| Northeast-Midwest Institute Weekly Update |
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New NEMWI Note to the Coalitions on Property Rights and Natural Gas Production
| During the last few years, the Northeast-Midwest region has experienced a veritable "natural gas rush," fueled by a new extraction process called hydraulic fracturing. As part of that rush, natural gas producers are seeking mineral and property leases from private property owners located in the lucrative Marcellus and Utica Shale plays. For some of these property owners, the interest is welcome; for others, the tactics and methods of leasing have become a concern. Policy makers are now searching for the best ways to equip landowners and communities with the tools they need to understand and exercise their rights within the context of this sudden industrial development pressure. NEMWI's Note to the Coalitions, "The Landman Cometh: Property Questions within the Northeast-Midwest Natural Gas Debate," summarizes the story of today's on-the-ground leasing experiences, state policies, and current initiatives for building property owner and local government capacity to better manage the issue.
For more information, contact Rachel Dawson, Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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NEMWI Hiring Senior Scientist/Policy Analyst for Great Lakes Risk-Release Project
| The Northeast-Midwest Institute seeks a highly qualified individual to co-lead a two year investigation of the risk-release relationship associated with ship-mediated aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes region. One half of the project, led by the alternate co-lead, will design and validate large-scale mesocosm experimental approaches to estimating the risk-release relationship for aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes. The successful candidate for this position will be responsible for designing and validating a complementary field survey-based descriptive approach to generating a corroborative real-world estimate of that same risk-release relationship. This work will involve carefully designing ship discharge surveys and defining harbor monitoring surveys to populate corroborative models of the risk-release relationship, conducting validation exercises, and analyzing, reporting and presenting primary data to peer reviewers. The two co-leads will collaborate closely to select models and fit sample data sets to refine these approaches. The two co-leads will carefully align their work with each other and with that of other similar research efforts globally.
The successful candidate shall demonstrate:
- Strong academic qualifications in aquatic invasion biology; field data gathering, management and interpretation; and modeling approaches and statistics;
- Strong professional collaboration and interpersonal skills;
- Capacity to work in a team; and
- Excellent writing skills.
To apply, email a cover letter and resume to Allegra Cangelosi, President, Northeast-Midwest Institute, by March 15, 2012. Applicants must use the subject line "Risk Release Position" for the application to be received.
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NFWF Announces Partnership Grant Opportunity
| The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has announced a new conservation partnership grant opportunity that includes three geographic focus areas within the Mississippi River Basin: Upper Mississippi River Basin, Gulf of Mexico, and the Prairie Pothole region. According to the NFWF program Internet site, the "Conservation Partners" grant initiative purpose is to "provide grants on a competitive basis to support field biologists and other habitat conservation professionals (ecologists, foresters, range cons, etc.) working with NRCS field offices in providing technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, foresters and other private landowners to optimize wildlife habitat conservation on private lands." This is accomplished by focusing and increasing "the effectiveness of Farm Bill assistance funded through programs such as Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and others." The deadline for grant applications is March 13, 2012. NFWF will host an informational webinar for prospective applicants on Thursday, February 23, at 11:00 AM (EST) (register here).
For more information, contact Mark Gorman, Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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"Restoring the Natural Divide" Study Identifies Scenarios to Physically Separate the Mississippi from the Great Lakes
| The Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities and Towns Initiative, with the assistance of six foundations/funders, released a study titled "Restoring the Natural Divide." The study identifies three different scenarios to physically separate the Mississippi River Basin from Lake Michigan in the Chicago area waterway. Physical separation would aim to prevent the transfer of aquatic invasive species, including Asian Carp. The study is posted on the website: www.glc.org/caws
For more information, contact Leah Konrady, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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