- Funding Opportunity: Research Program in Water Quality Issues (Water Environment Research Foundation)

The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) is seeking pre-proposals of not more than five pages in length for its “Unsolicited Research Program.” Proposers are invited to submit pre-proposals that advance science and technology addressing water quality issues as they impact water resources, the atmosphere, the lands, and quality of life. WERF particularly seeks groundbreaking research that will advance knowledge and understanding of water quality. WERF will also consider proposals that would take existing research to the next level of completion, resulting in practical solutions to water quality problems. Proposals in all relevant wastewater and water quality areas are welcome. Deadline: July 29, 2008. http://www.werf.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Funding/OpenRFPs/default.htm

- Funding Opportunity: Marine Fisheries Initiative (NOAA)

MARFIN is a competitive Federal assistance program that funds projects  seeking to optimize research and development benefits from U.S. marine fishery resources through cooperative efforts involving the best research and management talents to accomplish priority activities. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southeast Region, is seeking proposals under the Marine Fisheries Initiative Program (MARFIN), for research and development projects that optimize the use of fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and off the South Atlantic states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida involving the U.S. fishing industry (recreational and commercial), including fishery biology, resource assessment, socioeconomic assessment, management and conservation, selected harvesting methods, and fish handling and processing. Projects should focus on the greatest probability of recovering, maintaining, improving, or developing fisheries; improving the understanding of factors affecting recruitment success; and/or generating increased values and recreational opportunities for fisheries. Deadline: August 11, 2008. http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/grants/marfin.htm

- Funding Opportunity: Opportunities for Promoting Understanding through Synthesis, NSF

Three clusters within the Division of Environmental Biology (the Ecological Biology, Ecosystem Science, and the Population and Evolutionary Processes clusters) encourage the submission of proposals aimed at synthesizing a body of related research projects conducted by a single individual or group of investigators over an extended period. OPUS proposals will often be appropriately submitted in mid-to-late career, but will also be appropriate early enough in a career to produce unique, integrated insight useful both to the scientific community and to the development of the investigator's future work. In cases where multiple scientists have worked collaboratively, an OPUS award will provide support for collaboration on a synthesis. OPUS awards will facilitate critical synthesis, and do so in a way that will acknowledge the prestige of this important component of scientific scholarship. Deadline: July 16, 2008 (and again Jan 9th, 2009). http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08559/nsf08559.htm?govDel=USNSF_25

- Funding Opportunity: Southeast Region Flex Funds (for species conservation)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, solicits research proposals that support conservation of ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend, or restoration actions or species conservation programs that help avert federal listing of species, lead to delisting of a species, help prevent extinction or aid in the recovery of a species. Activities supported by this funding include but are not limited to: status surveys and reports relating to priority species which are not yet listed or proposed for listing; work necessary to update previous status surveys and reports; genetic and other taxonomic work necessary to differentiate priority; development of programmatic or individual landowner Candidate Conservation Agreements; and development of GIS and other databases to track locality and status information. Deadline: July 17, 2008.
http://www.fws.gov/southeast/grants/EndangeredSpeciesConservationGrants.pdf

- Call for Abstracts: 2008 Mississippi-Alabama Bays and Bayous Symposium

Scientists, resource managers, educators and members of community action groups that focus on environmental stewardship are invited to share information about their programs, education efforts or research at the The Bays and Bayous Symposium (set for Oct. 28-29 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi.)  People interested in presenting research, field experience or other information at the symposium should submit abstracts describing the content of their presentations. Abstracts for oral or poster presentations must be received by Aug. 1. 
     The symposium will provide a forum for information exchange about solutions to coastal issues. These solutions should focus on minimizing human impact on the coastal environment and maximizing stewardship. Dozens of presenters will share their expertise in education, community action and research about issues important to the north central Gulf of Mexico. Session topics at the symposium will include coastal community action and stewardship; extension, outreach and education; habitat management and restoration; living estuarine resources; natural hazards resiliency and the ocean’s role in climate; and water resources: supply and quality.
     For more information about the Symposium (including abstract guidelines), please visit: http://masgc.org/baysandbayous

If you have an item of interest to the group, please submit it to us at gcrc@uga.edu

You may also be interested in some of the announcements on the homepage of our partner organization, the Georgia Coastal Research Council.