Regional goals for monitoring salmon and sustainable fisheries, population recovery, and habitat protection are a high priority in the Pacific Northwest.  Partners and participants in the Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership (PNAMP) have agreed upon the need for development and coordination of monitoring programs in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California.  Because science and management activities are scattered among agencies whose jurisdictions frequently overlap administratively, but often divide along geographic and resource boundaries, the group has explored the requirement for dedicated staff to facilitate discussions between programs and work on specific projects. Staff will facilitate the transfer of information within PNAMP and across all relevant organizations, work to support relationships between and monitoring, and to promote communication among organizations to help assure that monitoring plans and information are coordinated across the Pacific Northwest.  This proposal describes the U.S. Geological Survey's plan to fulfill the staffing needs for PNAMP.  

While continuing its membership on PNAMP-related Executive, Steering, and Technical Committees, the USGS is prepared to support the PNAMP coordination needs by dedicating staff to the coordination function.   The Coordination Team (Coordinator, Assistant Coordinator, Information Management Liaison, and occasional detail support as needed) will have USGS supervision and administrative support as needed.  The Coordination Team will participate in a neutral manner to facilitate efforts of PNAMP, serve as lead staff and liaison among technical groups, assist the interface between Steering Committee members and their executive-level counterparts, and provide fiscal/contract support. As USGS Northwest Area Office employees, the incumbents would maintain neutrality and interact proactively with state, tribal, and federal entities as well as other stakeholders in PNAMP. This proposal describes specific tasks and costs required by the USGS to provide a Coordinator, Assistant Coordinator, support staff for projects, Communications Liaison, and related operational costs for CY2013.