This announcement is to provide public notice of the National Park Service (NPS), intention to fund the following project with University of Alaska Fairbanks under a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) program. CESUs are partnerships that provide research, technical assistance, and education. The project intended award is $97,000. This is a continuation of an existing agreement, project years 2-3. STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Agreements Concerning Cooperative Research and Training on NPS Resources (16 U.S.C. § 1a-2(j)): The Secretary may enter into agreements with public or private educational institutions, States and their political subdivisions, for the purpose of developing adequate, coordinated, cooperative research and training programs concerning the resources of the National Park System, and pursuant to such agreements, to accept from and make available to the cooperator such technical and support staff, financial assistance for mutually agreed upon research projects, supplies and equipment, facilities, and administrative services relating to cooperative research units as the Secretary deems appropriate. STATEMENT OF JOINT OBJECTIVES/PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN: Document traditional knowledge related to the seasonal behavior and movements of the Northwest Arctic Caribou Herd and how caribou behavior may be influenced by human activity. The partner, in cooperation with the National Park Service will: Researchers will perform semi-structured and participatory mapping interviews with knowledgeable individuals of Noatak to identify activities that may influence caribou distribution and movements, including fall migration and where caribou cross major rivers. The semi-structured interview with participatory mapping format was selected for its potential to capture more subtle and detailed information than a fixed survey or questionnaire, and to provide spatially explicit local and traditional knowledge. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INVOLVEMENT -Substantial Involvement :NPS cooperators will work with the UAF project team to integrate caribou distribution and movement data with local knowledge findings to identify concurrence and hotspots. The NPS will contribute expertise in GIS analysis of findings from participatory mapping research, as needed by the research team. NPS will contribute to the development and design of the project and review and comment on interview protocols. This collaboration will ensure that the needs of the NPS are met and that the results of the project will be compatible with a larger NPS project dealing with the broader topic of user conflicts in the region. NPS will have on-going involvement to assist in the project¿s success. The NPS will provide housing in Kotzebue as available and needed as researchers travel to and from northwest Alaska villages as part of their work for this project. The NPS will provide logistical support when possible. SINGLE-SOURCE JUSTIFICATION: Department of the Interior Policy (505 DM 2) requires a written justification which explains why competition is not practicable for each single-source award . The National Park Service did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria: Continuation This project is a three-year project. The first year was initiated in F12. A new cooperative agreement is being written for years two and three, necessitated by a change in NPS financial systems which created an inability to continue accounting protocol across to the new system. The researchers who started the project will continue in order to maintain progress and continuity. Technical contact information: Kyle Joly,
[email protected], 907-455-0626,National Park Service, Alaska Region. End of FOA