task agreement no. p15ac01266 - npea - noi.doc

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD

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

ABSTRACT

President

OVERVIEW

The National Pony Express Association (NPEA) is a private, nonprofit corporation composed of individual members and affiliated organizations. It was founded in 1978 and incorporated in the State of California. Its purpose is to help acquire, build, maintain, promote, and protect the Pony Express National Historic Trail. The NPEA works to identify, reestablish, and mark the original Pony Express routes through the eight states it served, and to provide education through its annual re-ride.

RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT

A. NPEA agrees to:

1. Communicate and coordinate regularly with NPS staff concerning joint organizational and project activities.

2. Promote visitor use and interpretation of the Pony Express National Historic Trail (NHT) through the planning and hosting of a trail re-ride in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015. As public outreach, NPEA will announce re-ride-related news and public events through the NPEA website, press releases, broadcast media, newsletter, and/or high-visibility media as appropriate.

3. Develop and conduct trail-related educational/outreach programs for the general public.

4. Host, maintain, and update an organizational website.

5. Work with the NPS toward monitoring and protection of trail resources.

6. Monitor conditions of markers and NPS-sponsored interpretive media.

7. Organize and conduct meetings of NPEA board of directors and an annual membership meeting with NPS involvement to be held in Fallon, NV in September 2016.

8. Provide travel support for the executive director and board members to attend Partnership for the National Trails System meetings, and for the executive director to attend board and chapter meetings. Provide travel support for the executive director, board members, association members, and other stakeholders to attend other trail-related activities in coordination with NPS, including attendance at NPS workshop(s).

9. Coordinate the use of national historic trail official trail sign standards for signing the National Pony Express National Historic Trail (NHT). The official national historic trail sign standards are available at: (www.nps.gov/trte/parkmgmt/how-to-create-your-sign-plan.htm). NPEA will collaborate with the NPS in prioritizing, developing, reviewing, and implementing sign plans, including, but not limited to, obtaining road jurisdiction, obtaining price quotes, and ordering from vendors, to ensure signs correctly match the order, and convey status of shipped signs prior to payment.

NPEA will ensure that the sign plan is being used and followed according to the plan location and sign type identified in the plan. Any deviations from the approved and finalized sign plan should be proposed and discussed with NPS prior to signs being ordered.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INVOLVEMENT

Substantial involvement on the part the National Park Service is anticipated for the successful completion of the objectives to be funded by this award. In particular, the National Park Service will be responsible for the following:

NPS agrees to:

1. Provide substantial involvement through communication, coordination, and regular meetings with NPEA representatives (in person, by email or by conference call) to identify common goals and objectives for conferences, workshops, plans and studies, publicity, and trail-related project and event activities having NPS involvement.

2. Collaborate with NPEA on trail research and development projects.

3. Communicate regularly with the NPEA president and board concerning the NPS Feasibility Study for adding routes to the Pony Express and other NHTs.

4. Provide necessary NPS technical assistance, supplies, data, and equipment for furtherance of NPEA’s education and interpretation programs.

5. Participate in NPEA board meetings and annual membership meeting to the extent possible.

6. Provide technical assistance in all matters regarding preservation, protection, signing, and interpretation of the Pony Express NHT.

7. Provide financial support as provided in Article VI Award and Payment.

8. Review in a timely manner all reports and invoices submitted by NPEA.

9. Collaborate with NPEA to develop and complete sign plans along the length of the national historic trail using the NPS developed sign planning tools available on the trail webpage. The NPS will coordinate with NPEA for development, review and completion of each plan, provide the sign specs for national historic trail standard signs, and assist NPEA with obtaining price quotes for signs based on completed sign plans. Provide ongoing assistance, guidance, and coordination towards promotion of public sign unveiling ceremonies. Where possible, the NPS will also attend and provide a uniform presence at such events to highlight to local news media the national significance of these partnership national historic trail development efforts.

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.

The National Park Service did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria:

(2) continuation Single Source Justification Description:

The National Trails System Act directs federal trails administrators to collaborate and cooperate with public and private partners in developing and protecting national historic trails. Specifically, the act “recognizes the valuable contributions that volunteers and private, nonprofit trail groups have made to the development and maintenance of the Nation's trails” and states that its purpose is to “encourage and assist volunteer citizen involvement in the planning, development, maintenance, and management, where appropriate, of trails” [P.L. 90-543, as amended, §2 (c)].

The NPEA helps to protect and develop the trail by publicly affirming its importance, conducting historical and field research pertaining to its historical use and original location, developing interpretive media concerning trail use and history, and conducting educational events to encourage public understanding and enjoyment of the trail. Therefore selection of this cooperator for this project is authorized under and in compliance with the National Trails System Act.

Further, landowners must consent before their properties are documented or accessed by the public, and approaching them to seek consent can be a highly sensitive matter. The NPEA already has established relationships with various governmental and non-profit land managers and with private landowners along the Pony Express National Historic Trail.

The National Pony Express has been a valuable partner with the National Park Service for approximately 20 years. Beginning a new partnership would present a financial hardship to the National Park Service. Throughout the years the National Pony Express Association has obtained valuable information and knowledge regarding the Pony Express NHT. This knowledge and information has been used to create valuable documentation about the trail. To recreate this documentation would cost the National Park Service a significant amount of money. Because of the ongoing relationship with the NPEA, we find that in the best interest of the Government that we continue this longstanding partnership for the management of the Pony Express National Historic Trail.

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

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