NOI P20AS00039.pdf

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD

This announcement is not a request for applications.

This announcement is to provide public notice of the National Park Service’s intention to award financial assistance for the following project activities. Refer to Section 2. Grants.gov Posting Determination.

ABSTRACT

Grants.gov Opportunity Number Project Title Recipient Anticipated Federal Funding Non-Federal Cost Share Total Anticipated Award Amount

Award Instrument

Anticipated Period of Performance

Legal Authority

CFDA # and Title

Single Source Justification Criteria

National Park Service Point of Contact

PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

STATEMENT OF PUBLIC PURPOSE

Section 1. Project Summary

Task Agreement Cooperative Agreement

Grant Agreement

Current as of 10/29/2018

STATEMENT OF WORK SUMMARY

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PARTIES

A. The recipient shall be responsible for the following items under this agreement:

B. The NPS Responsibilities:

A task agreement is proposed;

A cooperative agreement is proposed;

therefore substantial involvement by NPS is anticipated during the period of performance of this agreement. In support of this agreement NPS will:

A grant agreement is proposed, therefore no substantial involvement on the part of the NPS is anticipated for the successful completion of the statement of work. It is anticipated that involvement will be limited to actions related to monitoring project performance and technical assistance at the request of the recipient.

Section 3. Single Source Justification

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

SINGLE SOURCE POLICY REQUIREMENTS

National Park Service Policy FAP&P 1443-2015-06 requires a written justification which explains why competition is not practicable. The justification must address one of the following criteria.

In order for an assistance award to be made without competition, the award must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

(1) Unsolicited Proposal – The proposed award is the result of an unsolicited assistance application which represents a unique or innovative idea, method, or approach which is not the subject of a current or planned contract or assistance award, but which is deemed advantageous to the program objectives. The unsolicited proposal must demonstrate an innovative capability or concept not currently available to the government, and prepared without Government involvement. ;

(2) Continuation – The activity to be funded is necessary to the satisfactory completion of, or is a continuation of, an activity presently being funded, for which competition would have a significant adverse effect on the continuity or completion of the activity;

(3) Legislative intent – The language in the applicable authorizing legislation or legislative history clearly indicates Congress’ intent to restrict the award to a particular recipient of purpose;

(4) Unique Qualifications – The applicant is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based upon a variety of demonstrable factors such as location, property ownership, voluntary support capacity, technical expertise, or other such unique qualifications. Successful past performance, familiarity with existing requirements, capabilities that can be obtained or matched by a competitor, or a positive reputation, are not considered to be unique qualifications.

(5) Emergencies – Program/award where there is insufficient time available (due to a compelling and unusual urgency, or substantial danger to health or safety) for adequate competitive procedures to be followed.

NPS did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria:

Task Agreement issued under previously competed or single source master cooperative agreement per Section 2 above. Single Source Justification not applicable.

Continuation

Unique Qualifications

Unsolicited Proposal

Legislative Intent

Explanation of the proposed recipient’s qualifications or the criteria of the proposed project which requires use of the single source criteria cited.

Section 2. Grants.gov Posting Determination

Emergency

The National Park Service intends to award a task agreement under a previously competed or single source justified award.

The National Park Service intends to award a single source justified cooperative agreement. Refer to Section 3 Single Source Justification.

The National Park Service intends to award a single source justified grant agreement. Refer to Section 3 Single Source Justification.

Section 4. Department of the Interior Secretary’s Priorities

This award will support the following DOI Secretary priority(ies):

Other Key Initiatives:

Employment of veterans.

Supporting DOI Infrastructure needs.

Creating jobs in the American economy.

Access to outdoor recreation opportunities.

Priority 1: Creating a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt Utilize science to identify best practices to manage land and water resources and adapt to changes in the environment.

Examine land use planning process and land use designations that govern public use and access.

Revise and streamline the environmental and regulatory review process while maintaining environmental standards.

Review DOI water storage, transportation, and distribution systems to identify opportunities to resolve conflicts and expand capacity.

Foster relationships with conservation organizations advocating for balanced stewardship and use of public lands.

Identify and implement initiatives to expand access to DOI lands for hunting and fishing.

Shift the balance towards providing greater public access to public lands over restrictions to access.

Priority 2: Utilizing our natural resources Ensure American energy is available to meet our security and economic needs.

Ensure access to mineral resources, especially the critical and rare earth minerals.

Refocus timber programs to embrace the entire 'healthy forests' lifecycle.

Manage competition for grazing resources.

Priority 3: Restoring trust with local communities Be a better neighbor with those closest to our resources by improving dialogue and relationships with persons and entities bordering our lands.

Expand the lines of communication with Governors, state natural resource offices, Fish and Wildlife offices, water authorities, county commissioners, Tribes, and local communities.

Priority 4: Ensuring sovereignty means something Support tribal self-determination, self-governance, and sovereignty.

Solidify mutual interests between the U.S. and the freely associated states and territories.

Priority 5: Generating additional revenues to support DOI & National interests Ensure that the public receives the full market value for the natural resources produced on Federal lands.

Ensure that fees or costs levied for DOI services are reasonable and targeted to achieve cost recovery.

Consider the impact of DOI decisions on economic development and job creation.

Priority 6: Protecting our people and the border Actively support efforts to secure our southern border.

Ensure DOI law enforcement staffing addresses public safety risks anticipated on DOI land.

Promote a "public service" demeanor within our law enforcement community.

Priority 7: Striking a regulatory balance

Reduce the administrative and regulatory burden imposed on U.S.

industry and the public.

Ensure that Endangered Species Act decisions are based on strong science and thorough analysis.

Priority 8: Modernizing our infrastructure Support the White House Public/Private Partnership Initiative to modernize U.S. infrastructure.

Remove impediments to infrastructure development and facilitate private sector efforts to construct infrastructure projects serving American needs.

Prioritize DOI infrastructure needs to highlight:

1. Construction of infrastructure;

2. Cyclical maintenance;

3. Deferred maintenance.

Senior executives are expected to provide leadership in achieving goals of the President and the Secretary.

The Management Team is expected to:

1. Ensure cost-effective operations and quality service to the public;

2. Facilitate organizational cooperation and conflict resolution;

3. Ensure the workplace environment is conducive to employee productivity and safety;

4. Hold individuals accountable for actions that violate DOI policies and requirements.

Priority 10: Achieving our goals and leading our team forward

The proposed project does not support any of the DOI Secretary priorities, but the project is being funded for the following reasons:

Priority 9: Reorganizing for the next 100 years

Improve alignment and integration of the DOI organizational structure. Redistribute organizational resources (people and funding) to enhance mission achievement and improved public service.

Improve organizational alignment with Executive Branch counterparts with major land management assets or influence.

1. Temporal patterns of river ice freeze-up and break-up: Landsat satellite imagery of the Copper and Chitina Rivers from 1972 to 2020 will be used to conduct a ~50-year retrospective analysis of river ice freeze-up and break-up seasonality.

2. Spatial patterns of river ice freeze-up and break-up: Recent higher resolution imagery will be digitally classified as water or ice throughout the winter seasons from 2016 to 2020 to identify fine-scale spatial patterns in the formation and deterioration of river ice cover, specifically stable areas that predictably freeze-up early and unstable areas that inconsistently freeze-up or freeze-up late.

Resulting work products will include summary reports, maps of river ice stability, and presentation on the project to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Subsistence Resource Commission.

1. Monitor and provide Federal oversight of activities performed under this Agreement. Monitoring and oversight includes review and approval of financial status and performance reports, payment requests, and tasks identified below. Additional monitoring activities may include site visits, conference calls, and other on-site and off-site monitoring activities. At the Recipient’s request, NPS may also provide technical assistance to the Recipient in support of the objectives of this Agreement.

2. Collaboratively undertake with the Recipient the project to quantify changing environmental conditions to inform decisions about allowed means of winter access to subsistence resources

3. Provide financial assistance as provided for in Article XI. The budget, included as Attachment B, is incorporated in this cooperative agreement.

4. Assign a qualified person, as the Agreement Technical Representative (ATR). The ATR will interact directly with the PI on a regular basis and throughout the duration of the project.

5. Collaborate with the Recipient in identifying the highest priority river segments to include in the retrospective analysis.

6. Collaborate with the Recipient in identifying locations for time lapse cameras to monitor river ice conditions during winters 2020-21 and 2021-22.

7. Provide staff to periodically monitor status the time lapse cameras monitoring river ice conditions during winters 2020-21 and 2021-22, changing SD cards and batteries as necessary.

8. Meet with the Recipient to discuss results of retrospective analysis and first year of river ice monitoring using time-lapse cameras and collaboratively decide on plan of action for second year of project.

9. Review and provide comments on draft manuscript on the temporal patterns of river ice phenology.

10. Review and provide comments on interpretive product on the temporal patterns of river ice phenology.

11. Review and provide comments on draft manuscript on river ice classification and monitoring.

12. Review and provide comments on the draft interpretive product on river ice classification and monitoring.

13. Collaborate with the Recipient, as appropriate and necessary, in a 60-day wrap-up period following the due date of the last project product.

1. Carry out the Statement of Work in accordance with the terms and conditions stated herein. The Recipient shall adhere to Federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and codes, as applicable.

2. Collaboratively undertake with NPS the project to quantify changing environmental conditions to inform decisions about allowed means of winter access to subsistence resources.

3. Appoint a Principal Investigator.

4. Fully acknowledge NPS in any published or formally presented material developed or derived from this Cooperative Agreement.

5. Collaborate with the NPS, as appropriate, in a 60-day wrap-up period following the due date of the last project product.

YEAR 1:

6. Conduct a ~50-year retrospective analysis of river ice freeze-up and breakup seasonality using Landsat satellite imagery of the Copper and Chitina Rivers from 1972 to 2020. Highest priority river segments will be identified collaboratively in consultation with the NPS.

7. In consultation with NPS, identify locations for time-lapse cameras to monitor river ice conditions during winters 2020-21 and 2021-22.

8. Meet with the NPS to discuss results of retrospective analysis and first year of river ice monitoring using time-lapse cameras and collaboratively decide on plan of action for second year of project.

9. Produce draft manuscript on the temporal patterns of river ice phenology and provide to NPS to review.

10. Produce draft interpretive product on the temporal patterns of river ice phenology and provide to NPS to review.

11. Finalize interpretive product on temporal patterns of river ice phenology.

YEAR 2 (Pending funding availability):

12. Classify river pixels as water or ice throughout the winter seasons from 2016 to 2020 using Sentinel-1 C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging to identify fine-scale spatial patterns in the formation and deterioration of river ice cover.

13. Validate the classification using additional information sources including Planet Labs imagery and the time-lapse cameras placed along the rivers.

14. Based on the analysis of the remote sensing data, identify stable areas that predictably freeze-up early and unstable areas that inconsistently freeze-up or freeze-up late. The stable areas represent potential river crossing locations (RCLs), and the unstable areas represent potentially dangerous areas.

15. Produce maps of the stable and unstable areas that can be shared with local subsistence users and the NPS.

16. Produce draft manuscript on river ice classification and monitoring and provide to NPS to review.

17. Produce draft interpretive product on river ice classification and monitoring and provide to NPS to review.

18. Finalize interpretive product on river ice classification and monitoring.

19. Make a presentation on the project to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Subsistence Resource Commission.