Columbia Basin Bulletin proposal 199800401

FY07-09 proposal 199800401

Section 1. Administrative

Proposal title	Columbia Basin Bulletin
Proposal ID	199800401
Organization	Intermountain Communications
Short description	Delivers by e-mail (and posted on the web) to policymakers, Basin stakeholders, and general public a weekly electronic newsletter containing objective, timely, summary information about Columbia Basin fish and wildlife mitigation and ESA recovery issues.
Information transfer	Intermountain Communications encourages the widest distribution possible of information in The Columbia Basin Bulletin. The information is primarily used by Basin stakeholders and local, state, tribal and national policymakers seeking to keep abreast of key Basin fish and wildlife mitigation and recovery issues. It provides to those throughout the Basin information and issues arising from meetings and other forums in which they are unable to attend. Over the years, information from the Columbia Basin Bulletin has been cited in journal articles and books.
Proposal contact person or principal investigator

Contacts

Contact	Organization	Email
Form submitter
Bill Crampton	Intermountain Communications	[email protected]
All assigned contacts
Bill Crampton	Intermountain Communications	[email protected]

Section 2. Locations

Province / subbasin: Mainstem/Systemwide / Systemwide

Latitude	Longitude	Waterbody	Description

Section 3. Focal species

primary: All
secondary: All Anadromous Fish
secondary: All Resident Fish
secondary: All Wildlife

Section 4. Past accomplishments

Year	Accomplishments
2005	E-mail subscription base approaches 5,000 subscribers, indicating use and value to stakeholders. Continued to deliver high-quality public information product for Basin stakeholders.
2004	Continued to deliver high-quality public information product for Basin stakeholders, continued to increase subscription base. Leading source of information for subbasin planning, 2004 BiOp, mainstem amendments and other key issues.
2003	Continued to deliver high-quality public information product for Basin stakeholders, continued to increase subscription base. Adjusted to budget reductions without harming the integrity of the product for stakeholders. Revised and updated website.
2002	Continued to deliver high-quality public information product for Basin stakeholders, continued to increase subscription base.
2001	Firmly established as best source of information for complete, timely, objective news and information about Columbia Basin natural resource issues. Subscriber numbers surpassed the 3,000 mark, with Website getting heavy use.
2000	Continued to deliver high-quality public information product, continued to increase subscription base, built and launched website and improved delivery of e-mail product.
1999	Delivered same service and established reputation as key information source fair to all interests. Increased subscriber circulation from about 300 in 1998 to about 2,000 subscribers with actual readership much higher.
1998	Provided weekly, objective information related to fish and wildlife policymaking in the Columbia Basin using e-mail delivery system. The coordination of information assisted policymakers and public in creating and understanding restoration efforts

Section 5. Relationships to other projects

Funding source	Related ID	Related title	Relationship

Section 6. Biological objectives

Biological objectives	Full description	Associated subbasin plan	Strategy

Section 7. Work elements (coming back to this)

Work element name	Work element title	Description	Start date	End date	Est budget
Outreach and Education	Produce weekly on-line newsletter Columbia Basin Bulletin in FY2007 that informs policymakers, managers, and diverse stakeholders about key Columbia Basin fish and wildlife mitigation and ESA recovery issues, decisions, and developments.	Delivered by e-mail to 5,000+ subscribers and posted on website, the production of a weekly electronic newsletter to provide information about fish and wildlife issues important to Columbia River Basin fish and wildlife policy development. The newsletter assists Northwest policy makers and others in keeping up with the range of meetings and materials related to fish and wildlife issues. Coverage provides: an understanding of the scope of technical information used in policy decisions; an understanding of the multiple perspectives included in decision making; a presentation of various positions addressed in the decision process; a presentation of the political and technical constraints incorporated in decisions. Information is gathered through attendance at meetings, telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews, research and specific reports, studies and other documents. The newsletter provides objective information directly related to meetings, documents, issues and events pertinent to Basin fish and wildlife mitigation, ESA recovery, collaboration and unified planning. Due to the sometimes controversial nature of fish and wildlife policymaking and the fact that the newsletter is supported with public funds, every effort is made to avoid bias and the perception of bias, thereby enhancing its value as an information tool for public sector, private sector and NGO Basin stakeholders with a diversity of views and interests.	10/1/2006	9/30/2007	$150,000
Biological objectives			Metrics * # of general public reached: 5,000+ readers each week
Outreach and Education	Produce weekly on-line newsletter Columbia Basin Bulletin in FY2008 that informs policymakers, managers, and diverse stakeholders about key Columbia Basin fish and wildlife mitigation and ESA recovery issues, decisions, and developments.	Delivered by e-mail to 5,000+ subscribers and posted on website, the production of a weekly electronic newsletter to provide information about fish and wildlife issues important to Columbia River Basin fish and wildlife policy development. The newsletter assists Northwest policy makers and others in keeping up with the range of meetings and materials related to fish and wildlife issues. Coverage provides: an understanding of the scope of technical information used in policy decisions; an understanding of the multiple perspectives included in decision making; a presentation of various positions addressed in the decision process; a presentation of the political and technical constraints incorporated in decisions. Information is gathered through attendance at meetings, telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews, research and specific reports, studies and other documents. The newsletter provides objective information directly related to meetings, documents, issues and events pertinent to Basin fish and wildlife mitigation, ESA recovery, collaboration and unified planning. Due to the sometimes controversial nature of fish and wildlife policymaking and the fact that the newsletter is supported with public funds, every effort is made to avoid bias and the perception of bias, thereby enhancing its value as an information tool for public sector, private sector and NGO Basin stakeholders with a diversity of views and interests.	10/1/2007	9/30/2008	$150,000
Biological objectives			Metrics * # of general public reached: 5,000+ readers weekly
Outreach and Education	Produce weekly on-line newsletter Columbia Basin Bulletin in FY2009 that informs policymakers, managers, and diverse stakeholders about key Columbia Basin fish and wildlife mitigation and ESA recovery issues, decisions, and developments.	Delivered by e-mail to 5,000+ subscribers and posted on website, the production of a weekly electronic newsletter to provide information about fish and wildlife issues important to Columbia River Basin fish and wildlife policy development. The newsletter assists Northwest policy makers and others in keeping up with the range of meetings and materials related to fish and wildlife issues. Coverage provides: an understanding of the scope of technical information used in policy decisions; an understanding of the multiple perspectives included in decision making; a presentation of various positions addressed in the decision process; a presentation of the political and technical constraints incorporated in decisions. Information is gathered through attendance at meetings, telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews, research and specific reports, studies and other documents. The newsletter provides objective information directly related to meetings, documents, issues and events pertinent to Basin fish and wildlife mitigation, ESA recovery, collaboration and unified planning. Due to the sometimes controversial nature of fish and wildlife policymaking and the fact that the newsletter is supported with public funds, every effort is made to avoid bias and the perception of bias, thereby enhancing its value as an information tool for public sector, private sector and NGO Basin stakeholders with a diversity of views and interests.	10/1/2008	9/30/2009	$150,000
Biological objectives			Metrics * # of general public reached: 5,000+readers weekly

Section 8. Budgets

Itemized estimated budget

Item	Note	FY07	FY08	FY09
Personnel	3 FTE (Editor, writer/subcontractors)	$130,786	$130,786	$130,786
Travel	meetings, conferences	$12,011	$12,011	$12,011
Supplies	Shared supplies with Intermmountain Communications	$1,300	$1,300	$1,300
Overhead	Shared office overhead w/Intermountain Communications	$1,560	$1,560	$1,560
Other	Shared w/Intermountain Communications telephone, internet, e-mail delivery, website operations, subscriber management, customer service	$4,343	$4,343	$4,343
Totals		$150,000	$150,000	$150,000

Total estimated FY 2007-2009 budgets

Total itemized budget:	$450,000
Total work element budget:	$450,000

Cost sharing

Funding source/org	Item or service provided	FY 07 est value ($)	FY 08 est value ($)	FY 09 est value ($)	Cash or in-kind?	Status
Intermountain Communications	Shared office, telephone, website costs, internet, supplies, equipment	$6,000	$6,000	$6,000	In-Kind	Confirmed
Totals		$6,000	$6,000	$6,000

Section 9. Project future

FY 2010 estimated budget: $150,000
FY 2011 estimated budget: $150,000

Comments: Intermountain Communications is committed to delivering a quality stakeholder information product with costs not exceeding $150,000.

Future O&M costs:

Termination date:
Comments:

Final deliverables:

Section 10. Narrative and other documents

Reviews and recommendations

FY07 budget	FY08 budget	FY09 budget	Total budget	Type	Category	Recommendation
NPCC FINAL FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS (Oct 23, 2006) [full Council recs]
$150,000	$150,000	$150,000	$450,000	Expense	Basinwide	Fund
NPCC DRAFT FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS (Sep 15, 2006) [full Council recs]
$150,000	$150,000	$150,000	$0		Basinwide

ISRP PRELIMINARY REVIEW (Jun 2, 2006)

Recommendation: Fundable (Qualified)

NPCC comments: This proposal is to continue support for the Columbia Basin Bulletin (CBB). The proposal clearly and concisely describes the need for trusted, neutral, and timely information on Columbia Basin fish and wildlife issues and references earlier Council support for its work. In the eight years of its operation, the CBB has become a widely used and proven source of timely and reliable information. Dissemination of information to stakeholders and agencies in the Columbia River Basin is critical. The CBB seems to be a cost-effective mechanism for disseminating technical and policy information about fish and wildlife in the Columbia Basin. The proposal stresses the CBB’s role as a coordinator of information in the Columbia Basin. It makes the point that trustworthy information is the basis for collaboration on the complex and contentious issues of the Columbia Basin. The proposal makes a convincing argument for the CBB’s communication value beyond the fish and wildlife interests to the broader group of river interests and for the benefit of having a neutral provider of information. The proposal has a single objective to provide summary information related to fish and wildlife to the Basin in order to assist policymaking and help achieve restoration goals. Methods are briefly but adequately described as the routine tasks of information gathering and newsletter production. It is not clear how the CBB staff decide which scientific papers they will profile. One suggestion, if they are not already doing this, would be for staff to scan the American Fishery Society publication website which cites "most downloaded (or read)" papers. If particular papers deal with Columbia River Basin issues, they might be worth mentioning in the CBB. The proposal history is a short summary of the evolution of the CBB from a web-based product in 1998 to the current email delivery product with a subscriber list of 5000. Summary usage information is provided. Thorough monitoring of outreach and information provision would require a specific analysis to see if the CBB is increasing stakeholder/agency knowledge about Columbia Basin fish and wildlife issues relative to other web sites, and print/visual media. However the increasing number of hits and story reads indicates the CBB is increasing its popularity as an information source. Earlier ISRP review comments had requested that information regarding quality control mechanisms be included in the proposal, and this information should continue to be provided.

ISRP FINAL REVIEW (Aug 31, 2006)

Recommendation: Fundable (Qualified)