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 $80,458. 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. OVERVIEW:This project will facilitate the collection of data related to non-subsistence (i.e., sport hunter) hunter expectations, background knowledge, activities, characteristics, and experiential evaluations in western part of Noatak National Preserve. The project also is designed to document conditions in the preserve as experienced by hunters. This project serves to set a baseline of the conditions related to sport hunter activity in the preserve and their perspectives on the quality of the experience. It also serves to empirically (indirectly and directly) document the activities of sport hunters and the support services they rely upon in the region. STATEMENT OF JOINT OBJECTIVES/PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN The project consists of the following primary data collection objectives that will be conducted both in the field and via postage or digital online surveys: ¿ Collect background demographic information and motivational information on hunters. ¿ Collect descriptive data on caribou target and harvest methods or strategies used by sport hunters. ¿ Collect baseline sport hunt trip evaluation data related to the condition of the backcountry, interactions with other parties and with motorized sounds. ¿ Collect baseline measures of the level of awareness by sport hunters related to cultural norms and subsistence use in the area as well as current regulatory/management strategies and alternatives. Data can be gathered from the fall 2013 sport hunters at the Kotzebue Airport. However, gathering data from those who hunted in earlier years (i.e., 2010-2012) is contingent on receiving harvest ticket information from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Secondary data collection objectives include: ¿ Conducting interviews with sport hunters and guides. ¿ Collecting baseline spatial data (i.e., with GPS units) to answer where, when, and how sport hunters use the preserve. RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT 1. Collaboratively undertake a study titled, ¿Investigating Social and Spatial Aspects of Sport Hunting in Western Noatak National Preserve¿ as described throughout this document. 2. Lead effort for approval of the survey instrument. 3. Compile all data sets in a format that allows them to be easily transferred to the sponsor agency. 4. Produce an interim, milestone report on project status and findings to management related to the research by December 2013 and a final report that includes conclusions and management recommendations by December 2014. 5. Work cooperatively with NPS staff to publish a Natural Resources Technical Report in 2014. 6. Share findings and conclusions via a verbal presentation to managers and interested parties in Kotzebue, AK in late 2014. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INVOLVEMENT Substantial involvement on the part of the National Park Service is anticipated for the successful completion of the objectives to be funded by this award. In particular, the National Park Service will be responsible for the following: 1. Provide the names and contact information of guides and transporters operating in Noatak National Preserve. 2. Assist in obtaining harvest ticket records from Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 3. Provide coordination, via the NPS Social Scientist, between staff within NPS and between staff from other agencies interested in the project design and outcomes. 4. Work with other PIs involved in related aspects of caribou hunting research in the Noatak. 5. Provide housing support (e.g. transient housing in Kotzebue) for university researchers working on the project. 6. ensure that park specific research permits are granted and compliance is ensured. 7. Provide NPS Social Scientist who will assist with data analysis and interpretation where appropriate. 8. Provide NPS Social Scientist who will assist with presentations and communication of the results, including drafting and publication of results via NPS Natural Resources Technical Report in 2014.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: Unique Qualifications, UAF faculty and research staff within the School of Natural Resources & Agricultural Sciences have conducted similar hunting studies within Alaska, have the necessary contacts with ADFG needed to be successful, have the experience with working in rural AK communities, are logistically capable of deploying technicians in the field from Fairbanks, and, due to the proximity of the school to rural AK communities, can accomplish this field research with reduced costs compared to other contractors or universities.Technical contact information: Andrew Ackerman,
[email protected], 907-455-0643. National Park Service, Alaska Region. End of FOA