Section 1. Administrative
| Proposal title | Factors limiting the shrubsteppe raptor community in the Columbia Plateau Province of eastern Washington |
| Proposal ID | 25030 |
| Organization | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) |
| Proposal contact person or principal investigator |
| Name | James W. Watson |
| Mailing address | 7759 Wilderness Drive Concrete, Washington 98237 |
| Phone / email | 3608538031 / watson@ncia.com |
| Manager authorizing this project | D. John Pierce, Chief Wildlife Scientist |
| Review cycle | Columbia Plateau |
| Province / Subbasin | Columbia Plateau / Crab Creek |
| Short description | Assess habitat, prey, and contaminants of ferruginous hawks and golden eagles in native habitats and provide recommendations on how to improve their rates of nest occupancy in the Columbia Basin. |
| Target species | Ferruginous hawk, golden eagle |
Project location
| Latitude | Longitude | Description |
|---|
|
|
Field work primarily in Crab Creek, Mainstem Columbia, and Yakima Subbasins |
| 47.39 |
-118.95 |
Crab subbasin |
Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives (RPAs)
Relevant RPAs based on NMFS/BPA review:
| Reviewing agency | Action # | BiOp Agency | Description |
|---|
Section 2. Past accomplishments
Section 3. Relationships to other projects
| Project ID | Title | Description |
|---|
| 0 |
Ferruginous Hawk Winter Ranges and Migration (ongoing cooperative project between WDFW/USFWS/Woodland Park Zoo) |
data sharing |
| 0 |
Effects of Agriculture Conversion and Associated Habitat Fragmentation on Shrubsteppe-associated Wildlife and the Condition of Extant Shrubsteppe in the Columbia Plateau Province (BPA proposal submitted by M. Vander Haegen, S. West, and S. Snyder) |
Detailed vegetation mapping produced by this project will be used in analysis of habitat/raptor productivity relationships, as will habitat-specific occurrence of small mammals that will be used in analysis of raptor diets/habitat availability. |
| 0 |
A Cooperative Approach to Evaluating Avian and Mammalian Responses to Shrubsteppe Restoration in the Crab Creek Subbasin (BPA proposal submitted by M. Schroeder and J. Skalski) |
Habitat-specific occurrence of small mammals in restored shrubsteppe habitats determined in this study will be used in analysis of raptor diets/habitat availability. |
Section 4. Budget for Planning and Design phase
Task-based budget
| Objective | Task | Duration in FYs | Estimated 2002 cost | Subcontractor |
|---|
Outyear objectives-based budget
| Objective | Starting FY | Ending FY | Estimated cost |
|---|
Outyear budgets for Planning and Design phase
Section 5. Budget for Construction and Implementation phase
Task-based budget
| Objective | Task | Duration in FYs | Estimated 2002 cost | Subcontractor |
|---|
| 1.Habitat, prey, and productivity relationships |
1. activity and productivity raptor surveys |
3 |
$11,000 |
|
| 1.Habitat, prey, and productivity relationships |
3. collect prey remains at nests |
3 |
$5,580 |
|
Outyear objectives-based budget
| Objective | Starting FY | Ending FY | Estimated cost |
|---|
| 1. Habitat, prey, and productivity relationships |
2002 |
2004 |
$5,000 |
Outyear budgets for Construction and Implementation phase
| FY 2003 | FY 2004 |
|---|
| $16,580 | $16,580 |
Section 6. Budget for Operations and Maintenance phase
Task-based budget
| Objective | Task | Duration in FYs | Estimated 2002 cost | Subcontractor |
|---|
Outyear objectives-based budget
| Objective | Starting FY | Ending FY | Estimated cost |
|---|
Outyear budgets for Operations and Maintenance phase
Section 7. Budget for Monitoring and Evaluation phase
Task-based budget
| Objective | Task | Duration in FYs | Estimated 2002 cost | Subcontractor |
|---|
| 1.Habitat, prey, and productivity relationships |
3. Raptor trapping/transmitter deployment/video monitoring |
2 |
$0 |
|
| 2. Movements/survival/contaminants |
1. Satellite data retrieval |
4 |
$0 |
|
| 2. Movements/survival/contaminants |
2. Contaminants analysis |
4 |
$0 |
|
Outyear objectives-based budget
| Objective | Starting FY | Ending FY | Estimated cost |
|---|
| 1. Habitat, prey, and productivity relationships |
2003 |
2006 |
$144,750 |
| 2. Movements/survival/contaminants |
2003 |
2006 |
$36,000 |
Outyear budgets for Monitoring and Evaluation phase
| FY 2003 | FY 2004 | FY 2005 | FY 2006 |
|---|
| $77,750 | $45,500 | $45,500 | $12,000 |
Section 8. Estimated budget summary
Itemized budget
| Item | Note | FY 2002 cost |
|---|
| Personnel |
FTE: 0.16 |
$5,000 |
| Fringe |
|
$580 |
| Supplies |
Survey costs, climbing gear |
$10,000 |
| Travel |
Vehicle |
$1,000 |
| $16,580 |
Total estimated budget
| Total FY 2002 cost | $16,580 |
| Amount anticipated from previously committed BPA funds | $0 |
| Total FY 2002 budget request | $16,580 |
| FY 2002 forecast from 2001 | $0 |
| % change from forecast | 0.0% |
Cost sharing
| Organization | Item or service provided | Amount | Cash or in-kind |
|---|
| WDFW |
PI Salary, Travel, Benefits @ $50,000/yr |
$250,000 |
in-kind |
Reviews and recommendations
This information was not provided on the original proposals, but was generated during the review process.
Recommendation:
Fundable only if response is adequate
Date:
Jun 15, 2001
Comment:
Fundable if adequate responses are given to ISRP concerns. The project directly addresses issues related to raptors of concern. The proposal appears sound and includes strong basic, but typical, raptor biology investigations. Proposal does good job of identifying possible causes for raptor decline -winter mortality, lead poisoning, nesting habitat loss, etc. - but did not show how the study could take advantage of some unique situations, settings, timings, or study design to disprove any of these possible factors. It doesn't seem to have strong clear hypotheses to test; instead gathering data, performing some correlations, without compelling evidence of utility for raptor conservation. Strong coordination with two other proposed BPA projects (25039 and 25046) is essential for the success of this proposed work. Reviewers were also curious about the present status of Black-tailed jackrabbits and their cycling, as well as the role of Black-tailed jackrabbits for ferruginous hawk and golden eagles. Are the rabbit populations so low they are not cycling. They were abundant in the 1930s.
This proposal also involves activities in the Mainstem Columbia and Yakima but is grouped here to gain a sense of the entire set of WDFW shrub steppe related proposals.
Recommendation:
Recommended Action
Date:
Aug 3, 2001
Comment:
Recommendation:
Fund
Date:
Aug 10, 2001
Comment:
Fundable. The response was marginal, and the priority (benefits to wildlife affected by the hydrosystem) appears low. The project directly addresses issues related to raptors of concern. The proposal appears sound and includes strong basic, but typical, raptor biology investigations. The proposal does a good job of identifying possible causes for raptor decline -- winter mortality, lead poisoning, nesting habitat loss, etc. However, the proposal is not for a study that could take advantage of some unique situations, settings, timings, to disprove any of these possible factors. Instead, the proposal is designed to gather data and perform correlations, and the results are intended to have direct practical application -- the identification and elimination of mortality and contaminant sources.
Recommendation:
Date:
Oct 1, 2001
Comment:
Statement of Potential Biological Benefit to ESU
N/AComments
Already ESA Req? N/A
Biop? no
Recommendation:
Do Not Fund
Date:
Jan 3, 2002
Comment: