RINHS and The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island announce a request for proposals for the 2008 John Wald Science Grants. These small grants are made to support research addressing RINHS and TNC priorities. We anticipate funding three to five projects for between $2,000 and $4,000 per project on or before May 1, 2008. Applications following the format described below must reach the Rhode Island Natural History Survey office by 5 P.M., Monday, 25 February 2008.

Download the full program description as a PDF : wald_rfp_2008_FINAL

For information on funded Wald grants of the past visit RINHS’s Wald web page.

Overview:
This grant program is funded by an endowment created in memory of the late John Wald, an editor, writer, photographer, and outdoorsman. The objective of this program is to provide small grants in aid of research for projects addressing priorities of The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Natural History Survey. The results of research funded by this program will advance knowledge of Rhode Island’s biota and be used to identify critical lands for conservation in Rhode Island and to provide information for the stewardship of existing protected lands.

Priorities:
A John Wald Science Grant may be awarded to any highly ranked project meeting the needs of RINHS and TNC-RI for scientific information that benefits the understanding or stewardship of biological diversity in RI. Nonetheless, this year, priority will be given to proposals addressing Rhode Island’s marine and coastal species and ecosystems—the status and trends of species or community diversity, or ecological health as well as methodological research directed at improving assessments of these factors. Projects could, for example, apply ecosystem-based management to Narragansett Bay (or other RI marine areas) and marine resources important to Rhode Island, tie habitat factors to fisheries management, develop information on habitat or diversity trends through historical methodologies, or integrate marine, freshwater, or terrestrial ecosystems. Projects could investigate bio-indictors for monitoring general environmental conditions, restoration outcomes, or directional changes of natural or anthropogenic origin. Researchers are encouraged to demonstrate creative use of existing but previously under-utilized data sources, in addition to generating new field data. We recommend contacting RINHS or TNC prior to submitting your proposal if you have any questions on the relevancy of the project or on the type of specific outcomes that would be most applicable to this grant opportunity.

Contact information:
Kira Stillwell, Program Administrator
RI Natural History Survey (RINHS)
Tel: (401) 874-5800
programadmin@rinhs.org

Dr. Caroly Shumway, Dir. of Conservation Science
The Nature Conservancy
(401) 331-7110X 13
cshumway@tnc.org

Interested applicants should be sure to consult the full program description as a PDF wald_rfp_2008_FINAL or on RINHS’s Wald web page.

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