Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS DOIP116AC01561
Apply for NPS DOIP116AC01561
- The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Historic Resources Inventory and Documentation for the Skagway and White Pass District National Historic Landmark" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
- This funding opportunity was created on Sep 13, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 23, 2016. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $115,194.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Historic Resources Inventory and Documentation for the Skagway and White Pass District National Historic Landmark is a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative task agreement meant to update and strengthen the official documentation for one of Alaska's most important nationally recognized historic districts. This notice is not a call for applications; it is a public announcement that NPS intended to fund the work without competition through an existing cooperative framework. The recipient named in the announcement is the University of Oregon, with an anticipated federal award total of $115,194, no cost share required, and a planned five-year agreement period running from September 1, 2016 through August 31, 2021. The award vehicle is a Cooperative Task Agreement issued under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) authority (54 U.S.C. 100703), and it is tied to an already-established CESU cooperative agreement with the University of Oregon. The funding is listed under CFDA 15.945, and the point of contact is James Cato.
The project focuses on the Skagway and White Pass District National Historic Landmark (NHL), first designated on October 15, 1966, with a stated period of significance of 1897 to 1910 that reflects Skagway's central role in the Klondike Gold Rush era and related transportation and settlement patterns. The district covers the core of Skagway, Alaska, described as roughly 23 blocks long and three to five blocks wide, and it contains a dense mix of late-19th and early-20th century resources. These include workingmen's residential architecture, frontier-era commercial buildings, and industrial features tied to the White Pass and Yukon Route railway. The NHL also overlaps with the White Pass Unit of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and extends into associated archaeological ruins and cultural landscapes linked to the Trail of '98, the Brackett Wagon Road, White Pass City, Deadhorse Gulch, and construction-era base camps from the railroad's development.
A major driver for the grant is that the district has changed since its earlier documentation, and the existing "improved documentation" from 1999 is treated as the current official baseline. In that 1999 documentation, 585 buildings, sites, and structures were recorded inside the NHL boundary, with 174 identified as contributing resources (163 buildings, 8 sites, and 3 structures). While individual properties may not always stand out on their own, the district as a whole still conveys the historic scale and sense of place. At the same time, the notice acknowledges that integrity can be complicated: buildings have been altered through additions, restoration campaigns, demolitions, relocation, and commercial-driven modifications. Because these changes affect how the district is evaluated, NPS sought updated inventory work and modernized nomination materials that reflect current standards and the best available scholarship.
The core work to be performed by the University of Oregon is a comprehensive survey, inventory, and historical research effort for the full range of cultural resources within the NHL boundary. That means field visits and/or field schools to document buildings, structures, sites, objects, cultural landscape features, and archaeological areas. The deliverables are both narrative and technical: a written report (with maps showing how the district changed over time) and a geodatabase built in cooperation with NPS. The intent is not just to list resources, but to reevaluate contributing versus non-contributing status, reassess integrity, and improve the accuracy and usefulness of the official nomination-level dataset. The project also explicitly leaves room to identify additional historic contexts and potentially new or expanded periods of significance for resources that do not contribute to the NHL as currently defined but might qualify for separate National Register listings or even future NHL consideration.
A key required product is updated NHL documentation prepared to current federal standards using National Historic Landmark Nomination Form 1024-0276 and relevant National Register and NHL guidance. The nomination update is expected to be complete and committee-ready, including a descriptive inventory (Section 7) that covers all landscape components and all resource types, organized and cross-referenced to mapped codes. The work must follow established evaluation frameworks such as National Register Bulletin 18 (designed historic landscapes) and Bulletin 36 (archaeological properties). The significance discussion (Section 8) must reflect current scholarship, align with the NPS Thematic Framework, and clearly articulate applicable NHL themes, criteria, and the period of national significance. The announcement notes that the district's existing national significance is tied primarily to NHL Criterion 1 (with Criteria Consideration B), while also directing researchers to support significance under NHL Criterion 6 for archaeology by identifying archaeological sites, discussing integrity, and developing a national context and comparisons to similar sites in the region. It also allows for significance arguments under other criteria (such as Criterion 2 for important individuals, Criterion 4 for architecture, and Criterion 5 for way of life) if the evidence supports it, following standard NHL conventions.
The documentation package also has specific technical requirements. The boundary itself is not expected to change; instead, the project is framed as improved documentation within the established 1999 boundary and its justification. The researchers must provide current, policy-compliant photographs representing each resource type and key landscape patterns, adhering to the most recent National Register photo policy. Mapping requirements include USGS maps showing the existing boundary with appropriate UTM reference points, prepared in line with National Register guidance, plus sketch maps that clearly depict contributing and non-contributing resources and important site features. To support formal review, the researchers must also prepare an executive summary suitable for the National Historic Landmark Committee, and that summary must be approved by NPS staff before use.
Beyond documentation, the grant emphasizes education, training, and public engagement. The project is structured to involve students and youth participants in hands-on fieldwork and research, building practical skills and a stewardship ethic while producing professional-grade cultural resource products for NPS. It also requires a "transfer of knowledge" component, meaning the research team must present findings back to both NPS and the Skagway community through formats like PowerPoint presentations, posters, and flyers, and participate in broader dissemination such as conference talks, public presentations, reports, or articles depending on what the research reveals. The goal is to increase public awareness and support for preservation while ensuring the results are useful to researchers and practitioners beyond NPS.
NPS responsibilities are laid out as active partnership support rather than passive grant oversight, which is typical of cooperative agreements. NPS commits to supplying government-furnished information (previous research, datasets, background materials) and coordinating access to complementary products like the White Pass Archaeological Survey and the White Pass Transportation System Cultural Landscape Report being developed during the performance period. NPS also provides technical expertise across historic structures, cultural landscapes, archaeology, documentation standards, and cultural-resource GIS, including collaboration on the geodatabase and review and approval of reports and interpretive materials. Practical fieldwork support is also included: logistics and safety planning, orientations and briefings, daily safety check-ins during field seasons, and assistance with travel coordination and resupply. Both parties are expected to coordinate outreach and distribution of final findings, and there are clear expectations around proper crediting and acknowledgments for future uses of photos, maps, and written products.
Finally, the notice explains why the award was issued without competition. Under Department of the Interior single-source policy (505 DM 2), noncompetitive awards must be justified under specific criteria. Here, the justification is essentially procedural and programmatic: the work is issued as a task agreement under a CESU cooperative agreement that had already been awarded (P16AC00003), making it part of an established cooperative research and training relationship rather than a standalone competitive grant. In practical terms, the announcement is mainly about transparency: it tells the public that NPS planned to fund a defined set of deliverables with a specific university partner to update the Skagway and White Pass District NHL inventory, GIS data, and nomination-quality documentation under modern standards.
FAQs: Historic Resources Inventory and Documentation for the Skagway and White Pass District National Historic Landmark
Is this notice a call for applications?
No. The notice is explicitly not a call for applications. It is a public announcement that the National Park Service (NPS) intended to fund the work without competition through an existing cooperative framework.
Who is the intended recipient of the funding?
The recipient named in the announcement is the University of Oregon.
What is the anticipated federal award amount?
The anticipated federal award total is $115,194.
Is a cost share or match required?
No cost share is required according to the announcement.
What is the planned period of performance?
The planned agreement period is five years, from September 1, 2016 through August 31, 2021.
What type of award mechanism is being used?
The award vehicle is a Cooperative Task Agreement issued under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) authority (54 U.S.C. 100703), tied to an already-established CESU cooperative agreement with the University of Oregon.
What is the CFDA number listed for this funding?
The funding is listed under CFDA 15.945.
Who is the point of contact named in the notice?
The point of contact is James Cato.
What historic place is the project focused on?
The project focuses on the Skagway and White Pass District National Historic Landmark (NHL) in Skagway, Alaska.
When was the Skagway and White Pass District first designated as an NHL?
The district was first designated on October 15, 1966.
What is the stated period of significance for the NHL as described in the notice?
The stated period of significance is 1897 to 1910, reflecting Skagway's central role in the Klondike Gold Rush era and related transportation and settlement patterns.
How large is the district described to be?
The district covers the core of Skagway and is described as roughly 23 blocks long and three to five blocks wide.
What kinds of historic resources are found in the district?
The notice describes a dense mix of late-19th and early-20th century resources, including workingmen's residential architecture, frontier-era commercial buildings, and industrial features tied to the White Pass and Yukon Route railway.
Does the NHL overlap with other protected or studied areas?
Yes. The NHL overlaps with the White Pass Unit of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and extends into associated archaeological ruins and cultural landscapes connected to the Trail of '98, the Brackett Wagon Road, White Pass City, Deadhorse Gulch, and railroad construction-era base camps.
Why is updated documentation needed?
The notice states that the district has changed since earlier documentation, and that the 1999 "improved documentation" is treated as the current official baseline. Because changes such as additions, restoration campaigns, demolitions, relocations, and commercial-driven modifications affect evaluation, NPS sought updated inventory work and modernized nomination materials that reflect current standards and scholarship.
What does the 1999 baseline documentation record?
In the 1999 documentation, 585 buildings, sites, and structures were recorded inside the NHL boundary. Of those, 174 were identified as contributing resources (163 buildings, 8 sites, and 3 structures).
Will the project reevaluate what is contributing versus non-contributing?
Yes. A stated intent of the work is to reevaluate contributing versus non-contributing status, reassess integrity, and improve the accuracy and usefulness of the official nomination-level dataset.
Is the NHL boundary expected to change as part of this effort?
No. The notice states that the boundary itself is not expected to change. The work is framed as improved documentation within the established 1999 boundary and its justification.
What are the main tasks the University of Oregon is expected to perform?
The core work is described as a comprehensive survey, inventory, and historical research effort covering the full range of cultural resources within the NHL boundary, including field visits and/or field schools to document buildings, structures, sites, objects, cultural landscape features, and archaeological areas.
What deliverables are expected from the project?
The deliverables include a written report (with maps showing how the district changed over time) and a geodatabase built in cooperation with NPS. The project also requires updated NHL documentation prepared to current federal standards using the National Historic Landmark Nomination Form 1024-0276 and relevant National Register and NHL guidance.
What specific requirements are mentioned for the updated NHL nomination documentation?
The nomination update is expected to be complete and committee-ready. The descriptive inventory (Section 7) must cover all landscape components and all resource types, organized and cross-referenced to mapped codes. The significance discussion (Section 8) must reflect current scholarship, align with the NPS Thematic Framework, and clearly articulate applicable NHL themes, criteria, and the period of national significance.
Which evaluation frameworks and guidance documents are referenced?
The work must follow established evaluation frameworks such as National Register Bulletin 18 (designed historic landscapes) and Bulletin 36 (archaeological properties), along with relevant National Register and NHL guidance.
Which NHL criteria are emphasized in the notice?
The notice says the district's existing national significance is tied primarily to NHL Criterion 1 (with Criteria Consideration B). It also directs researchers to support significance under NHL Criterion 6 for archaeology by identifying archaeological sites, discussing integrity, and developing a national context and comparisons. It further notes that arguments under other criteria (such as Criterion 2, Criterion 4, and Criterion 5) may be developed if supported by evidence.
Does the project allow for identifying additional historic contexts or periods of significance?
Yes. The notice states that the project leaves room to identify additional historic contexts and potentially new or expanded periods of significance for resources that do not contribute to the NHL as currently defined, including the possibility that some resources might qualify for separate National Register listings or future NHL consideration.
What photo documentation is required?
The notice requires current, policy-compliant photographs representing each resource type and key landscape patterns, adhering to the most recent National Register photo policy.
What mapping products are required?
Mapping requirements include USGS maps showing the existing boundary with appropriate UTM reference points, prepared in line with National Register guidance, plus sketch maps depicting contributing and non-contributing resources and important site features.
Is an executive summary required for formal review?
Yes. The researchers must prepare an executive summary suitable for the National Historic Landmark Committee, and that summary must be approved by NPS staff before use.
How does education and training factor into the project?
The grant emphasizes education, training, and public engagement. The project is structured to involve students and youth participants in hands-on fieldwork and research to build practical skills and a stewardship ethic while producing professional-grade cultural resource products for NPS.
What is meant by the "transfer of knowledge" requirement?
The notice requires that the research team present findings back to both NPS and the Skagway community through formats such as PowerPoint presentations, posters, and flyers, and participate in broader dissemination (conference talks, public presentations, reports, or articles) depending on research outcomes.
What support and responsibilities does NPS provide under this cooperative agreement?
NPS responsibilities are described as active partnership support. NPS commits to supplying government-furnished information (previous research, datasets, background materials), coordinating access to complementary products being developed during the performance period, providing technical expertise (historic structures, cultural landscapes, archaeology, documentation standards, cultural-resource GIS), collaborating on the geodatabase, reviewing and approving reports and interpretive materials, and supporting field logistics and safety (including orientations, briefings, daily safety check-ins during field seasons, and assistance with travel coordination and resupply).
Are there expectations for crediting and acknowledgments?
Yes. The notice includes expectations around proper crediting and acknowledgments for future uses of photos, maps, and written products.
Why was the award issued without competition?
The notice explains that, under Department of the Interior single-source policy (505 DM 2), noncompetitive awards must be justified under specific criteria. Here, the work is issued as a task agreement under a CESU cooperative agreement that had already been awarded (P16AC00003), making it part of an established cooperative research and training relationship rather than a standalone competitive grant.
What is the overall purpose of publishing this notice?
The announcement is described as a transparency measure informing the public that NPS planned to fund a defined set of deliverables with a specific university partner to update the Skagway and White Pass District NHL inventory, GIS data, and nomination-quality documentation under modern standards.
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