GRTE-343580-Trans_Wildlife-SOW.docx

Grand Teton National Park Preliminary Transportation Planning: Highway 89/191/26 Corridor Data Synthesis and Implementable Wildlife Mitigation Solutions

Period of Performance: October 2026 to October 2027

Project Overview and Purpose

The National Park Service (NPS) seeks professional services to support a pre-planning effort along a 30-mile segment of U.S. Highway 89/191/26 (the “Outer Highway”) in Grand Teton National Park.

The effort will focus on reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions and maintaining wildlife connectivity.

This effort represents an early step in the transportation planning process. Its purpose is to clarify key issues, assess available information, and identify practical and implementable solutions to improve safety for both visitors and wildlife.

The park’s primary highway corridor passes through key wildlife movement areas and seasonal habitats. As traffic volumes increase, this overlap creates ongoing safety risks for visitors and contributes to habitat fragmentation. A wide range of species use this area, and their movements vary by season and across the landscape, adding complexity to corridor management.

The effort will bring together existing data on wildlife movements, collision records, and previous studies, along with input from park staff and partners. This includes, but is not limited to, prior NPS studies and plans, road safety audits (2010, 2021), corridor and traffic safety analyses, wildlife movement and migration research, and relevant external efforts such as the VOLPE mitigation-focused literature review. This information will be used to identify key challenges and opportunities along the corridor. The effort includes a baseline assessment and the development of prioritized actions.

This effort is designed to integrate existing and ongoing analyses into a single synthesized framework to support identification of implementation-ready transportation and wildlife mitigation projects.

Building on this foundation, the project will develop clear, actionable recommendations to help the park evaluate and prioritize strategies. These may include infrastructure, operational, and communication approaches.

The work will focus on turning data into usable guidance that supports future planning, environmental compliance, and implementation. A key outcome of this effort is the identification of priority, implementation-ready projects that can advance into design and compete for future funding.

This project supports broader park goals, including visitor safety, protection of natural and scenic resources, and the long-term preservation of ecological integrity.

Project Area Overview

The project area encompasses a 30-mile segment of U.S. Highway 89/191/26, extending from the southern boundary of Grand Teton National Park, north of the town of Jackson, to the park’s eastern boundary near the community of Moran, Wyoming.

This highway corridor intersects multiple high-value wildlife movement pathways and seasonal habitats across diverse ecological communities, including riparian areas, sagebrush steppe, and montane forests. It functions as a critical linkage zone supporting regional connectivity for wide-ranging carnivores as well as migratory and resident ungulate populations.

The corridor includes open areas with abundant wildlife crossing opportunities, which contribute to elevated wildlife-vehicle collision risk in certain locations. Collision risk is likely influenced by habitat configuration, animal movement patterns, roadway characteristics, and seasonal variation in both wildlife activity and visitor use. Vehicle traffic interacts with high-value habitats throughout the corridor, increasing the potential for collisions and fragmentation of movement pathways.

These conditions make the corridor a priority area for integrated transportation and ecological management strategies that balance visitor safety with long-term conservation objectives. Understanding these dynamics will guide the development of science-based planning tools, mitigation strategies, and decision-support resources for the park.

Project Objectives

The purpose of this work is to support the NPS in developing science-based planning guidance and decision-support tools to inform transportation management and wildlife mitigation investments along the study corridor in Grand Teton National Park.

This effort will improve understanding of wildlife-vehicle collision risk and the interaction between ecological systems and transportation infrastructure. It will also identify practical, effective strategies to improve visitor safety while maintaining wildlife connectivity.

Specifically, the project will:

1. Improve understanding of collision risk Assess the key ecological, behavioral, and transportation-related factors contributing to wildlife-vehicle collisions, with a focus on hotspot locations.

2. Characterize corridor-scale patterns and needs Describe risk patterns across the corridor, identify key drivers, and highlight important data gaps relevant to connectivity conservation and transportation management.

3. Identify and prioritize mitigation strategies Establish a clear, prioritized set of mitigation options and implementation-ready project concepts, based on feasibility, expected effectiveness, cost considerations, constructability, maintenance needs, and alignment with park objectives.

4. Develop an integrated planning framework Provide a cohesive foundation for a Transportation Plan that integrates analysis, recommendations, and implementation pathways.

5. Support future planning and adaptive management Identify priority research, monitoring, and data needs to inform future planning, environmental compliance, and long-term adaptive management.

Recommendations will emphasize practical implementation and will consider coordination needs, environmental compliance, constructability, and long-term monitoring opportunities.

Contractor Qualifications Contractors must demonstrate advanced expertise in transportation ecology, wildlife connectivity science, and the development of practical, implementable strategies to reduce transportation impacts on wildlife populations and ecological systems.

Minimum Qualifications:

· Education: Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in ecology, wildlife biology, landscape ecology, environmental science, or a closely related field.

· Experience: At least 10 years of professional experience applying ecological science to transportation planning, highway mitigation design, or environmental analysis.

· Project Track Record: Demonstrated leadership on at least 5 corridor-scale wildlife connectivity or mitigation projects in mountainous or ecologically complex environments with proven success measures.

· Species/Scope Experience: Experience working with large ungulates and carnivores, including wildlife-vehicle collision mitigation and habitat connectivity projects.

Preferred Experience:

Contractors will receive strong consideration for experience demonstrating:

· Leading science-based prioritization frameworks for transportation and conservation decision-making.

· Designing or evaluating wildlife passage solutions and mitigation measures that maintain or improve ecological connectivity.

· Supporting interdisciplinary transportation planning teams on at least 3 major projects.

· Coordinating with public agencies, NEPA processes, or federal/state land management authorities.

· Conducting monitoring or research on mitigation effectiveness with measurable outcomes (e.g., collision reduction, connectivity improvements).

· Translating ecological science into actionable planning guidance and implementable strategies.

· Prior work in Grand Teton National Park or similar high-value wildlife corridors is highly preferred.

Demonstrated Success Metrics (Examples):

· Led development of ≥20 wildlife crossing structures, with documented effectiveness in collision reduction.

· Conducted ≥5 large-scale connectivity prioritization or mitigation studies across multiple states or landscapes.

· Produced decision-support frameworks that guided multi-million-dollar transportation projects.

· Implemented or evaluated mitigation strategies with documented ≥50% reduction in wildlife-vehicle collisions for target species.

Tasks and Deliverables

The contractor will complete the following tasks to support development of a Preliminary Transportation Planning Report. Supporting technical documentation may be incorporated into the PTP Report or provided as appendices. Analytical methods will be documented to support transparency, reproducibility, and future planning or research applications.

Task 1: Project Initiation and Planning

Description The contractor will initiate project coordination, establish communication protocols, and develop a detailed work plan describing project approach, schedule, and technical methods.

Deliverables

· Project initiation summary

· Draft work plan for agency review

· Final work plan incorporating review comments

Milestones

· Kickoff meeting completed within 14 days of award

· Draft work plan submitted within 4 weeks of award

· Final work plan submitted following review comments

Task 2: Review and Synthesis of Existing Data and Studies

Description The contractor will compile, review, and synthesize relevant prior studies, reports, and datasets related to transportation, wildlife ecology, habitat connectivity, and visitor use along the study corridor.

The synthesis will integrate information from multiple sources, including prior NPS studies and plans, road safety audits (2010, 2021), corridor and traffic safety analyses, crash data, wildlife movement and migration research, and relevant external efforts (including prior mitigation-focused literature review such as from VOLPE).

The synthesis will establish baseline conditions, identify wildlife-vehicle collision hotspots, and highlight data gaps or information needs.

It will also identify data gaps and uncertainties relevant to corridor planning and decision-making.

The synthesis will be structured to support subsequent site assessment, mitigation prioritization, and development of implementation-ready recommendations.

Deliverables Technical summary of prior studies, hotspot context, and data gaps (PTP report section or appendix)

Milestones

· Draft synthesis submitted for review

· Final synthesis incorporating comments

Task 3: Site Assessment and Corridor Analysis

Description:

The contractor will conduct field visits and synthesis of spatial analyses and field observations to validate and augment baseline information.

This synthesis will integrate wildlife movement, collision data, traffic patterns, habitat characteristics, visitor use, and outputs from the ongoing VOLPE FY2026 analysis.

The contractor will coordinate closely with NPS to ensure full integration of VOLPE analytical outputs as they become available, using them as a primary input to corridor-scale assessment and site prioritization.

Field visits will be used to ground-truth synthesized information, validate conditions represented in existing datasets (including VOLPE outputs), and refine site-specific understanding of wildlife movement and collision risk factors.

This task includes synthesis and interpretation of road characteristics, habitat conditions, wildlife movement patterns, and visitor use factors influencing collision risk and connectivity. These elements will be evaluated using outputs from the VOLPE analysis and other existing datasets, supplemented by field observations.

The contractor will coordinate closely with NPS to ensure full integration of results from the concurrent VOLPE analysis effort. VOLPE outputs will be treated as a primary input to this task and incorporated as they become available to ensure consistency across efforts and avoid duplication of analytical work.

Field visits will be used to ground-truth synthesized information, validate mapped or modeled conditions produced by other efforts (including VOLPE), and refine site-specific understanding of wildlife movement and collision risk factors.

Deliverables:

· Agenda for site assessment Milestones:

· Draft agenda for NPS review

Task 4: Mitigation Strategy Development

Description The contractor will develop potential mitigation strategies to reduce collision risk and improve habitat connectivity.

Strategies may include infrastructure, operational, and communication-based approaches that respond to identified collision risk patterns and connectivity needs.

Mitigation strategies will be prioritized based on feasibility, effectiveness, constructability, cost, maintenance, and alignment with park management objectives.

This task will also include development of site-specific, implementation-ready mitigation concepts at priority locations identified through Tasks 2 and 3. High-resolution spatial maps clearly depicting the locations and extents of potential mitigation projects will also be developed.

These may include wildlife crossing structures, fencing, wildlife detection or warning systems, and related roadway modifications or operational measures.

Conceptual-level design guidance or planning-level recommendations will be provided where needed to support future advancement into engineering design and funding applications.

Deliverables

• Prioritized mitigation recommendations

• Conceptual implementation guidance Milestones

· Draft mitigation strategies submitted

· Final mitigation strategies incorporated into PTP report Task 5: PTP Report Development and Technical Coordination Description The contractor will integrate findings from Tasks 2–4 into a cohesive Preliminary Transportation Planning report.

The report will provide decision-support guidance, summarize baseline conditions, describe mitigation options, and highlight research or monitoring needs to inform future planning.

The report will clearly identify and prioritize implementation-ready mitigation projects, including site locations, proposed mitigation types, and planning-level conceptual descriptions sufficient to support advancement into environmental review, design, and funding applications. High-resolution spatial maps depicting priority mitigation locations and conceptual project extents will also be developed to support planning, coordination, and future implementation efforts.

The report will also outline recommended next steps for advancing priority projects into implementation, including potential pathways to funding, coordination needs, and recommended sequencing of actions.

Deliverables

· Draft PTP report with technical appendices

· Final PTP report incorporating NPS review comments Milestones

· Draft report submitted for review

· Final report submitted Task 6: OPTIONAL Visual and Outreach Products Description The contractor will develop a defined set of visual and outreach products to communicate project findings to NPS staff, partners, and the public. These products will translate technical results into accessible, spatially explicit, and visually compelling formats that support understanding of corridor conditions, wildlife-vehicle collision risk, and conceptual mitigation strategies.

Deliverables The contractor shall produce the following outreach products:

· One interactive GIS StoryMap or equivalent web-based narrative mapping product presenting corridor conditions, wildlife movement patterns, collision hotspots, and conceptual mitigation locations (example: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/9f238524f9774d8f9949edc9b617484a)

· One short-form interpretive video (approximately 2–4 minutes) using a StoryMap-style narrative structure that integrates maps, graphics, and optional field imagery to communicate key findings and conceptual mitigation strategies (example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0MDJaqUsH4)

· One visual summary product (infographic or multi-panel graphic series) communicating priority findings and mitigation focus areas for public and internal audiences Milestones

· Deliverables completed according to approved work plan schedule

• Draft work plan for agency review

• Final work plan incorporating review comments

• Kickoff meeting completed within 14 days of award

• Draft work plan submitted within 4 weeks of award

• Final work plan submitted following review comments

Key Outputs: Synthesized baseline conditions and corridor understanding; identified collision hotspots and drivers; identification of data gaps and uncertainties; decision-support synthesis for use in subsequent tasks.

• Draft synthesis submitted for review

• Final synthesis incorporating comments

• Technical memo describing methodology, assumptions, and findings Key Outputs: Validated corridor-scale interpretation of conditions; site-specific validation of collision risk factors; integration of field observations with synthesized datasets; refined inputs for mitigation prioritization.

• Field assessments completed per schedule

• Draft technical analysis submitted

• Final technical analysis submitted

Key Inputs: Synthesized findings from Tasks 2–3, including VOLPE outputs and corridor assessment results.

• Prioritized mitigation recommendations

• Conceptual implementation guidance Key Outputs: Site-specific implementation-ready mitigation concepts; prioritized mitigation strategies; high-resolution maps or potential project locations; planning-level conceptual recommendations suitable for design and funding development.

• Draft mitigation strategies submitted

• Final mitigation strategies incorporated into PTP report

• Final PTP report incorporating NPS review comments Key Outputs: Integrated PTP report; ranked implementation-ready mitigation projects; high-resolution maps or potential project locations; funding-ready project concepts and descriptions; clear implementation pathway.

• Draft report submitted for review

• Final report submitted

Short-form video communicating key findings and conceptual strategies Visual summary products (infographic or multi-panel graphic) supporting internal and public communication

• Delivered according to work plan schedule

Project Requirements:

Document Standards & Accessibility All final deliverables must comply with Section 508 accessibility requirements. Deliverables must be submitted in native formats and pdf formats unless directed otherwise.

Rights in Data By contract award, the Government obtains unlimited rights to all data under FAR 52.227-14.

Wildlife and Sensitive Resource Data Protection All spatial, ecological, and wildlife observation data collected or developed under this contract shall be treated as sensitive natural resource information. Contractor shall coordinate and obtain approval from NPS regarding public release of location-specific wildlife data to avoid potential resource vulnerability, disturbance, or poaching risk. Public distribution of sensitive or any ecological or species location information requires prior NPS approval.

Deliverables Submission & Retention

· Contractor must deliver all finalized and raw/native formats of documents, visual materials, datasets, GIS files, story maps, and video assets.

Intellectual Property & Third-Party Rights

· The Government’s use of third-party licensed content (e.g., imagery, software) is permitted only under valid license agreements granting rights for Government use.

· Contractor must warrant that all third-party content is free of encumbrances preventing Government use or publication.

Work under this contract will emphasize development of actionable, science-based guidance that supports long-term transportation planning, ecological conservation, and sustainable management of park resources.