NOI.pdf

Bureau of Reclamation Form, RF-102 02-2016

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD

This Funding Announcement is not a request for applications. This announcement is to provide public notice of the Bureau of Reclamation’s intention to fund the following project activities without full and open competition.

ABSTRACT

Funding Announcement BOR-GP-17-N006

Project Title Museum Property Processing and Curation Recipient Nebraska State Historical Society

1500 R Street Lincoln, NE 68501-2554 Ph: (402) 471-3270 Nebraskahistory.org

Principal Investigator / Program Manager

Trisha Nelson Curator, Archeological Collections Nebraska State Historical Society 1500 R Street Lincoln, NE 68501-2554 Ph: (402) 471-4760 Trisha.Nelson@nebraska.gov

Anticipated Federal Amount $49,870.00

Anticipated Non-Federal Amount

$0.00

New Award or Continuation? New Award

Anticipated Period of Performance From Award through September 15, 2018

Award Instrument Grant Agreement Statutory Authority National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, Pub. Law 89-665, as amended in 1980 by Pub. Law 96-515.

Reservoir Salvage Act of 1960, Pub. Law 86-523.

Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974, Pub. Law 93-291.

(All three acts are consolidated under Title 54 of the US Code, Sections 300101; 302107; and 312506)

CFDA # and Title 15.511, cultural resource management, BOR mailto:Trisha.Nelson@nebraska.gov

12-2011

Single Source Justification Criteria Cited

(4) UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS

Reclamation Point of Contact Catherine Griffin, Archeologist

OVERVIEW

The Department of Interior Museum Property Program has transferred $49,870.00 to Reclamation through a Reimbursable Support Agreement to complete this Grant Agreement.

The Recipient will prepare roughly 42,500 objects and 12.5 linear feet of associated records for long term curation to the standards set by the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Nebraska State Historical Society (NSHS, Recipient). The Recipient also serves as the long-term storage facility for Reclamation collections in Nebraska. They are a repository in “good” condition as required by DOI Museum Property Directive 14, “Facility Checklist for Spaces Housing DOI Museum Property” (DOI Checklist).

The majority of materials in the Medicine Creek Collection (“Collection”) are from excavations beginning in the 1980s at four Medicine Creek Reservoir sites: 25FT22, 25FT30, 25FT39, and 25FT158. For over 30 years this collection was improperly housed at the principal investigator’s residence. The Collection totals 68 cubic square feet of space with an estimated 42,500 objects and 12.5 linear feet of associated records.

The Bureau of Reclamation is required by Public Law and Federal Regulations to identify, preserve, and protect museum property under its ownership and control, and to manage such property for public use and benefit. Completion of the work identified between Reclamation and the Recipient will provide for the efficient use of Reclamation collections, and ensure the proper protection and curation of Reclamation museum property. In addition, the work done through this agreement will result in better access to the collections for research and public education.

RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT

The Recipient will prepare roughly 42,500 objects and 12.5 linear feet of associated records for long term curation to the standards set by the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Nebraska State Historical Society. The Recipient shall perform curatorial services as defined in 79 36 CFR Part 79, “Curation of Federally-Owned and Administered Archaeological Collections.” The Recipient shall meet the requirements of the DOI Departmental Manual part 411 (DM 411) Policy Directives and Museum Handbooks, volume 1 and 2, and the Reclamation Manual (RM), Directive and Standards, LND 02-02. The Recipient shall use approved methods to clean, sort, organize, accession, identify and label, catalog, rehouse, and curate the Collection in preparation for long-term storage. The Recipient will provide full and complete accession and catalog recording of objects and associated documents entered in the required Interior Collections Management System format. Work may begin any time after the award date and must be completed by September, 15, 2018.

RECLAMATION INVOLVEMENT

Regular review and interaction by the Bureau of Reclamation (“Reclamation”) is planned during the performance of activities funded under this financial assistance agreement. Reclamation will 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 any other deliverables identified as part of the SOW. Additional monitoring activities may include site visits, conference calls, and other on-site and off-site monitoring activities. At the Recipient’s request, Reclamation may also provide technical assistance to the Recipient in support of the SOW and objectives of this Agreement.

SINGLE-SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

SINGLE SOURCE POLICY REQUIREMENTS

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 justification must address one or more of the following criteria as well as discussion of the program legislative history, unique capabilities of the proposed recipient, and cost-sharing contribution offered by the proposed recipient, as applicable.

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;

(2) Continuation – The activity to be funded is necessary to the satisfactory completion of, or is a continuation of an activity presently being funded, and 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, cost-sharing ability if applicable, technical expertise, or other such 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.

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

(4) UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS

Single Source Justification Description:

The applicant, the Nebraska State Historical Society (NSHS), is uniquely qualified to perform the necessary activities to process, accession and catalog the artifacts and records for this project based upon a variety of demonstrable factors including location and technical expertise.

Location: NSHS provides storage for processed, accessioned and cataloged archeological collections from Reclamation lands in Nebraska through a separate financial assistance agreement with Reclamation. The facility meets all DOI requirements for the storage of museum property (DOI Museum Property Directive 14, “Facility Checklist for Spaces Housing DOI Museum Property”).

Continued treatment of related collections: NSHS is already in possession of accessioned material from three of the sites to be curated in the Medicine Creek Collection. Archeological sites 25FT22, 25FT30, and 25FT39 were first identified and investigated from 1946 to 1948 by the Smithsonian’s River Basin Surveys Program as part of the Missouri River Basin Project. To ensure proper consolidation of these collections, Reclamation prefers that NSHS process the related materials from the Medicine Creek Collection. Consolidation of collections is a best practice recommended by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The 2009 OIG audit report "Department of the Interior Accountability and Preservation of Museum Collections" (Report No. C-IN-MOA-OOIO-2008), notes that consolidation of collections benefits the agency as follows:

• Efficient use of resources.

• Better ability to attract resources, grants, and partnerships than individual parks.

• Ability to attract and retain professional staff and consistently meet professional standards.

Technical Expertise: NSHS has staff with knowledge and experience in processing, accessioning and cataloging archeological collections to DOI and Reclamation requirements found in DOI DM 411 Directives and Handbooks, and Reclamation RM Directives and Standards, LND 02-02. Additionally, they have experience with the DOI required software ICMS (DOI Museum Property Directive 18, “Interior Collections Management System”), and can provide data entry expertise without additional costs for staff training. Expertise with ICMS software is not a skill shared by many public providers in the Great Plains Region, and training can cost more than $2000/per employee. Currently, CRM contract providers regularly cost an additional $1500 to $2500 per agreement to the Regional Museum Property Program due to inexperience with the requirements for the use of the ICMS data format.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY

Reclamation has the authority to enter into this agreement pursuant to Public Laws (PL) found in the Code of Laws of the United States of America (USC). The following sections of Titles 54 and 16 of the U.S. Code, provided in full text below, authorize Reclamation to award this agreement (http://www.uscode.house.gov/):

National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, PL 89-665, as amended in 1980 by PL 96-515

Section 300101. Policy It is the policy of the Federal Government, in cooperation with other nations and in partnership with States, local governments, Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and private organizations and individuals, to –

(1) use measures, including financial and technical assistance, to foster conditions under which our modem society and our prehistoric and historic resources can exist in productive harmony and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations;

(2) provide leadership in the preservation of the historic property of the United States and of the international community of nations and in the administration of the national preservation program;

(3) administer federally owned, administered, or controlled historic property in a spirit of stewardship for the inspiration and benefit of present and future generations;

54 USC § 300101 (formerly 16 USC § 470-1) Section 302107. Regulations

The Secretary shall promulgate regulations –

(1) ensuring that significant prehistoric and historic artifacts, and associated records, subject to subchapter I of chapter 3061, chapter 3125, or the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470 aa et seq.) are deposited in an institution with adequate long-term curatorial capabilities;

54 USC § 302107 [formerly 16 USC § 470a(a)(7)]

Reservoir Salvage Act of 1960, PL 86-523, as amended by the Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974, PL 93-291

Section 312506. Administration In the administration of this chapter, the Secretary may –

(1) enter into contracts or make cooperative agreements with any Federal or State agency, educational or scientific organization, or institution, corporation, association, or qualified individual;

(2) obtain the services of experts and consultants or organizations of experts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5; and

(3) accept and utilize funds made available for salvage archeological purposes by any private person or corporation or transferred to the Secretary by any Federal agency.

54 USC § 312506 (formerly 16 USC § 469b) http://www.uscode.house.gov/

Paleontological Resources Preservation Act of 2009, PL 111-11 Section 470aaa-4. Curation of resources

Any paleontological resource, and any data and records associated with the resource, collected under a permit, shall be deposited in an approved repository.

The Secretary may enter into agreements with non-Federal repositories regarding the curation of these resources, data, and records.

16 USC § 470aaa-4

The following Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) implement the Public Laws and authority for this agreement (http://www.ecfr.gov/):

36 CFR Part 79, “Curation of Federally-Owned and Administered Archaeological Collections”

43 CFR Part 10, “Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Regulations” 43 CFR Part 3, “Preservation of American Antiquities” 43 CFR Part 7, “Protection of Archaeological Resources”

The Department of the Interior (DOI) provides guidance for fulfilling the standards of care and management of Federal museum property (https://www.doi.gov/museum/policy ):

Departmental Manual Part 411, “Identifying and Managing Museum Property” (411 DM; or DM 411).

DOI Museum Property Directives DOI Museum Property Handbooks

The Bureau of Reclamation provides policy, and directives and standards for the management of Federal museum property (https://www.usbr.gov/recman/ ):

Museum Property Management (LND P05).

Museum Property Management (LND 02-02)

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms (LND 02-02, Appendix A) Definitions and Terminology (LND 02-02, Appendix B)

Museum Records (LND 02-05).

http://www.ecfr.gov/ https://www.doi.gov/museum/policy https://www.usbr.gov/recman/