Thursday, April 10, 2014

US is involved in ‘Hot War’ with Russia, fought by proxies

US is involved in ‘Hot War’ with Russia, fought by proxies

William Engdahl is an award-winning geopolitical analyst and strategic risk consultant whose internationally best-selling books have been translated into thirteen foreign languages.
Published time: August 11, 2013 17:17
US President Barack Obama (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (AFP Photo/Jewel Samad)
US President Barack Obama (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (AFP Photo/Jewel Samad)
Edward Snowden is a ‘red herring’ and the ‘childish’ cancelation by Obama of a meeting with Putin in September is of little significance as the US president has little to offer Russia, William Engdahl a geopolitical analyst, told RT.
The real issues of missile defense, Syria and Iran will remain unresolved because of a policy pursued by Washington of full spectrum dominance, where the sole super power the US seeks to dictate military, economic and financial terms to the entire world, Engdahl added.
RT: The Russian deputy foreign minister didn’t have a particularly productive discussion with the US Secretary of State in Brussels. Are there any indications that the same talks that are happening today will be any different?
William Enghdal: I doubt it rather seriously. The decision by President Obama to cancel the meeting with Putin before the G20 meeting is really an indication of a lack of strategy on the part of Obama rather than the putting down of Russia. The background to that is the fact that there are not only fundamental differences between the two sides, the United States government in Washington has been trying since the end of the Cold War to dismantle Russia, quite simply, with missile defense, with the plundering of their economy through using the IMF and shock therapy in the ’90s.
Now that Obama is back in the presidency they are finding a far more difficult negotiating partner over questions like Syria, over issues like the missile defense and others. Snowden, I think is a red herring, simply an excuse that is very convenient to use at this point.
RT: You are saying that if a consensus is reached on some of the issues that will be discussed that might off set the brewing tension over Edward Snowden?
WE: No, I am not saying that at all. I don’t think there will be any consensus reached between Russia and Washington on the issue of missile defense, because Washington is determined to encircle Russia with its missile defense, which is an offensive strategy, not a defensive one, by the way. It is a nuclear first strike preparation strategy. That is something that Russia understandably is not exactly overjoyed about. The issue of Syria is nonnegotiable; in terms of what the US is trying to put into power in Syria, similar to what they tried in Egypt and failed, that is a Muslim Brotherhood controlled regime that would allow Qatar to control pipeline flows into Europe and not Iran among other things.
There is not a basis of agreement on these fundamental questions. Snowden is not, as I say, the issue. The issue is this fundamental disagreement and Washington is not prepared to change its agenda and openly and honestly negotiate and resolve these differences, therefore Obama is using this childish maneuver of cancelling the meeting because of Snowden.
RT: OK I want to go back to Syria. About Syria, the peace conference keeps getting postponed. We know that the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wanted it to come up as soon as possible. Is he likely to achieve a breakthrough at this meeting on that subject?
WE: I don’t see it, unless Washington is prepared to literally pullback all of its attack dogs inside Syria that they have run through Turkey using Al-Qaeda and these other groups; that they pertain to not want to allow to get any weapons, but of course they know they’re getting the weapons. Until that is done and all sides’ foreign elements pull out of Syria and allow the Syrians to resolve their own issues by themselves in the elections next year don’t think any peace conference is going to take place. The Syrian ‘opposition’ is a Muslim Brotherhood externally controlled opposition that has no roots inside the Syrian society in terms of a majority.
RT: Obama said that Russia sometimes has this Cold War mentality, but isn’t he also perpetuating and provoking that by not wanting to sit down with Putin and have that one-on-one with him when he comes in September?
WE: That is the laughable irony about this. If I were president Putin I would break open a nice bottle of champagne and celebrate the fact that he doesn’t have to go through this ordeal of another photo opp with Obama who has nothing to offer Russia in any serious way. Obama’s statement on the  Tonight Show about the Russians somehow occasionally reverting to the Cold War mentality as if they were cured alcoholics who would go on a drinking binge from time to time is really not only insulting, it reflects the  mentality in Washington.
This is not serious statesmanship. The point is Washington has an agenda, which I talk about in my book Full Spectrum Dominance to extend NATO across the globe and use that as a global police force for the sole superpower and the Cold War didn’t end in 1991, when the Soviet Union and the Warsaw pact dissolved. Washington for its side has continued the Cold War. In fact you can say it’s a Hot War right now. The battle is being fought by proxies, by surrogates.
The battle over Syria is part of the Hot War between a coalition of countries of which Russia and China are critical factors that are resisting that one country dictates the term in military and other senses - economic and financial - to the entire world. I think that is a very unhealthy, one-sided or lop-sided state of affairs. That’s what the real issue is between Washington and the Putin administration.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

Brzezinski: ‘Global Political Awakening’ Making Syrian War Difficult

Brzezinski: ‘Global Political Awakening’ Making Syrian War Difficult

Mikael Thalen
by
August 29th, 2013
Updated 08/29/2013 at 2:47 pm
During a short interview with Germany’s DW News last Monday, former US National Security Adviser and Trilateral Commission co-founder Zbigniew Brzezinski commented on the growing inefficiency of war due to the increased political knowledge of the public.
Brzezinski-global-awakening-news“Given the contemporary reality of what I have called in my writings ‘Global Political Awakening,’ a policy of force based primarily on Western and in some cases former colonial powers does not seem to me a very promising avenue to an eventual solution to the regional problem,” said Brzezinski, referring to the situation in Syria.
Despite Brzezinski’s noted long-term relationship with Obama which included a top foreign policy adviser position, Brzezinski denied any specific knowledge of his plans regarding Syria, saying that if the administration has a strategy, it’s a “very well-kept secret.”
Obama’s Middle Eastern strategy has been a mere continuation of the policies seen under Bush, exemplified by former four star general and NATO commander Wesley Clark’s admission of the Bush-era Pentagon plan to overthrow several countries including Libya and Syria.
Although Brzezinski at times attempts to appear opposed to military interventionism, President Obama’s actions in Syria, which include the support of admitted Al Qaeda fighters, closely mirrors several of Brzezinski’s previous policies, most notably the opposition to the Soviet Union in 1979, where decisions made by Brzezinski led to the creation of Al Qaeda through the CIA funding of the Afghan Mujaheddin.
Brzezinski’s call of warning to the “global political awakening” has only intensified in recent years. Last year during a speech in Poland, Brzezinski noted that it has become “increasingly difficult to suppress” and control the “persistent and highly motivated populist resistance of politically awakened and historically resentful peoples.” Brzezinski also blamed the accessibility of “radio, television and the Internet” for the “universal awakening of mass political consciousness.”
“[The] major world powers, new and old, also face a novel reality: while the lethality of their military might is greater than ever, their capacity to impose control over the politically awakened masses of the world is at a historic low. To put it bluntly: in earlier times, it was easier to control one million people than to physically kill one million people; today, it is infinitely easier to kill one million people than to control one million people,” said Brzezinski during a 2010 Council on Foreign Relations speech in Montreal.
Despite attempts by both the Republican and Democratic leadership to gain support for a war in Syria, a new Reuters poll revealed that only 9 percent of Americans support military intervention in Syria. If the United States intervenes, it will be the least popular war in American history.
The massive and growing evidence forced out by the alternative media, which points to a US backed chemical attack by Al Qaeda led rebel forces to be blamed on Assad, has only accelerated the inevitable downfall of the corporate press that is now only trusted by 23 percent of the public.

s Syria Becoming a Proxy War Between U.S. and Russia?

s Syria Becoming a Proxy War Between U.S. and Russia?

Syrian opposition source says Washington is not vetting rebel forces, sees Russian 'shift.'

By SHARE
Syria_120620_1.jpg
Russian state-owned firms are supplying regime with weapons. The CIA is reportedly helping vet recipients of foreign-provided arms for opposition forces. But this isn't the Cold War. It's present day Syria.
Reports surfaced Thursday that a small number of CIA officers have been deployed to southern Turkey to assist U.S. allies with the tough task of deciding which Syrian rebel elements should receive weapons in their fight against Syrian President Bashir al-Assad's loyalist military.
Moscow, a longtime Syrian ally, has provided the country with heavy combat weapons for years. It remains unclear whether Russian officials will bend to Western pressure and cease those shipments as the year-old battle that has killed around 14,000 people wages on.
A CIA spokesman declined to directly address allegations that agency personnel are helping to vet rebel factions in order to ensure weapons do not fall into al Qaeda hands. The spokesman did not deny such an effort is underway, but said the original report contained inaccuracies. A Syrian opposition source reached Thursday says "there is no U.S. involvement at this moment."
[Gallery: Fighting in Syria Continues.]
The source says the weapons are being supplied by Washington's regional allies, like Saudi Arabia. What's more, "we are seeing a shift in the Russian position on the ground," the opposition source says.
A rebel "military council is distributing military equipment and making sure that is received by the correct people," the opposition source says. "The council makes sure it gets into right hands.
"When U.S. makes that decision" to assist with vetting rebels "other countries will follow," the opposition source says. "But the U.S. has not made that decision."
Still, many in Washington are increasingly uneasy about growing U.S.-Russian tensions.
Asked by U.S. News & World Report if the Syrian conflict is becoming a proxy fight between Washington and Moscow, California Republican Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon said: "It sure looks like it's headed in that direction."
McKeon, the House Armed Services Committee Chairman, expressed concern about a proxy war, and called for President Barack Obama to explain U.S. goals for Syria.
"We've heard very little from the president about what we should doing there, what our national interests there," McKeon said during a breakfast meeting with reporters in Washington. "I understand the humanitarian part. But my understanding is we don't know who the good guys and bad guys are, who's leading the effort. I don't know who we're arming, if in fact we're arming or helping arm some of the rebels," McKeon said.
Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, a Ranking Member of Senate Armed Services Committee, said Tuesday that Assad appears to be trying to "partition" Syria into three "splintered" regions, and that Moscow could be the major backer of one.
"We might end up with one Alawite state supported by and protected by the Russians, and a multiplicity of [ethnically-based regions] across the country." Assad is from the Alawite sect.
"This is why a plan must be implemented now," McCain said.
John T. Bennett covers national security and foreign policy for U.S. News & World Report. You can contact him at jbennett@usnews.com or follow him on Twitter.
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  • NOAA Announces 2013 Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Availability

    NOAA Announces 2013 Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Availability

    Contact:         Maggie Mooney-Seus                                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                            978-281-9175                                                  August 5, 2013

    NOAA Seeking Proposals for FY 2013 Saltonstall-Kennedy Competition
    NOAA is requesting proposals for the FY2013 Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program. The solicitation will be open for 60 days, and closes September 29, 2013.
    Research priorities for 2013 include: aquaculture, optimum utilization of harvested resources under federal or state management, fisheries socioeconomics, conservation engineering, ecosystem studies and territorial science. Details about these priority areas can be found in the grant solicitation.
    The Saltonstall-Kennedy Act established a fund used by the Secretary of Commerce to provide grants or cooperative agreements for fisheries research and development projects addressing aspects of U.S. fisheries, including, but not limited to harvesting, processing, marketing and associated business infrastructures. The objective of the Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program is to address the needs of the fisheries and fishing communities in optimizing economic benefits within the context of rebuilding and maintaining sustainable fisheries and in dealing with the impacts of conservation and management measures.
    A Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) document is associated with this competition and is available at www.grants.gov (FFO# - NOAA-NMFS-FHQ-2013-2003834) along with the full application for download. The FFO provides important information for grant applicants, including program priorities, eligibility requirements, amount of available funding, instructions for submitting proposals, review criteria and review process, and more. Prior to submitting proposals, the FFO should be read in its entirety.
    For further information on research priorities and details on how to apply, please visit the Grants.GOV weblink at:
    http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=Saltonstall-Kennedy
    NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Office also plans to host a Webinar/telephone Townhall on Thursday, August 8, 2013 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 pm EST to provide an overview of the application process and to answer questions from members of the public who are interested in applying for funding through this grant opportunity.
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    3. If a password is required, enter the meeting password: Fish123 
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    5. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.    
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          Dial in Number: 1-888-469-1091
          Participant Password:  Grants
    NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Visit us at http://www.noaa.gov or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/usnoaagov.

    NOAA-NMFS-FHQ-2013-2003834 2013 Saltonstall Kennedy (2013 S-K) Department of Commerce

    NOAA-NMFS-FHQ-2013-2003834
    2013 Saltonstall Kennedy (2013 S-K)
    Department of Commerce

     

    The synopsis for this grant opportunity is detailed below, following this paragraph. This synopsis contains all of the updates to this document that have been posted as of 7/31/2013. If updates have been made to the opportunity synopsis, update information is provided below the synopsis.
    If you would like to receive notifications of changes to the grant opportunity click send me change notification emails. The only thing you need to provide for this service is your email address. No other information is requested.

    Any inconsistency between the original printed document and the disk or electronic document shall be resolved by giving precedence to the printed document.
    General Information
    Document Type: Grants Notice
    Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NMFS-FHQ-2013-2003834
    Funding Opportunity Title: 2013 Saltonstall Kennedy (2013 S-K)
    Opportunity Category: Discretionary
    Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement
    Grant
    Category of Funding Activity: Education
    Environment
    Science and Technology and other Research and Development
    Category Explanation:
    Expected Number of Awards:
    CFDA Number(s): 11.427 -- Fisheries Development and Utilization Research and Development Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program
    Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No
    Posted Date: Jul 31, 2013
    Creation Date: Aug 1, 2013
    Original Closing Date for Applications: 60 days after the posting date of this announcement
    Current Closing Date for Applications: 60 days after the posting date of this announcement
    Archive Date:
    Estimated Total Program Funding:
    Award Ceiling: $400,000
    Award Floor: $30,000
    Eligibility
    Eligible Applicants:
    Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
    Additional Information on Eligibility: You are eligible to apply for a grant or a cooperative agreement under the Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program if: 1. You are a citizen or national of the United States; 2. You are a citizen of the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), being an individual who qualifies as such under section 8 of the Schedule on Transitional Matters attached to the constitution of the NMI; 3. You are a citizen of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau, or the Federated States of Micronesia; or 4. You represent an entity that is a corporation, partnership, association, or other non-Federal entity, non-profit or otherwise (including Indian tribes), if such entity is a citizen of the United States or NMI, within the meaning of section 2 of the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended (46 U.S.C. app. 802).
    Additional Information
    Agency Name: Department of Commerce
    Description: The Saltonstall-Kennedy Act established a fund (known as the S-K fund) used by the Secretary of Commerce to provide grants or cooperative agreements for fisheries research and development projects addressing aspects of U.S. fisheries, including, but not limited to, harvesting, processing, marketing, and associated business infrastructures. Under this authority, grants and cooperative agreements are made on a competitive basis (subject to funding) to assist in carrying out projects related to U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries. The term “fisheries” encompasses wild capture, marine aquaculture and recreational fishing. The objective of the S-K Grant Program is to address the needs of the fisheries and fishing communities in optimizing economic benefits within the context of rebuilding and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and in dealing with the impacts of conservation and management measures. U.S. fisheries include any fishery, commercial or recreational, that is, or may be, engaged in by citizens or nationals of the United States, or citizens of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Proposals submitted to this competition must address at least one of the following priorities: Aquaculture, Optimum Yield of Harvested Resources under Federal or State Management, Fisheries Socioeconomics, Conservation Engineering, Ecosystem Studies, and Territorial Science.
    Link to Additional Information:
    Contact Information: If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact:

    Mr. Daniel Namur, NOAA Headquarters; Telephone 301-427-8730
    Office

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    FWS-R8-YFWO-2010-FISHERIES-FP-05Blue Creek Chinook & Coho Life Cycle Monitoring ProjectFish and Wildlife Service07/14/2010
    F14AS00076Wildlife Without Borders - Latin America and the Caribbean FY14Fish and Wildlife Service02/03/201405/30/2014
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    NIJ-2014-3723NIJ FY 14 Optimizing the Use of Video Technology to Improve Criminal Justice OutcomesNational Institute of Justice02/06/201404/28/2014
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    FWS-R8-YFWO-2010-FISHERIES-FP-05 Blue Creek Chinook & Coho Life Cycle Monitoring Project Fish and Wildlife Service — Department of the Interior


    FWS-R8-YFWO-2010-FISHERIES-FP-05
    Blue Creek Chinook & Coho Life Cycle Monitoring Project
    Fish and Wildlife Service — Department of the Interior

     

    The synopsis for this grant opportunity is detailed below, following this paragraph. This synopsis contains all of the updates to this document that have been posted as of 7/14/2010. If updates have been made to the opportunity synopsis, update information is provided below the synopsis.
    If you would like to receive notifications of changes to the grant opportunity click send me change notification emails. The only thing you need to provide for this service is your email address. No other information is requested.

    Any inconsistency between the original printed document and the disk or electronic document shall be resolved by giving precedence to the printed document.
    General Information
    Document Type: Grants Notice
    Funding Opportunity Number: FWS-R8-YFWO-2010-FISHERIES-FP-05
    Funding Opportunity Title: Blue Creek Chinook & Coho Life Cycle Monitoring Project
    Opportunity Category: Discretionary
    Funding Instrument Type: Grant
    Category of Funding Activity: Science and Technology and other Research and Development
    Category Explanation:
    Expected Number of Awards:
    CFDA Number(s): 15.608 -- Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance
    Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No
    Posted Date: Jul 14, 2010
    Creation Date: Jul 14, 2010
    Original Closing Date for Applications: This is Notice of Intent. This opportunity has been awarded to the Yurok Tribe. No other applications will be reviewed.
    Current Closing Date for Applications: This is Notice of Intent. This opportunity has been awarded to the Yurok Tribe. No other applications will be reviewed.
    Archive Date:
    Estimated Total Program Funding:
    Award Ceiling: $29,980
    Award Floor: $29,980
    Eligibility
    Eligible Applicants:
    Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
    Additional Information on Eligibility: This opportunity is a Notice of Intent.
    Additional Information
    Agency Name: Fish and Wildlife Service
    Description: Blue Creek is the largest and most pristine tributary in the Lower Klamath Sub-basin and correspondingly supports the largest anadromous fish populations in the sub-basin. In a 1979 report detailing the status of anadromous stocks within the Hoopa Valley Reservation (then including the present day Yurok Indian Reservation and representing all tributaries within the lower Klamath and lower Trinity Rivers), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) found Blue Creek to have “the greatest potential to support anadromous fish of any tributary on the reservation” (USFWS 1979). The Blue Creek Chinook stock is referred to as a late-fall Chinook run due to its typical November-December run timing and is considered to be a unique stock specifically adapted to the lower Klamath River and its tributaries (Anglin 1994). Gall et al. (1989) found Blue Creek fish to be more similar genetically to Smith River or Southern Oregon stocks than to other Klamath groups, while Snyder (1931) noted this unique run timing, finding Blue Creek fish to be much more similar to Smith River fish terms of body size, shape, and coloration. Blue Creek also supports one of the largest remaining coho salmon run in the Lower Klamath Sub-basin. In particular, the Crescent City Fork provides ideal spawning and rearing habitat for coho salmon and in most years is more heavily utilized by coho salmon in its upper reaches than any other salmonids species. Given Blue Creek’s relatively pristine habitat and its isolation from other wild coho refugia, the Blue Creek coho stock appears to be an important genetic refuge for wild coho populations in the Klamath River Basin. Stream assessment data collected by the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program (YTFP) during 1995-2004, as well as data collected by USFWS during 1988-1993, indicate that late-fall run Chinook and coho salmon are either non-existent or are present in relatively low numbers in the remaining lower Klamath River tributaries (Lintz and Kisanuki 1992; Lintz and Noble 1992; Noble and Lintz 1190; Voight and gale 1998; YTFP unpublished data 1994-2004). The ongoing monitoring of the Blue Creek salmon populations is therefore essential in order to assess the status of this unique resource. This project, initiated by USFWS in FY 1989, is designed to collect adult chinook escapement data for the Blue Creek basin. This data allows for an assessment of chinook population trends within the basin as well as Chinook and coho salmon distribution, immigration/emigration timing, and habitat usage throughout the Blue Creek drainage. The Chinook trend data is an integral component of the Mega-Table and allows for a more accurate assessment of wild salmonids population numbers throughout the Klamath Basin, which in turn allows for more accurate predictions of future Chinook run sizes. This project also collects coho salmon data to the extent possible; however surveys are often complete prior to the time that most coho salmon spawning is expected to occur in Blue Creek. The duration of surveys into late December/January is not only limited by budget, but often times by high flow conditions in the stream. Information collected through this project also allows for more meaningful and informed input into land management activities within the basin as well as future watershed restoration activities. Project Objectives: The objectives of this project are to: Generate a fall 2010 fall Chinook spawner index count for adult Chinook salmon using peak weekly snorkel survey counts of adult fall chinook. • Marking of fall Chinook will occur, which combined with snorkel surveys will allow for an estimation of the fall Chinook population abundance using the “area under the curve” methodology. The success of this methodology is largely dependent on stream conditions. • Several years of successfully producing “area under the curve” population estimates and spawner index survey estimates simultaneously should enable analysis of the relationship between the “area under the curve estimates” and the spawner abundance index count estimates. This could provide two benefits: 1. Application of this relationship to spawner survey index count data that has been collected since the early 1990’s, allowing an expansion of this information into population estimates. 2. Application of the relationship to spawner index survey count information in the future, so population abundance may be able to be estimated during years when “area under the curve” estimates are not available. • Determine the extent of Chinook salmon immigration and spawning within the Blue Creek basin during the fall/winter 2010-2011. This will include an assessment of timing, distribution and run size, as well as documenting the quantity, timing and distribution of redds and carcasses by species. • Provide Tribal Fisheries Biologists with the necessary data to provide informed input into Lower Klamath resource management planning, habitat restoration planning and implementation, and ESA-related recovery planning and viability analysis. • Improve the skills and knowledge of YTFP employees/Yurok Tribal members through hands-on experience conducting a diversity of fisheries monitoring projects. This agreement will benefit the public by the information collected from this large cooperative effort is used to track population trends and estimate the fall Chinook ocean stock abundance, age composition, and spawning run size, which are needed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), California Fish and Game Commission and Tribes for harvest management. The information is used to determine if the PFMC Conservation Goal for Klamath River fall Chinook is met in a particular year, and to develop projections of the fishable stock for the upcoming year. Once those projections are made, they are used by fishery management agencies to promulgate fishing regulations for the Chinook salmon fishery along the southern Oregon coasts. Task 1 – Generate a fall 2010 escapement estimate for adult Chinook using the area-under-the-curve methodology. Task 2 – Generate a fall 2010 fall Chinook spawner index count for adult Chinook salmon using peak weekly snorkel survey counts of adult fall chinook. Task 3 – Determine the extent of Chinook salmon immigration and spawning within the Blue Creek basin during the fall/winter 2010/2011. Task 4 – Provide Tribal Fisheries Biologists with the necessary data to provide informed input into Lower Klamath resource management planning, habitat restoration planning and implementation, and ESA-related recovery planning. B. METHODS Adult Fish Marking Capture Techniques: Fish will be targeted in the lower reaches of Blue Creek as they move into the system. Capture techniques will include a 3.5 inch mesh tooth tangle net. The net will be fished both passively and actively drifted depending on the most effective capture method for existing conditions. A biologist and at least one technician will remain with the net at all times, while a second biologist and technician will also be resent to assist with transfer of captured fish to holding tubes. All captured salmonids will be measured, sex will be determined by external characteristics when possible, scale samples taken, marked with a visual streamer tag, secondarily marked with a fin-clip, allowed to recover, and released upstream. Several marking events will occur in the lower reaches of Blue Creek. During each event batch marking will be implemented. All salmonids marked during each event will receive the same color streamer tag behind the dorsal fin. Observe Efficiency: Observer efficiency will be defined as the percentage of adult salmon counted by observers in relation to the actual number present. (Bocking et al, 1988, Irvine et al. 1993) Known number of salmon will be marked and allowed to disperse for a minimum of three hours (Hetrick, personal communication). Two divers will dive through this block-netted section and count newly marked fish. Physical parameters that are expected to effect observer efficiency will be recorded and rated during efficiency trials as well as during all snorkel surveys. Residence Time: Residence time will be defined as the average duration that individuals of a species spend alive in the creek. After marking events, snorkel surveyors will survey existing/long-term reaches throughout the anadromous portion of the drainage enumerating marked and unmarked salmonids by species. Marked fish counts will be corrected observer efficiency and plotted against time to yield a mark depletion curve (Hetrick, personal communication). The area under the curve will be divided by the original number of tags deployed to estimate a period-specific residence time in days for that time period as described by Irvine et al. (1992). Due to the fact that throughout the season residence time will likely vary, an average of the period specific residence times weighted by abundance will be determined. The weighted mean residence time will be applied to weekly snorkel counts to generate a weekly abundance estimate. All weekly estimates will be summed for the annual escapement estimate. Spawning Surveys Spawning surveys will be conducted weekly from October through mid-December of each year to document immigration and spawning activity by late-fall Chinook and coho salmon, as well as any steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout present during this time period. Surveys will be conducted using direct observation (snorkeling) techniques throughout the survey periods in order to maximize efficiency of fish observations, species identification, carcass and redd location etc. Each reach will be snorkeled by a crew consisting of a Fisheries biologist and a Fisheries Technician. All crewmembers involved in these snorkel surveys have extensive snorkeling experience, including several seasons conducting these inventories within the Blue and Terwer Creek drainages. Information will be collected on each live fish, redd, and carcass located as follows: Live Fish • Species, number and exact locations observed • Size, condition and sex of each observed fish as feasible • Presence of any clips, marks, scars, etc. Redds • Exact location where observed • Species and number of fish present (if any) • Habitat type where observed • Dimensions of redd (length, width, pt depth, mound depth) • Each redd flagged as downstream end to prevent counting on future surveys Carcasses • Exact location where observed • Species, fork length and sex • Percent spawned • Collect scales • Presence of any clips, marks, scars etc, and collect head if ad-clipped • Condition (fresh/rotten, whole/partial etc.) • Flag carcass through gills to prevent counting on future surveys
    Link to Additional Information:
    Contact Information: If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact:

    Misty Bradford Coop. Agreements Assistant Phone 530-842-5763
    work

    Department of the Interior Logo L14AS00048 Wild Horse and Burro Contraception and Sterilization Research Bureau of Land Management — Department of the Interior

    L14AS00048
    Wild Horse and Burro Contraception and Sterilization Research
    Bureau of Land Management — Department of the Interior

     

    The synopsis for this grant opportunity is detailed below, following this paragraph. This synopsis contains all of the updates to this document that have been posted as of 3/6/2014. If updates have been made to the opportunity synopsis, update information is provided below the synopsis.
    If you would like to receive notifications of changes to the grant opportunity click send me change notification emails. The only thing you need to provide for this service is your email address. No other information is requested.

    Any inconsistency between the original printed document and the disk or electronic document shall be resolved by giving precedence to the printed document.
    General Information
    Document Type: Grants Notice
    Funding Opportunity Number: L14AS00048
    Funding Opportunity Title: Wild Horse and Burro Contraception and Sterilization Research
    Opportunity Category: Discretionary
    Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement
    Category of Funding Activity: Education
    Category Explanation:
    Expected Number of Awards: 10
    CFDA Number(s): 15.229 -- Wild Horse and Burro Resource Management
    Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No
    Posted Date: Mar 6, 2014
    Creation Date: Mar 7, 2014
    Original Closing Date for Applications: May 7, 2014  
    Current Closing Date for Applications: May 7, 2014  
    Archive Date:
    Estimated Total Program Funding: $10,000,000
    Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
    Award Floor: $25,000
    Eligibility
    Eligible Applicants:
    Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
    State governments
    Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
    Private institutions of higher education
    Additional Information on Eligibility:
    Additional Information
    Agency Name: Bureau of Land Management
    Description: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program protects, manages, and controls wild horses and burros under the authority of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 to ensure that healthy herds thrive on healthy rangelands. Development of effective population growth suppression methods for wild horses and burros is vital to effectively managing herd population growth rates as an alternative to gathering and removing animals from BLM lands.
    Link to Additional Information: https://www.grants.gov/apply
    Contact Information: If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact:

    Lisa Clayton Grants Management Officer Phone 202-912-7098
    ltclayton@blm.gov

    BLM Seeks Research Proposals to Develop New, Innovative Techniques to Suppress Population Growth of Wild Horse and Burro Herds

    Release Date: 03/11/14
    Contacts: Tom Gorey (BLM) , 202-912-7420  

    BLM Seeks Research Proposals to Develop New, Innovative Techniques to Suppress Population Growth of Wild Horse and Burro Herds


    Request for Applications calls for effective contraception and sterilization research to ensure healthy herds, healthy rangelands
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of its continuing efforts to improve the national Wild Horse and Burro Program, and in response to a recent study of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the Bureau of Land Management is seeking research proposals to develop new or improve existing ways of controlling the population growth of wild horses and burros that roam public lands in the West.
    “We remain committed to making substantial improvements to the national Wild Horse and Burro Program and we know that some of the best ideas for effective contraception techniques will come from veterinarians, scientists, universities, pharmaceutical companies, and other researchers outside of the BLM,” said Joan Guilfoyle, Division Chief of the program. “The development and use of more effective methods to reduce population growth rates will lessen the need to remove animals from the range and improve the health of public rangelands, conserve wildlife habitat, and save taxpayers money.”
    The BLM has issued a Request for Applications (RFA) to alert veterinarians, scientists, universities, pharmaceutical companies, and other researchers of the BLM’s need to develop new, innovative techniques and protocols for implementing population growth-suppression methods.  Specifically, the BLM is interested in finding experts to develop new or refine current techniques and protocols for either contraception or the spaying/neutering of on-range male and female wild horses and burros.  The methods may be surgical, chemical, pharmaceutical, or mechanical (such as intrauterine devices). The submission deadline for applications is May 7, 2014.
    The President’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2015 includes $80.2 million for the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, a $2.8 million increase over the FY 2014 level.  The additional funds will focus on research of population-control methods.
    The BLM estimates that 40,605 wild horses and burros (about 33,780 horses and 6,825 burros) are roaming BLM-managed rangelands in 10 Western states, based on the latest data available, compiled as of February 28, 2013.  Wild horses and burros have virtually no natural predators and their herd sizes can double about every four years, as confirmed by the recent NAS study that urged the BLM to make wider use of fertility control and found that, on average, the BLM undercounts the Westwide population of wild horses and burros by 20 to 30 percent.
    The link to the solicitation can be found at: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=wild horse. (The funding opportunity number is L14AS00048.)


    The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2013, the BLM generated $4.7 billion in receipts from public lands.
    --BLM--
    Last updated: 03-12-2014

    CBS Exposes Hillary Clinton Bosnia Trip.

    I Go To The Rock

    Gov’t model shows airborne radioactive plume covering entire west coast of US & Canada on Mar 22, 2011… 10 times more radioactive than plume coming from Fukushima plant on same day — Radiation levels in some plumes had no discernible decrease after crossing Pacific (VIDEO)

    Gov’t model shows airborne radioactive plume covering entire west coast of US & Canada on Mar 22, 2011… 10 times more radioactive than plume coming from Fukushima plant on same day — Radiation levels in some plumes had no discernible decrease after crossing Pacific (VIDEO)

    Published: April 8th, 2014 at 8:16 am ET
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    Fukushima Radioactive Aerosol Dispersion, NOAA: The [HYSPLIT] model was developed by NOAA to follow the transport and dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. In HYSPLIT, the computation is composed of four components: transport by the mean wind, turbulent dispersion, scavenging and decay. A large number of pollutant particles, which by convention are called “particles” but are just computational “points” (particles or gases), are released at the source location and passively follow the wind. [...] March 11th [...] by 16:36 a nuclear emergency was reported. By the early morning hours of March 12th, radioactive emissions were occurring [...] the simulation from NOAA’s HYSPLIT model shows a continuous release of tracer particles from 12-31 March at a rate of 100 per hour representing the Cesium-137 emitted from Fukushima Daiichi. Each change in particle color represents a decrease in radioactivity by a factor of 10.
    Notable Features
    The March 22, 2011 NOAA model (above right) shows the West Coast of US and Canada covered in red particles, while the Fukushima site — and all of Japan — are under orange particles.  According to the NOAA above a “change in particle color represents a decrease in radioactivity by a factor of 10
    Watch NOAA’s Fukushima airborne plume simulation here
    Published: April 8th, 2014 at 8:16 am ET
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    Related Posts

    1. U.S. gov’t model of Fukushima cesium-137 particles covering Northern Hemisphere (VIDEO) March 14, 2013
    2. Professor on PBS: The Fukushima plume is heading to West Coast in “a consolidated mass of water that’s moving in unison” — Study: Nuclear waste “confined to a narrow band” crossing ocean — “Very little dispersion in eastern Pacific” (MAP) February 14, 2014
    3. California schools announce Fukushima testing: Imperative we monitor for any Fukushima contamination “that will be arriving this year” in ocean — LA Times claims levels are declining, fails to inform readers of radioactive plume crossing Pacific January 13, 2014
    4. Experts: Areas along West Coast “may be… affected in a significant way” by Fukushima plume in coming months — Impact cannot be accurately predicted, currents to produce complex results — Radioactive materials can be ‘fairly concentrated’ even after crossing Pacific February 24, 2014
    5. Gundersen: When the radioactive plume hits West Coast in a few months “it’s not like it’s going to end” — Fukushima still pumping contamination into Pacific Ocean 1,000 days after disaster began (AUDIO) December 7, 2013

    201 comments to Gov’t model shows airborne radioactive plume covering entire west coast of US & Canada on Mar 22, 2011… 10 times more radioactive than plume coming from Fukushima plant on same day — Radiation levels in some plumes had no discernible decrease after crossing Pacific (VIDEO)

    JP JP
    Unfortunately 3 years later despite an ever increasing drip of bad news from Fukushima, it falls on mostly deaf ears of the population and media.
    Even with so much news out, I suspect things are far worse at Fuku…and now WIPP than we will ever know.
    Nuclear ignorance is not bliss…it's a living health nightmare.


    Report comment

    Time Is Short Time Is Short
    'Stress alters children's genomes
    Poverty and unstable family environments shorten chromosome-protecting telomeres in nine-year-olds.'
    "Growing up in a stressful social environment leaves lasting marks on young chromosomes, a study of African American boys has revealed. Telomeres, repetitive DNA sequences that protect the ends of chromosomes from fraying over time, are shorter in children from poor and unstable homes than in children from more nurturing families.
    When researchers examined the DNA of 40 boys from major US cities at age 9, they found that the telomeres of children from harsh home environments were 19% shorter than those of children from advantaged backgrounds. The length of telomeres is often considered to be a biomarker of chronic stress."
    http://www.nature.com/news/stress-alters-children-s-genomes-1.14997?WT.ec
    Along with the stress of living in declining (grinding poverty-inducing) economies around the world, how will the stress of this nuclear disaster affect the children in addition to the radiological damage? It will certainly make their immune systems less resistant to damage. More proof that stress does cause physical damage – and not just in 9 year olds.
    Another piece of the Fukushima death puzzle.