Staff members of the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR) have been busy attending mandatory training workshops in the Aloha State, which are a requirement for all jurisdictions that utilize Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) grants from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

DMWR is a fully federally funded department of the American Samoa Government.

A training course for Advance Grant Management was held in Honolulu, Hawai’i from June 3- June 6 and DMWR was well represented by Dr. Domingo Ochavillo of the Fishery Division, Adam Miles of the Wildlife Division, Maria Vaofanua of the Education and Coordination Division, and DMWR Deputy Director Selaina Vaitautolu-Tuimavave.

The goal of the course was to provide a conceptual and working knowledge of advanced administrative and financial issues in managing WSFR grant programs. Emphasis was placed on complying with administrative and financial rules and regulations relating to establishing legislation, Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars.

The other training program is the Tracking and Reporting Actions for the Conservation of Species (TRACS) Introductory Course. It was a 16-hour instructor-led classroom training that was carried out over a period of two days and involved hands-on training for participants to learn how to use the Wildlife TRACS application to create and manage data for the tracking of conservation projects and actions funded by the WSFR grant programs.

In addition, students were taught how to create maps, access reports, and use decision support tools related to goals, objectives, and effectiveness measures.

Wildlife TRACS consists of two main system components: Public TRACS and Data TRACS. Participants learned how to use both system components to generate summary and detailed reports, create and retrieve information in a geospatial environment, query projects and actions by various criteria including species and habitats, and facilitate strategic conservation through the use of open standards, shared data, and networking.

In an email correspondence to the Samoa News earlier this week, DMWR Director Dr. Ruth Matagi-Tofiga explained that the objectives of the TRACS training program are to:

·            Describe how Wildlife TRACS fits within WSFR grant programs and processes;

·            Describe the roles and responsibilities of federal and state/grantee partners in managing WSFR grant program data within Wildlife TRACS;

·            Enter and manage project data and performance reports within Data TRACS; and

·            Use the TRACS training manual and understand what other training resources are available to Wildlife TRACS users.

DMWR personnel who attended the TRACS training in Honolulu, Hawaii were Tepora Lavata’i of the Fishery Division, Adam Miles of the Wildlife Division, and Maria Vaofanua of the Education Division.