A04_SOW_DEVA_PMP_Final.docx

SCOPE OF WORK

For Death Valley National Park Pupfish Management Plan (DEVA PMP) Death Valley National Park Inyo County, California

Project Overview Death Valley National Park (DEVA), located in the Mojave and Great Basin Desert regions of California and Nevada. The park’s total land base is 3,422,024 acres with almost 93% of park lands designated as wilderness. Death Valley is the largest National Park Service (NPS) unit in the lower 48 states.

Death Valley is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere and one of the hottest places in the world. Plant and animal species, some only found in Death Valley, have adapted to the harsh desert environment. Four species of desert pupfishes (Salt Creek pupfish, Cyprinodon salinus salinus; Cottonball Marsh pupfish, Cyprinodon salinus milleri; Amargosa River pupfish, Cyprinodon nevadensis amargosae; and Saratoga Springs pupfish, Cyprinodon nevadensis nevadensis) live in Death Valley, CA. Each fish species has adapted to their unique aquatic habitat.

Several short-term studies have been conducted for each aquatic habitat that contain pupfishes. These studies provide point in time assessments of the ecosystem and pupfish populations. A management plan will ensure the long-term protection and conservation of these fishes and their aquatic ecosystems.

Project Objectives The objective of this project is to develop a Death Valley National Park Pupfish Management Plan (DEVAPMP) to guide management.

Specific Tasks and Deliverables The management plan will include the following:

1) Background information/history for the four pupfish species.

2) Perform a literature search for the four pupfishes.

3) Perform a site visit for each pupfish habitat to determine the best feasible method for monitoring each aquatic system. For example: pupfish population size, physicochemical parameters, nutrients (N:P ratio), macroinvertebrate abundance, other potential parameters to help understand ecosystem function and population dynamics.

4) Identify management concerns and threats for each site and develop potential management responses to them.

5) Furnish all labor, personnel, supervision, equipment, materials, supplies, tools, transportation, travel, and incidentals to perform all work necessary for completion of tasks.

6) Provide digital copies of all literature review, field notes, maps, and any other information gathered during the project. Digital files must be in an accessible format such as Word, PDF, TIFF, DNG, etc. Preferred digital storage media is a USB storage device.

7) Deliverables (electronic version and one hard copy) of final DEVA PMP are to be submitted to the Aquatics Program Fisheries/Aquatics Biologist of Death Valley National Park.

8) The contract with all deliverables must be completed within 12 months from start date of the project.

Death Valley National Park Aquatics Program Staff will be responsible for the following:

1) Be available to answer questions, make park literature and reports available as needed, and review draft documents within the needed timeframe to meet the project deadline as established by the Park.

2) Provide location of sites and attend site visits with contractor, if available.