A04_Statement_of_Work_IIRH_GRTE_Final.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

The contractor will visit 5 active grazing allotments in GRTE during the 2025 to conduct rangeland health assessments using the IIRH protocol. During 2024 the contractor will use spatial data gathered in collaboration with GRTE staff to select the number and location of sites within each allotment to conduct the IIRH in 2025. Determination of soil characteristics, ecological site descriptions and observations of vegetation composition will be used to inform the selection of reference areas and identification sampling sites.

IIRH is an interagency standardized assessment tool to assess rangeland health. The protocol is primarily qualitative, however some quantitative measurements are taken for several indicators.

IIRH provides an evaluation of soil/site stability, hydrologic function, and biotic integrity at the ecological site level. It can provide an early warning of potential problems for areas at risk of degradation or where resource problems currently exist. The IIRH methodology also allows for communication to occur across jurisdictions. and many grazing permittees are already familiar with this assessment. Assessments are conducted by an interdisciplinary team of experienced, trained, and knowledge staff that are familiar with the resource.

The findings and reporting will provide detailed data and information regarding rangeland health on 5 domestic livestock grazing allotments (4 permitted under various authorities and 1 admin stock allotment) in GRTE, which will then be used to inform and develop grazing management and monitoring plans. The results will help identify areas where implementation of targeted grazing management actions will reduce the risk of range degradation and/or promote changes toward desired conditions. Due to the complexity and importance of identifying and determining a reference rangeland health condition assessment, the contractor will use soils, and hydrology when making the reference condition determination.

Deliverables include: a spatial geodatabase that includes all assessment locations; raw data sheets, photos, and a summary report for each allotment including a condition rating for each of the IIRH attributes; a final report of IIRH findings and recommendations for allotment management at the conclusion of the project in 2025. The report will be made available in both word and PDF format. Any raw data suitable for spread sheet or database format will be provided to GRTE in Microsoft office formats. All spatial data (e.g. plot center points, transect line start and finish etc) will be provided in NAD 83. Any spatial files will be provided to the park in a format compatible for use in ArcGIS Pro Project milestones:

1. August through September of 2024 collect and analyze existing information to select sites for assessment. Work with park staff to get baseline data and review site selection. Site selection should be completed and accepted before the end of Calendar year 2024 to allow for NEPA compliance to be completed prior to start of field work.

2. Initiate field work at GRTE during the summer of 2025. The contractor will correspond with NPS to determine when habitat conditions are optimal for survey work.

3. NPS to review and comment on a draft final report by October 31, 2025

4. Final report to the NPS-by December 31, 2025.

The Recipient shall 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.

The recipient agrees to collaboratively undertake a project titled “Rangeland Health Condition Assessments for Grazing Allotments at Grand Teton National park”, as described throughout this Statement of Work.

1. Collaborate with NPS to develop detailed project plans as a product of the project development scoping activities. These plans will also identify key NPS staff and cooperators involved with each project component, use of NPS equipment, field support, facilities, or other equipment/service directly supporting project implementation.

2. Identify park-specific information needs or management concerns.

3. Familiarize Park managers and NPS project team members with the assessment process.

4. Discuss and refine the specific expectations and deliverables for the park.

5. Define fundamental or significant ecological components and the scales at which they function.

6. Define scope and initial understanding of ecological component indicators and stressors.

7. Define reference conditions for each selected ecological component.

8. Conduct the project assessment and report on the analysis findings in NPS-compliant technical series documents.

9. Provide GIS data that were uniquely created for this project in a GIS geodatabase format and Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)-compliant metadata in digital format compatible with ESRI ArcPro. Datasets from other agencies that were downloaded for the purposes of condition assessments will not be distributed but original source locations will be documented and included.

10. Meet NPS publication format guidelines and standards for the final project (Project deliverables are listed above under the Deliverables heading). Follow GRTE specific guidelines for safe undertaking of fieldwork within the park.

11. The recipient and others associated with this project will not reveal any statutorily protected information (e.g., by the National Park Service Omnibus Management Act of 1998) regarding threatened or endangered (T&E) species locations in any published or unpublished material developed under this Statement of Work except with written permission from the NPS. Threatened or Endangered species location information should not be retained past the time necessary to complete this project.

12. Cooperate with the NPS to ensure that the conduct of the project complies with the “NPS Interim Guidance Document Governing Code of Conduct, Peer Review, and Information Quality Correction for National Park Service Cultural and Natural Resources Disciplines,” and with any and all subsequent guidance issued by the NPS Director to replace this interim document.

13. Ensure that reports and other formal materials (including publications and presentations) resulting from this collaborative project acknowledge the NPS 14. Upon request of the NPS, obtain digital photographs with captions of project activities and make these available to the NPS for use in presentations and reports.

14. Coordinate and collaborate with the cooperator during information/data collection and status assessment to ensure that the synthesis is consistent with the project goals.

15. Provide NPS source data and information where available for the park unit, including access to: NPS Servicewide Integrated Resource Management Applications System (NPS IRMA), the NPS Project Management InformationSystem (PMIS), and the NPS Electronic Technical Information Center(eTIC) databases; and Park management plans or documents; park I&M data, reports, and monitoring plans; park databases, resource inventory data and reports; park museum and archival collections, and other relevant documents such as the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) reports.