Description
Joint ventures, the partnerships that were originally formed to implement the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, are regional, self-directed organizations involving Federal, State, and local governments, corporations, and a wide range of non-governmental conservation groups that have proven to be a successful means of developing cooperative conservation efforts to protect waterfowl and other bird habitats. Joint ventures address multiple local, regional, and continental goals for sustaining migratory bird populations by developing scientifically based landscape conservation plans and habitat projects that benefit migratory birds and other wildlife populations. Using the products of biological planning, joint ventures create landscape conservation designs that can direct individual habitat management actions to where they have the greatest effect. These conservation designs are used in turn to enable and encourage partners to focus their conservation programs and resources on the highest priority areas in the amounts needed to sustain healthy populations of migratory bird species. The joint ventures incorporate biological planning, conservation design, and conservation delivery with monitoring and research in an adaptive resource management framework (i.e., strategic habitat conservation) to create the biological-science and conservation-partnership base which will allow the joint venture partners to pool resources for regional projects in critical habitats for priority bird species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service currently provides base operations support for 21 joint ventures. Authorities for the Service�s Joint Ventures Program are the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 742a-754; Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958, 16 U.S.C.661-667(e); Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C, 2901-2911; and Migratory Bird Treaty Act, (16U.S.C. 709a). For information about joint ventures see: http://www.fws.gov/birds/management/bird-conservation-partnership-and-initiatives/migratory-bird-joint-ventures.php The Rio Grande Joint Venture is among the joint ventures that currently receive funding through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for base operations support. The Southwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is soliciting proposals for the base operations, i.e., support staff and activities/functions, for the Rio Grande Joint Venture partnership. First established in 2008, the Rio Grande Joint Venture partnership is directed by a Management Board that ensures that commitment and support is maintained to achieve the goals and objectives of this migratory bird joint venture. Members of the Rio Grande Joint Venture Management Board include administrators from the federal, state and private sectors; these members (i.e., partners) coordinate their otherwise independent actions in the cooperative pursuit and refinement of the joint venture�s goals and objectives. Support staff for the Rio Grande Joint Venture, approved by the Management Board, includes a Coordinator and Assistant Coordinator. The successful applicant is expected to provide personnel and associated office space/support to coordinate, support and facilitate the activities of the Rio Grande Joint Venture Management Board; coordinate development and funding of joint venture projects; and organize planning, tracking and evaluation, and communications necessary to advance the purposes of the Rio Grande Joint Venture partnership. The Management Board is guided by the Rio Grande Joint Venture Implementation Plan (copy attached), and the matrix of desired characteristics of habitat joint venture partnerships (copy attached).