Chukchi Sea Polar Bear Harvest Risk Assessment

The US Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 7 intends to award a single source financial assistance agreement as authorized by 505 DM 2.14 (B) to the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) at University of Washington. This notice is not a request for proposals and the Government does not intend to accept proposals. This financial assistance opportunity is being issued under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Network: (http://www.cesu.psu.edu/materials/partners.htm). The CESU network provides research, technical assistance, and education to federal land management, environmental, and research agencies and their partners The primary objective of the polar bear program is to ensure that polar bear populations in Alaska remain a healthy, functioning component of the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas ecosystems. The goals of this project are 1) the production of a harvest risk assessment for the CS polar bear subpopulation and 2) the subsequent submission of the assessment to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. The assessment must incorporate current demographic parameters for CS polar bear, the most current population and harvest model, and projected habitat conditions to allow the evaluation of biological effects of a range of management options consistent with national and international laws and agreements on the management and conservation of polar bears.