Fish and Wildlife Service

Description

The purpose of this agreement is to provide the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) with funding to host an international workshop of walrus experts to identify priorities and approaches for monitoring coastal walrus haulouts in the United States and Russia. This information will serve as a basis for organizations to prioritize, organize and plan future research and monitoring efforts at coastal walrus haulouts in Alaska and Chukotka. This project is intended to facilitate information exchange between walrus experts in the United States and Russia on emerging conservation and management issues facing the shared population of Pacific walrus. Large coastal haulouts have developed along the Arctic coastline of Alaska and Chukotka Russia in recent years and there is a recognized need to develop monitoring programs to gather the information necessary to make informed management decisions regarding the conservation of this species and its habitats (Garlich-Miller and Boltunov 2011). Objectives of this agreement include: A. Host and facilitate a workshop of subject matter experts to review existing data sources, discuss data collection methods and approaches, and formulate recommendations concerning monitoring coastal walrus haulouts in Chukotka and Alaska. The workshop will address priorities for haulout monitoring including: monitoring the location and timing of coastal haulout use; monitoring sources and impacts of disturbances at coastal haulouts; monitoring the size and composition of walrus herds at coastal haulouts; and genetic sampling at coastal haulouts to investigate stock structure and abundance (Garlich-Miller and Boltunov 2011). B. Produce a workshop report including: summaries of existing information on coastal haulout use; information gaps and priorities; and recommendations concerning haulout monitoring and research needs. The information generated at the workshop and outlined in the workshop report is expected to serve a basis for the recipient and other organizations to design and implement coastal haulout studies and policy recommendations. Meeting these objectives will allow the WCS, the Service, and other agencies and institutions to focus research and monitoring efforts to evaluate and respond to conservation issues associated with a rapidly changing arctic ecosystem.

Who can apply

• Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education)

Contact

Joel Garlich-Miller <br/>USFWS, Marine Mammals Management <br/>1011 East Tudor Road <br/>Anchorage, Alaska 99503 <br/>(907) 786-3820
Joel_GarlichMiller@fws.gov