The Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCP LCC), one of 22 LCCs across North America, was established to advance the efforts of federal, state, tribal and non-government entities to conserve the natural and cultural resources of the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico and the Oaks and Prairies, Edwards Plateau, and Tamaulipan Brushlands regions of Texas, Oklahoma, and northern Mexico. The GCP LCC initiated six science projects in 2011 and 2012 to provide critical information needed by agencies to protect fish, wildlife, and habitats across this region. With support from the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI), the GCP LCC is now soliciting statements of interest for four additional projects to further enhance conservation.

Building on the foundation of current efforts, the GCP LCC is requesting Statements of Interest (SOI) for a decision support tool for prairie conservation, an analysis of connectivity between large rivers and reservoirs, a geospatial vulnerability analysis tool for barrier islands in the Gulf of Mexico, and an evaluation of model results for evaluating impacts of sea level rise on coastal marshes. Complete information on the projects and the process for submitting SOI's to WMI is available online. The deadline for submission is June 3, 2013.

The GCP LCC stretches from the barrier islands, lagoons and coastal marshes along the Gulf, west from the mouth of the Mississippi River, through the plains of eastern Texas, Oklahoma and Mexico, and up to the Edwards Plateau. Habitats range from the thorn-shrub thickets of the lower Rio Grande, to oak-savannah prairie, grasslands and offshore sea grass beds. Major drainages include the Guadalupe, Brazos, Trinity, Arkansas, and Red rivers.

GCP LCC Coordinator Bill Bartush explains some of the complex challenges this region faces, "The GCP LCC is home to some of the largest and fastest growing urban areas in North America ? Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The human population is placing increasing demands on a freshwater supply already limited by drought and climate change. Energy development is expanding its footprint on the landscape and native grasslands have been heavily impacted by agriculture. Sea level is rising, threatening the integrity of barrier islands and changing the salinity of coastal marsh ecosystems. Understanding and adapting to these changes is vital to the future of the region."

Previously funded projects in the GCP LCC include efforts to improve mapping of habitat types and land cover, understanding hydrology and in-stream flow management, designing coastal conservation in the face of sea level rise, evaluating re-vegetation of riparian corridors in the lower Rio Grande valley, providing decision support tools for conserving Mottled duck habitat, and developing ways to reduce land-use conflicts to ensure the long-term survival of priority grassland-shrubland species including the endangered Black-capped Vireo.

"The GCP LCC is selecting focal species, and GIS tools are needed to provide partners the ability to make more informed decisions regarding strategic grassland habitat conservation that meets species' needs. The decision support tool for prairie grasslands will build on the improved land cover mapping to help partners prioritize their conservation on the ground," explained GCP LCC Science Coordinator, Cynthia Edwards.

"With the improved understanding of hydrology and in-stream flow coming from one of our ongoing projects, we are moving to gather additional information on fish community structure in the large river-reservoir interface," Edwards continued. "Water storage is vital to the economy in this region, but it can have significant impact on fish habitats, distribution and productivity.

"The other two new projects will contribute to the Gulf Coast Vulnerability Assessment (GCVA). The geospatial vulnerability assessment tool will create a database, with associated metadata, that can be used to identify priority variables for vulnerability and critical data gaps for barrier islands all along the western Gulf coast. The final project will synthesize, assess and map results of multiple models for the impact of sea level rise to advance the GCVA."

As part of the support it provides to a number of LCCs, WMI is administering the request for SOI's. Once investigators are identified for each project, WMI will work with GCP LCC staff and the investigator to develop and manage a grant agreement to ensure the LCC's needs are met. (cs)