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Today’s conservation challenges are complex. Solving these challenges often requires scientific collaborations that extend beyond the scope, expertise, and capacity of any single agency, organization, or institution. Conservation efforts can benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration, scientific and technological innovations, and the leveraging of capacity and resources among partners. Here we explore a series of case studies demonstrating how collaborative scientific partnerships are furthering the mission of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), including: (1) contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes Basin, (2) Poweshiek skipperling conservation, (3) using technology to improve population survey methods for bats and monarch butterfly, and (4) Big River restoration in the Southeast Missouri lead mining district. These case studies illustrate how strategic and effective scientific collaboration is a multi-stage process that requires investment of time and resources by all participants. Early coordination and communication is crucial to aligning planned work with scientific and decision-making needs. Collaborations between USFWS and external scientists can be mutually beneficial by supporting the agency mission while also providing an avenue for innovative research to be directly applied in conservation decisions and management actions.

Mining and smelting in the Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District has caused widespread contamination of soils with lead (Pb) and other metals. Soils from three study sites sampled in the district contained from approximately 1,000–3,200 mg Pb/kg. Analyses of earthworms [33–4,600 mg Pb/kg dry weight (dw)] collected in the district showed likely high Pb exposure of songbirds preying on soil organisms. Mean tissue Pb concentrations in songbirds collected from the contaminated sites were greater ( p  < 0.05) than those in songbirds from reference sites by factors of 8 in blood, 13 in liver, and 23 in kidney. Ranges of Pb concentrations in livers (mg Pb/kg dw) were as follows: northern cardinal ( Cardinalis cardinalis ) = 0.11–3.0 (reference) and 1.3–30 (contaminated) and American robin ( Turdus migratorius ) = 0.43–8.5 (reference) and 7.6–72 (contaminated). Of 34 adult and juvenile songbirds collected from contaminated sites, 11 (32 %) had hepatic Pb concentrations that were consistent with adverse physiological effects, 3 (9 %) with systemic toxic effects, and 4 (12 %) with life-threatening toxic effects. Acid-fast renal intranuclear inclusion bodies, which are indicative of Pb poisoning, were detected in kidneys of two robins that had the greatest renal Pb concentrations (952 and 1,030 mg/kg dw). Mean activity of the enzyme delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) in red blood cells, a well-established bioindicator of Pb poisoning in birds, was decreased by 58–82 % in songbirds from the mining sites. We conclude that habitats within the mining district with soil Pb concentrations of ≥1,000 mg Pb/kg are contaminated to the extent that they are exposing ground-feeding songbirds to toxic concentrations of Pb.

The purpose of this study was to examine employer satisfaction with contract training programs provided by community colleges in the state of Maryland. Data from previous studies and the literature suggested that eight variables help to determine employer satisfaction: (a) employer participation in program design, (b) customization of program content, (c) customization of mode of delivery, (d) flexibility of course and program scheduling, (e) contract pricing, (f) use of instructors with business and industry experience, (g) availability of institutional resources, and (h) employee-student persistence. The study employed a quantitative non-experimental research design to answer the research questions and the methodology used was descriptive survey research. The survey instrument consisted of 21 closed-end questions and was mailed to a population of approximately N = 752 employer organizations that received customized credit or non-credit training by contract arrangement with community colleges in the state of Maryland during the period July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2006. The Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence Core Values and Concepts served as the conceptual framework for this study. The researcher used the statistical applications of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) which included mean, frequency, percent, Pearson correlations, Spearman rho correlations and regression analysis to analyze the quantitative data. The study showed that the independent variables: (a) employer participation in program design, (b) flexibility of course and program scheduling, and (c) availability of institutional resources, were the most significant predictors of employer satisfaction in the state of Maryland. The research also showed that employers were overwhelmingly satisfied with the contract training programs provided by community colleges in Maryland. The most important training courses needed by the respondents were: (a) basic skills (reading, math), (b) English as a second language, (c) career planning/goal setting, (d) personnel/labor laws, and (e) supervision/leadership.

The program has a record of success in developing and maintaining African-American/Hispanic male leadership, discipline and accountability, creating strategies and tools for renewal, revival and resurrection for a population often written off as \"lost\" The achievement and college retention rate gap between Black males and other learners will not change without the strong leadership of community college presidents, the support and advocacy of community college trustees and the active involvement of faculty. Through their fiduciary responsibility for public funds and the appointment of presidents to their institutions, community college trustees profoundly affect the ability of the president to address the diverse needs of learners - and by extension, the ability of community colleges to serve the needs of Black males.

CHICAGO--In the war in Kosovo we are not only fighting to protect the Kosovar Albanians and provide for a stable and secure Europe. We are also fighting to decide what it is that America stands for and what we are willing to...

CHICAGO--In the war in Kosovo we are not only fighting to protect the Kosovar Albanians and provide for a stable and secure Europe. We are also fighting to decide what it is that America stands for and what we are willing to...

CHICAGO--In the war in Kosovo we are not only fighting to protect the Kosovar Albanians and provide for a stable and secure Europe. We are also fighting to decide what it is that America stands for and what we are willing to...

CHICAGO--In the war in Kosovo we are not only fighting to protect the Kosovar Albanians and provide for a stable and secure Europe. We are also fighting to decide what it is that America stands for and what we are willing to...

CHICAGO-- In the war in Kosovo we are not only fighting to protect the Kosovar Albanians and provide for a stable and secure Europe. We are also fighting to decide what it is that America stands for and what we are willing to...

CHICAGO--In the war in Kosovo we are not only fighting to protect the Kosovar Albanians and provide for a stable and secure Europe. We are also fighting to decide what it is that America stands for and what we are willing to do to prove it.