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Natural Areas Conservancy Aligning Forest Management Frameworks across City – Conservancy Engagement Program

Request for Application Through a generous grant by the Doris Duke Charitable Fund, the Natural Areas Conservancy (NAC) is pleased to announce a Request for Application (RFA) for a 3- month program to provide data-informed guidance in forest management that stems from NAC’s citywide ecological assessment and analysis and our emerging Forest Management Framework to two NYC Department-affiliated conservancies (non- profit organizations) from April 1, 2018 - June 30, 2018. This process will be repeated in 2019 for a total of four conservancies engaged over the entire funding period. There is no fee for application or participation in this program.

Background The Natural Areas Conservancy (NAC) is a non-profit organization devoted to restoring, managing, and conserving ’s 20,000 acres of natural areas for all New Yorkers. Working in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks), our long-term vision for New York City is to bring our natural assets on par with the cultural amenities and essential infrastructure of our city. We seek to ensure that residents and visitors enjoy world-class recreational opportunities, while simultaneously benefiting from the societal benefits that our natural parkland provides.

In 2014, NAC completed our citywide ecological assessment that evaluated the health of NYC Parks’ 10,000 acres of grasslands, forests, and wetlands in all five boroughs. Fieldwork was conducted in over 53 city parks and included information about native and prevalence, tree canopy conditions, soil conditions, and threats to our forests. Using this robust data set and more than a decade of financial and staffing information from the MillionTrees program, NAC and NYC Parks have developed a 20- year management framework intended to guide the restoration, management, and community engagement of NYC Parks’ 7,300 acres of natural forests. The resulting NYC Forest Management Framework communicates the process, steps, recommendations, best practices, and goals for forest management in NYC’s natural areas and will be published online and shared in March 2018.

Conservancy Engagement Program NYC Parks is responsible for setting policy and managing the 10,000 acres of natural areas in a diverse system but also relies upon partnerships with non-profit conservancies to achieve specific or local goals. Park conservancies have unique relationships within their communities which often provide effective local stewardship of natural areas. This engagement program seeks to support parks conservancies while

aligning their management work within the NYC Parks new Forest Management Framework strategy.

As a part of the Forest Management Framework, NAC will engage a total of four NYC Park conservancies during two three-month programs to introduce the forest management framework and help integrate it into conservancy natural resource management efforts. Selected conservancies will receive scientific support, training, data tools, resources, and informed management recommendations from the NAC. This program is envisioned to produce better alignment of conservation efforts among land managers and practitioners across the city and result in application of best practices and effective coordination. Additionally, participating conservancies will obtain recent data and tools to plan forest management efforts and engender additional program support through grant applications and other funding opportunities.

Application Deadline: Submit materials and application by February 23, 2018 at 12:00 p.m. to [email protected]

Selection Date: Awardees will be notified by email on or before March 16, 2018.

Program Eligibility:  Applicant must be a non-profit organization working in a NYC Park that was studied during NAC’s ecological assessment in 2013-2014 (see attached Appendix: Parks with Ecological Assessment data).  Have on-the-ground management capability and a track record of forest restoration commitment, including local stewardship.  Provide a staff commitment of three hours/week (average) during the three- month program process

NYC Park Conservancy Forest Management Program Scope NAC Deliverables: • In-office presentations • In-field trainings • Area-specific forest management recommendation reports • Data collection tools • Database and map tools

Timeline: April: 1. NAC and Park Conservancy kick-off meeting (1/2 day): review goals and deliverables, discuss background information, and identify project participants 2. NAC gathers and summarizes background information including: a. Existing park natural area management plans or master plans b. Entitation data c. Park Conservancy management records d. NYC Parks NRG Forest Restoration team work records e. Trail data (NRG) f. Existing conservancy funding obligations and resources g. NAC ecological assessment plot data h. NAC Ecological Covertype Map data i. Other assessment or monitoring data collected by NRG j. Other TBD 3. Full-Day Workshop: In-classroom: NAC Ecological Assessment, Forest Management Framework and associated workflows In-field training: Rapid site assessment protocol, Key to forest community associations May: 1. Draft Report submitted for Park Conservancy review: a) Introduction b) Summary description of natural resource health and threats: narrative and maps c) Summary of past work d) Stakeholder identification e) Management and stewardship objectives including existing opportunities, prioritization methods, and cost estimates for proposed work

2. Comment period for conservancies 3. NAC and Park Conservancy meeting (2-4 hours) to review comments and discuss responses

June: 1. Final report submittal 2. NAC presentation of recommendations

Attachments: 1. Appendix: Parks with Ecological Assessment data 2. Application

Please submit all applications and questions to [email protected]

Natural Areas Conservancy Aligning Forest Management Frameworks across New York City – Conservancy Engagement Program

Appendix: Parks with Ecological Assessment data

PARK NAME Canarsie Park Marine Park Park McGuire Fields Fresh Creek Nature Preserve Four Sparrow Marsh Park Fort Washington Park Riverside Park Bayswater Park Flushing Meadows Corona Park Addition Kissena Corridor Park Kissena Corridor Park Park Rockaway Community Park Idlewild Park Udall's Park Preserve Brant Point Wildlife Sanctuary Vernam Barbadoes Peninsula Clove Park Park

LaTourette Park & Course Wolfe's Pond Park Richmond Parkway Bradys Pond Park High Rock Park Deere Park Reed's Basket Willow Swamp Park Arden Woods Siedenburg Park Blood Root Valley Bunker Ponds Park King Fisher Park Industrial Park Last Chance Pond Park Ocean Breeze Park Fairview Park Pugsley Creek Park Spuyten Duyvil Shorefront Park Riverdale Park Raoul Wallenberg Forest Givans Creek Woods

Natural Areas Conservancy Aligning Forest Management Frameworks across New York City – Conservancy Engagement Program

Application (please attach any additional pages needed)

Name of Organization:

Years of Operation: NYC Park(s) where your organization works:

Organizational structure: Names & Titles & Job Descriptions (hours/week): Names of staff assigned to participate: Major activities of organization:

Activities and Resources:

In your work operations do you: yes/no Plant trees/shrubs/herbaceous plants? Identify invasive & native plants? Control invasive plants? Use Powertools (chainsaw, hedge trimmer, etc.)? Use Hand tools (saws, pruners, loppers)? Use ? Work with Volunteers (estimate number/year)?

Has your organization used: yes/no/which Geographical Positioning Systems (GPS) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Computerized databases Paper records of management activities

Please tell us why your organization would like to participate in the NAC FMF program? (1000 words maximum)