Program Support for the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit and the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit
Project ID: P12AC15056
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Partner Institution: University of Washington
Fiscal Year: 2012
Initial Funding: $36,323
Total Funding: $149,611
Project Type: Technical Assistance
Project Disciplines: Interdisciplinary
National Park: Pacific West Region
Principal Investigator: Bradley, Gordon
Agreement Technical Representative: Lauver, Chris
Abstract: The University of Washington (UW) and the National Park Service (NPS) have been collaborating since 2001 to host and administer the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (PNW CESU) program. The PNW CESU is part of the national CESU network, which is a consortium of federal agencies, universities, and other partners with a mission to work together on research, techical assistance, and education projects to enhance understanding and management of natural and cultural resources. Currently, staff at the PNW CESU is also servicing some of the administrative and business needs for the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (GB CESU), also a member of the national CESU network. This project is a continuing collaboration between UW and NPS to support administrative functions of the PNW CESU and GB CESU including public outreach and development of financial assistance agreements for a wide variety of technical, research, and educational projects relevant to the mission of the CESU network. The project objectives are to provide program support to the PNW CESU, including funding for the Program Coordinator (PC). The duties of the PC include acting as the primary point of contact for the 28 PNW CESU members, providing assistance to the NPS Research Coordinator (RC) in reviewing and processing Task Agreements and modifications, overseeing the maintenance of the unit’s project tracking database and website, managing the production of newsletters, and providing logistical support in holding periodic partner meetings. The PC and NPS RC also work together in reviewing and processing Task Agreements and modifications for the GB CESU, and maintaining a GB CESU project tracking database. NPS will be substantially involved in collaborating with UW to review and process Task Agreements, produce summary reports, provide advice on maintaining databases and on web site maintenance, and by coordinating on partner meetings and newsletters for the PNW CESU. Public benefits include cooperative research concerning the resources of the National Park System and other federal agencies, maintenance of a public web site that contains current and searchable information on all research, technical assistance, and education projects funded by NPS and other federal agencies through the PNW CESU, publicly-available newsletters (posted on the web site), and annual reports to Congress for both the PNW and GB CESUs.