Dinkum Sands Update
(2/10/99)From notes taken at a meeting for public input about priorities for the Dinkum Sands money. This information has not been verified, and this site is not responsible for its accuracy.
Funds totalling 6.6 million dollars from the Dinkum Sands action are being funnelled by USGS to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) for administration. There is a steering committee comprised of representatives from the UAF, NMFS, US Fish & Wildlife, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and chaired by USGS. All funding must be approved by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
The timeline is:
02/15/99 Public and agency comments and priority input deadline
03/01/99 Release solicitation for proposals
04/15/99 Proposals due
06/01/99 Funding decisions made
The focus is the Bering Sea and area tied to it, although
other North Pacific areas will be considered. It is hoped to begin
acquiring data this summer. Some of this money should go towards
instrumentation. Some of it will probably be spent by USGS on vessel
time.
The selection procedure will be;
1) Send the proposal out for peer review for the science only
2) The "high-quality" science proposals will be evaluated by
the UAF, Fish & Game, and Department of Commerce for "relevancy;"
3) The steering committee, it was thought, will make the
selections, subject
to Department of Commerce veto.
Proposed evaluation criteria are:
- Applicability of proposals to questions identified in the Research Themes and Approaches section in the Draft Bering Sea Ecosystem Research Plan.
- Relevancy to high priority scientific questions related to knowledge about the Bering Sea essential to state and federal management needs.
- Stakeholder needs as identified by the University.
- Collaborations and use of traditional knowledge will probably carry weight.
Priorities that have been suggested include:
Contaminant study of subsistence foods
Fish disease study
Marine mammals
Salmon runs
Ecosystem response to changing conditions
Synoptic continental shelf monitoring