support diverse projects, preference will be given to proposals requesting $50,000 or less. Higher amounts may be requested with appropriate justification.

For more information about who can apply and how to make an application, please visit: Marine Turtle

Re-posted here from www.grants.gov

contact: Derek Litchfield, International Affairs Specialist
phone: (703) 358 - 2634
email: MSCF_MarineTurtle@fws.gov

Friends of the Monument join call for Coral Reef Conservation

The Friends of the Mariana Trench Monument are back in the news, this time calling for the US Senate to pass strong conservation-minded coral reef legislation:

September 3, 2010, Saipan, CNMI / Our coral reefs are in trouble. Almost 20% of the world’s coral reefs have been lost and an additional 35% are threatened according to the expert opinion of 372 coral reef scientists and managers from 96 countries who contributed to the latest Status of the Coral Reefs of the World, published in 2008.

In response, a coalition of non-governmental organizations and environmental stakeholders issued a letter today calling for the US Senate to pass strong conservation-minded coral reef legislation. The US House version of the reauthorization of the Coral Reef Conservation Act passed in September of last year. Further movement of the legislation now depends on the US Senate.

Thirty-five organizations signed the Senate corals letter. Groups represented include leading organizations such as the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), International Society for Reef Studies, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Surfrider Foundation, Greenpeace USA, Environmental Defense Fund, World Wildlife Fund, Coastal States Organization, and Friends of the Mariana Trench Monument.

The Coral Reef Conservation Act authorizes grants for coral reef conservation activities. Funds are awarded under six program categories: State and Territory Coral Reef Management; State and Territory Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring; Coral Reef Ecosystem Research; Projects to Improve or Amend Coral Reef Fishery Management Plans; General Coral Reef Conservation; and International Coral Reef Conservation.

The coalition expressed alarm about the declining health of coral reef ecosystems and the threats coral reefs face. Major threats noted include coastal runoff, overfishing and overharvesting, vessel impacts, invasive species, and coral bleaching, disease, and ocean acidification caused by unregulated greenhouse gas pollution.

Measures before Congress, supported by the coalition, include provisions to increase the status of protection for corals in all U.S. waters, increase funding for coral reef conservation efforts, provide support to better understand and manage the trade in coral reef wildlife, and support communitybased approaches to coral reef stewardship, among others.

“Coral reef ecosystems face growing threats from overfishing, habitat destruction, poor water quality and disease”, said Dr. Andrew Baker, a coral reef biologist at the University of Miami and a 2008 Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation. “When you add the devastating impacts of our carbon dioxide emissions, which lead to warmer and more acidic oceans, coral reefs worldwide are left reeling from the impacts. The decline of coral reef ecosystems worldwide underscores the need for Congress to pass coral reef legislation, while also renewing its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas pollution.”

“These valuable and fascinating ecosystems are disappearing within our lifetimes, and their loss will have significant economic, social, and environmental consequences in the United States and worldwide,” said Steven Lutz, Executive Director of Blue Climate Solutions, the group that organized the coalition effort. “The Senate has a fantastic opportunity to protect and conserve coral reefs by passing this important legislation.”

The text of the letter signed by Friends' Chairman Ike Cabrera is as follows:

CORAL REEF COALITION LETTER ON THE PENDING REAUTHORIZATION OF THE UNITED STATES’ CORAL REEF CONSERVATION ACT

The Honorable John D. Rockefeller IV
Chairman
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchinson
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

The Honorable Maria Cantwell
Chairwoman
Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard

The Honorable Olympia J. Snowe
Ranking Member
Senate Subcommittee on Oceans
Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard

September 3, 2010

Dear Chairpersons and Ranking Members:

As organizations and stakeholders involved with coral reef conservation, we are profoundly alarmed about the threats these unique and invaluable ecosystems face in the United States and around the world. We urge your support for a strong conservation-minded reauthorization of the United States Coral Reef Conservation Act.

Coral reefs provide many important services; they protect coastlines from the damaging effects of storms, and are vital to the economies of many coastal communities in the U.S. and around the world, through revenues generated in tourism and fisheries. The diversity of life they support establishes them as treasure troves of discovery for applications in medicine and industry.

However coral reefs are declining at an alarming rate. Almost 20% of the world’s coral reefs have been lost and an additional 35% are threatened according to the expert opinion of 372 coral reef scientists and managers from 96 countries who contributed to the Status of the Coral Reefs of the World: 2008 report. The major threats to coral reefs include coastal runoff, overfishing and overharvesting, vessel impacts, invasive species, and coral bleaching, disease, and ocean acidification caused by unregulated greenhouse gas pollution.

These valuable and fascinating ecosystems are disappearing within our lifetimes, and their loss will have significant social, economic, and environmental consequences in the United States and worldwide.

We commend the positive steps taken in the reauthorization of the Coral Reef Conservation Act by the Senate. We respectfully ask you to adopt the strongest possible language for the conservation and protection of coral reef ecosystems in the reauthorization of this important legislation. Measures we support include provisions to:

• Increase the status of protection for corals in all U.S. waters;
• Support community-based approaches to coral reef stewardship;
• Enable management to effectively address the threat of vessel groundings and seek appropriate liability for such
incidents (with narrowly defined exceptions);
• Support cooperative relationships with universities and other academic bodies, and non-governmental
organizations in promotion of coral reef conservation;
• Enable all relevant federal agencies to effectively participate in coral reef conservation;
• Provide additional accountability for federal funds used for coral reef conservation efforts;
• Provide support to better understand and manage the trade in coral reef wildlife;
• Strengthen U.S. international coral reef conservation efforts; and
• Authorize increased funding to protect these extraordinary habitats.

Please join the effort to conserve our coral reefs by supporting the reauthorization of the Coral Reef
Conservation Act.

Sincerely yours, (signed by the following thirty-five organizations and stakeholders)

Blue Climate Solutions - Steven J. Lutz, Executive Director, Miami, FL

Center for Biological Diversity - Andrea A. Treece, Senior Attorney, Oceans Program, San Francisco, CA

Coastal States Organization - Kristen Fletcher, Executive Director, Washington, DC

Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) - Rick MacPherson, Director, Conservation Programs, San Francisco, CA

EarthEcho International - Philippe Cousteau, CEO and co-founder, Washington, DC

Environmental Defense Fund - Cara Cooper, Coral Specialist, Saint Petersburg, FL

Fauna & Flora International - Katie Frohardt, Executive Director, Washington, DC

Friends of the Mariana Trench Monument - Ignacio V. Cabrera, Chairman, Saipan, CNMI

Greenpeace USA - Phil Kline, Senior Ocean Campaigner, Washington, DC

International Society for Reef Studies (ICRS) - Richard Aronson

Natural Resources Defense Council - Lisa Suatoni, Senior Scientist, Oceans Program, New York, NY

NAUI Worldwide - Jed Livingstone, Vice President, Riverview, FL

Nova Southeastern University National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI) - Richard E Dodge, Dean, Wendy Wood-Derrer, Assistant Director of Development, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Ocean Conservation Research - Michael Stocker, Director, Lagunitas

Ocean Defenders Alliance - Kurt Lieber, Founder and President, Scott Sheckman, Acting Executive Director, Huntington Beach, CA

Oceanic Defense - "Educate. Activate" - Samantha Whitcraft, Director, Conservation Biology, Miami, FL

Palm Beach County Reef Rescue - Ed Tichenor, Director, Boynton Beach, FL

Project AWARE Foundation - Jenny Miller Garmendia Director, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Reef Check Foundation - Gregor Hodgson, Ph.D., Executive Director, Reef Check Foundation, Pacific Palisades, CA

Sailors for the Sea - Dan Pingaro, CEO, Newport, RI

Save Our Seas - Capt. Paul Clark, President, Hanalei, HI

Sea Turtle Conservancy (formerly the Caribbean Conservation Corporation) - David Godfrey, Executive Director, Gainesville, FL

SeaWeb - Dawn M. Martin, President, Silver Spring, MD

Sierra Club - Bruce Hamilton, Conservation Director, San Francisco, CA

South Carolina Coastal Conservation League - Dana Beach, Charleston, SC

Surfrider Foundation - Chad Nelsen, Environmental Director, San Clemente, CA

The Humane Society of the United States / Humane Society International - Teresa M. Telecky, Ph.D., Director of Wildlife, Washington, DC

The Interfaith Council for the Protection of Animals and Nature - Lewis Regenstein, President, Atlanta, GA

The Ocean Foundation - Mark J. Spalding, Ph.D., President, Washington, DC

The Ocean Project - Bill Mott, Director, Providence, RI

The Snorkel Bob Foundation - Robert Wintner, Executive Director, Kihei, HI

Urban Environment League - Fran Bohnsack, President, Miami, FL

Urban Paradise Guild - Sam Van Leer, Executive Director & Founder, North Miami, FL

WIDECAST (Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network) - Karen Eckert, Ph.D., Executive Director, Beaufort, NC

World Wildlife Fund - Roberta Elias, Senior Program Officer, Marine and Fisheries Policy, Washington, DC

Contributor Scubatripp - My Pledge

As a contributor to this blog I feel it important to introduce myself to the readers and outline why I support the monument concept as well as what I plan to do to help ensure that its ultimately good for the CNMI.

Who I am (scubatripp).
My name is Mike Tripp; I’m a 42-year-old, multi-professional, small business owner and health care employee living on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. I’m university educated with a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver Canada. I’m also a professional PADI SCUBA Instructor with over 18 years experience working in 8 different countries around the world while traveling and diving the waters of over a dozen more. I have been a nature lover and an outdoors person all of my life beginning with family vacations as a young boy that have left fond memories of travel through Canada and the USA including many national, provincial and state parks. I love the Discovery Channel and National Geographic type programming and believe that our environment, including the planet as a whole, is ultimately under threat from destructive human practices and overall population growth.

Why I support the Monument.
In a nutshell I support the monument because it will be good for the local economy especially the tourism sector and all other areas touched by the success of the only remaining core industry in the CNMI. It will also preserve a large area of our world’s ocean from destruction by mankind and therefore allow scientists from around the world (including the CNMI) to study its unique characteristics and species in as controlled a manner as possible for generations to come. The monument will help the CNMI become a 21st century world leader in terms of conservation while pushing the negative criticisms and stereotypes the CNMI carries from its past into the history books. In the end this will effectively clear the way for younger generations and upcoming leaders of a population instrumental in the world’s history to thrive under the US flag and an international spotlight dialed into the positive press. With the help of federal funding and the designation of a monument the people of the CNMI have an opportunity to protect and carry on a strong heritage of traditional conservation values that will maintain renewable resources for the benefit of future generations.

What I intend to do to support the monument.
First and foremost I will continue to do what I have been doing since this idea was first brought forward by the Pew Environmental Group many months ago. I will continue to ask questions and be involved in the discussions with those from all sides. I will continue to do my own research and look for the facts needed to back up or refute the statements made. I will continue to talk to local residents, business people and politicians in the hopes that my ideas and thoughts can help bring about the best possible situation for all those affected by the monument designation itself as well as the mutually agreed upon rules and regulations that will ultimately govern how the waters are used and accessed. In the end, whether the monument becomes reality or not, I will continue to be an advocate for our oceans by continuing to educate those willing to listen as to the wonders of what lies beneath the surface and why protecting and respecting what we have, right here in our back yard, is so important to human survival. I owe this to my kids and to yours.


As the process of discussion with the federal government has just gotten started after many months of advocacy by both the pro and con forces I will also refer the reader to a number of articles I have already written on the subject. These links lead you to my own blog at www.saipanscuba.blogspot.com and to the local news papers the Tribune and the Variety.


April 25th 2008
Act Two - Northern Island Marine Monument

Friday, May 9, 2008
Marine Monument - Why Kill It Now?*

Monday, May 12, 2008
Marine Monument – Personalities & Politics*

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Marine Monument - Lets Talk eh!*

Friday, May 16, 2008
Marine Monument - The Benefits / It's Not All About the Fishing*

Thursday, May 22, 2008
Marine Monument - Get Informed

Friday, May 23, 2008
Marine Monument - Ruth's Round Up

Saturday, May 24, 2008
Bush Eyes Unprecedented Conservation Program - NPR Report

Monday, July 14, 2008
Coral Triangle Meet the Trench Monument

Friday, July 18, 2008
Pew's Role Defined