Identify Vulnerable Populations of Dall s Sheep in Alaska s National Parks Using Climate Models | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is Funding Opportunity Number P15AS01026?

P15AS01026 is a National Park Service (NPS) grant notice announcing an intent to fund a specific project without competition. It was not an open solicitation for new applications.

Is this an open, competitive grant opportunity?

No. The notice describes a planned single-source (non-competitive) award for a specific project and recipient, rather than a competition inviting proposals from multiple applicants.

What project was NPS planning to fund under this notice?

The project title is "Identify Vulnerable Populations of Dall's Sheep in Alaska's National Parks Using Climate Models." The work focuses on modeling Dall's sheep habitat use and forecasting vulnerability under changing climate conditions.

Who was the intended recipient of the award?

The cooperative agreement was intended to be awarded to the University of Idaho.

What type of award was planned?

The planned award mechanism was a cooperative agreement, which typically involves substantial federal involvement in the project (as opposed to a more hands-off grant).

How much funding was anticipated?

The anticipated federal funding was about $90,061, with an estimated total funding amount listed around $91,000.

Was a cost share or match required?

No cost share was required according to the information provided.

What was the expected period of performance?

The anticipated period of performance was approximately two years, from 8/30/2015 to 10/30/2017.

What CFDA program is associated with this award?

The award falls under CFDA 15.945, "Cooperative Research and Training Programs - Resources of the National Park System, CESU."

What legal authority supports this project?

The notice cites 54 USC 100702(b), which supports Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) that link federal agencies with universities for multidisciplinary research and integrated information products.

Why is NPS interested in Dall's sheep in Alaska park units?

Dall's sheep are described as a high-profile species in Alaska's mountainous national parks and preserves. They are highly visible to visitors, may be hunted in preserve areas (adding management complexity), and may serve as a sensitive indicator of climate and vegetation change in arctic and alpine ecosystems.

Which Alaska park areas are mentioned in connection with Dall's sheep?

The notice references several units and regions, including Denali, Wrangell-St. Elias, Yukon-Charley Rivers, Gates of the Arctic, western Arctic parklands such as Noatak, and Lake Clark.

How does climate change relate to the management concern described?

The concern is that climate change could shift vegetation timing (plant phenology, including "green-up"). Because arctic and alpine environments are strongly seasonal, changes in forage timing can affect sheep reproduction and recruitment, especially if lambing success is tightly linked to forage availability.

What is the core technical approach of the project?

The project centers on combining existing spatial data on Dall's sheep locations with climate model outputs to understand current habitat use and to forecast how habitat suitability and risk may change under future climate conditions.

What were the project objectives?

The objectives were threefold: (1) model Dall's sheep resource selection in Alaska park units using both conventional habitat variables and bioclimatic (climate-related) variables; (2) use those results with climate projections to assess potential responses as conditions shift; and (3) translate those modeled responses into a vulnerability assessment identifying which populations are most exposed and where habitat may contract or expand.

What is meant by "resource selection" in this project context?

In the context described, resource selection refers to modeling how sheep use habitats relative to available landscape, habitat, and bioclimatic predictors, using animal location data to quantify space-use relationships.

What data sources were expected to be used?

The work was expected to use existing sheep location datasets collected from Alaska parks, GIS layers describing landscape features, and climate model outputs used as bioclimatic predictors and for future projections.

What tasks was the University of Idaho team expected to perform?

The University of Idaho team was expected to conduct the core modeling and analysis, including evaluating habitat selection from animal location data, building space-use models that integrate bioclimatic and conventional predictors, examining movement patterns across time scales in relation to bioclimatic conditions, and constructing a bioclimatic envelope under future climate scenarios.

What kind of future-looking analysis was planned?

Using the best-performing resource selection models, the researchers planned to project how habitat availability and distribution could change under future climate scenarios, including quantifying potential contraction or expansion of habitats currently used by sheep within the parks.

What is a "vulnerability assessment" as described here?

In this notice, the vulnerability assessment is the translation of modeled habitat and climate-response projections into an identification of which park sheep populations are most exposed to climate-driven habitat change and where habitat loss or expansion is most likely.

What deliverables were described for the project?

Deliverables included annual and final accomplishment reporting, a final completion report, and drafts of two peer-reviewed journal manuscripts.

What role was NPS expected to play under the cooperative agreement?

NPS was expected to be substantially involved by providing Dall's sheep location datasets, supplying GIS landscape layers, contributing site-specific ecological knowledge needed for realistic model building and interpretation, and collaborating in the preparation and review of analyses, reports, and manuscripts.

Why was the award planned as a single-source (non-competitive) action?

The notice states the decision was documented under the Department of the Interior single-source policy (505 DM 2) using the "Unique Qualifications" criterion. The justification emphasized the specialized expertise and track record of the University of Idaho investigators.

Which investigators are specifically named in the justification?

The notice highlights principal investigator Dr. Janet Rachlow and collaborator Dr. Oz Garton for their relevant expertise and publication history related to Dall's sheep ecology and quantitative habitat and space-use modeling.

Does the notice indicate that other applicants could apply instead?

Based on the information provided, the notice indicates an intent to fund a specific project and recipient without competition, rather than inviting alternative applications.

What management value was NPS expecting from the project results?

The project was framed as decision-relevant science intended to help NPS understand and forecast how climate-driven changes could affect Dall's sheep habitat use and to identify which park populations are most vulnerable to those changes.