Opportunity Information: Apply for P15AS01022
Apply for P15AS01022
- The National Park Service in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Mapping Lichen Cover and Biomass in the Western Caribou Arctic Herd Home Range" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945 Cooperative Research and Training Programs Resources of the National Park System.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jun 27, 2015 and posted on Jun 27, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 11, 2015. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $32,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $50,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- This is a notice of intent to award to the University of Maine Fort Kent. Please see the attached notice of intent for further details.
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Opportunity Summary:
This notice describes the National Park Service (NPS) intent to make a single, non-competitive cooperative agreement award for a research project called "Mapping Lichen Cover and Biomass in the Western Arctic Caribou Herd Home Range" (Funding Announcement Number P15AS01022). It is explicitly not an open call for applications. Instead, it serves as a public notice that NPS plans to fund a specific recipient, the University of Maine Fort Kent, to carry out work that supports caribou habitat and subsistence-resource management in northwestern Alaska. The planned federal award amount is about $31,119.16, with a substantial partner contribution (roughly $29,000 in cost share/matching support, largely attributed to the Northwest Arctic Borough). The expected period of performance runs from July 1, 2015 through September 30, 2017, and the award vehicle is a cooperative agreement issued under 54 USC 101702(b) (Cooperative Research and Training on NPS Resources), listed under CFDA 15.945.
The core problem the project targets is a major recent decline in the Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH). Since lichens are the primary winter forage for caribou, one plausible contributor to the herd decline is reduced lichen availability across winter range. The notice points to broader arctic and boreal trends that can depress lichen cover, especially increasing wildfire frequency and extent and the expansion of shrubs into areas that historically supported more lichen-rich ground cover. Both trends are linked, at least in part, to warmer summers. Against that backdrop, the project frames a practical management question: if winter forage is changing, can those changes be mapped at a scale and accuracy that is actually useful for understanding caribou movement and habitat selection, and for informing management decisions?
A key technical motivation is that, historically, mapping lichen cover and biomass over large areas using satellite imagery has often been limited by a lack of adequate ground-based vegetation measurements needed to build and validate remote-sensing models. The NPS Arctic Network (ARCN) has collected extensive vegetation monitoring data over roughly the last 15 years, creating a foundation of on-the-ground measurements that can be paired with Landsat imagery and higher-resolution satellite products. The project plan is to use those ARCN datasets along with satellite remote sensing to model and then produce spatial maps of lichen cover and biomass across the herd's range. Those maps are then intended to be used to evaluate the role of winter forage resources in caribou habitat selection, essentially testing whether caribou movements correspond with higher-lichen areas in ways that would support or refute a forage-limitation hypothesis.
The work is also positioned as serving local subsistence needs, not only federal research interests. The Northwest Arctic Borough (NAB) represents twelve communities that depend heavily on subsistence hunting of caribou from this herd. NAB had received separate funding (described as coming from Shell in connection with studies of subsistence resources near outer continental shelf oil development leases) and selected caribou and habitat as a focal research topic. NPS agreed to help NAB identify and support researchers who could assess winter range forage conditions. Because NPS has relevant vegetation data through ARCN and has responsibilities related to protecting subsistence opportunities and resources within its units, NPS is partnering with NAB in the project and will serve as co-principal investigators alongside the university researchers.
The deliverables and roles are laid out clearly. The recipient (University of Maine Fort Kent and its collaborators) is expected to produce at least one lichen cover and biomass map covering the Western Arctic Herd home range, submit at least one peer-reviewed journal manuscript, and produce a longer National Park Service Natural Resource Technical Report (NRTR) that addresses broader issues and includes appendices useful to stakeholders. The recipient also must present results at at least one scientific conference and at two local community meetings selected by NAB, and provide annual progress reports to the funding agencies. On the NPS side, involvement goes beyond oversight: NPS will act as co-PIs, contribute to writing and editing publications, provide the ARCN vegetation data along with summarization and analysis needed to support the mapping products, and help make community presentations happen by assisting with local logistics such as lodging, introductions, and meeting arrangements.
Because this is a non-competitive (single source) intent to award, the notice includes a justification under Department of the Interior single source policy (505 DM 2). NPS cites the "Unique Qualifications" criterion as the basis for not seeking full and open competition. The justification argues that Dr. Peter Nelson (University of Maine Fort Kent) is uniquely positioned to do the work because he designed the ARCN study and collected the ground data underpinning the remote-sensing effort, he has published an essentially identical methods paper for Denali National Park, he helped secure matching funds from the Northwest Arctic Borough that expand the scope of what can be accomplished, and he plans to involve Dr. Emily Holt, another key investigator tied to the ARCN ground-based studies. The notice emphasizes practical efficiency and cost: given the limited salary support budget (described as only about three months total of project support), bringing in someone unfamiliar with the ARCN datasets and established methods would require substantial ramp-up time and money, whereas this team can move directly into analysis and mapping with less overhead.
In short, this opportunity is a targeted cooperative research award designed to produce defensible, landscape-scale lichen cover and biomass maps for the Western Arctic Caribou Herd winter range by combining long-term NPS Arctic Network ground vegetation monitoring with satellite remote sensing. The intended outcome is a management-ready habitat layer that helps agencies, tribes, local governments, and residents better coordinate herd management and understand whether changing winter forage conditions may be contributing to the herd's decline, with explicit commitments to both scientific publication and direct communication of results back to the affected local communities.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is this an open grant solicitation where new applicants can apply?
No. This notice is explicitly not an open call for applications. It is a public notice of the National Park Service (NPS) intent to make a single, non-competitive cooperative agreement award to a specific recipient.
What is the project being funded?
The funded research project is titled "Mapping Lichen Cover and Biomass in the Western Arctic Caribou Herd Home Range."
What is the Funding Announcement Number?
The Funding Announcement Number listed in the notice is P15AS01022.
Who is the intended recipient of the award?
NPS plans to fund the University of Maine Fort Kent to carry out the work described in the notice.
Is the award competitive or non-competitive?
It is non-competitive (single source). The notice states NPS intends to make a single award rather than seeking full and open competition.
What is the purpose of the project?
The project aims to create landscape-scale maps of lichen cover and biomass across the Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH) home range using a combination of long-term ground-based vegetation measurements and satellite remote sensing. These maps are intended to support caribou habitat and subsistence-resource management in northwestern Alaska.
Why focus on lichens?
Lichens are described as the primary winter forage for caribou. The notice identifies reduced lichen availability as a plausible contributor to the herd's recent decline, making lichen condition and distribution a management-relevant factor to assess.
What management question is the project trying to answer?
The project is framed around whether changes in winter forage can be mapped at a scale and accuracy useful for understanding caribou movement and habitat selection, and for informing management decisions. A central idea is testing whether caribou movements correspond with higher-lichen areas in a way that supports or challenges a forage-limitation hypothesis.
What factors are mentioned as potentially reducing lichen cover in the region?
The notice points to broader arctic and boreal trends that can depress lichen cover, including increasing wildfire frequency and extent, and the expansion of shrubs into areas that historically supported more lichen-rich ground cover. These trends are linked, at least in part, to warmer summers.
What data will be used to build and validate the lichen maps?
The project will use extensive ground-based vegetation monitoring data collected by the NPS Arctic Network (ARCN) over roughly the last 15 years, paired with satellite remote sensing products such as Landsat imagery and higher-resolution satellite products.
Why is ARCN vegetation monitoring data important for this work?
The notice states that large-area lichen mapping with satellite imagery has historically been limited by insufficient ground-based vegetation measurements for model building and validation. The long-term ARCN datasets provide the needed on-the-ground measurements to support defensible remote-sensing models and mapping outputs.
What type of agreement will be used for the award?
The award vehicle is a cooperative agreement.
What legal authority is cited for issuing the cooperative agreement?
The cooperative agreement is issued under 54 USC 101702(b) (Cooperative Research and Training on NPS Resources), as stated in the notice.
What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?
The notice lists the opportunity under CFDA 15.945.
What is the planned federal funding amount?
The planned federal award amount is approximately $31,119.16.
Is there a cost share or matching contribution?
Yes. The notice describes a substantial partner contribution of roughly $29,000 in cost share/matching support, largely attributed to the Northwest Arctic Borough.
What is the expected period of performance?
The expected period of performance runs from July 1, 2015 through September 30, 2017.
Which communities or stakeholders are expected to benefit from the work?
The work is positioned to support agencies, tribes, local governments, and residents involved in herd management and subsistence. The notice specifically highlights the Northwest Arctic Borough, representing twelve communities that depend heavily on subsistence hunting of caribou from the Western Arctic Caribou Herd.
What role does the Northwest Arctic Borough (NAB) play in the project?
NAB is described as a key partner representing subsistence-dependent communities. NAB selected caribou and habitat as a focal research topic using separate funding, and NPS agreed to help identify and support researchers who could assess winter range forage conditions. NAB also selects at least two local community meetings where results must be presented.
What role does NPS play beyond providing funding?
NPS involvement goes beyond oversight. NPS will serve as co-principal investigators, contribute to writing and editing publications, provide ARCN vegetation data along with summarization and analysis to support mapping products, and help enable local community presentations by assisting with logistics such as lodging, introductions, and meeting arrangements.
What deliverables are required from the recipient?
The recipient is expected to: (1) produce at least one lichen cover and biomass map covering the Western Arctic Herd home range, (2) submit at least one peer-reviewed journal manuscript, (3) produce a National Park Service Natural Resource Technical Report (NRTR) addressing broader issues and including appendices useful to stakeholders, (4) present results at at least one scientific conference and at two local community meetings selected by NAB, and (5) provide annual progress reports to the funding agencies.
What is an NRTR in this context?
NRTR refers to a National Park Service Natural Resource Technical Report. The notice states the project will produce a longer NRTR that addresses broader issues and includes appendices intended to be useful to stakeholders.
Why is this being issued as a single-source (non-competitive) award?
The notice includes a justification under Department of the Interior single source policy (505 DM 2) and cites "Unique Qualifications" as the basis for not seeking full and open competition.
What unique qualifications are cited for the intended recipient/team?
The notice argues Dr. Peter Nelson (University of Maine Fort Kent) is uniquely positioned because he designed the ARCN study and collected the ground data that underpin the remote-sensing effort, he published an essentially identical methods paper for Denali National Park, he helped secure matching funds from the Northwest Arctic Borough that expand project scope, and he plans to involve Dr. Emily Holt, another key investigator tied to the ARCN ground-based studies.
Does the notice mention cost or efficiency reasons for single sourcing?
Yes. The notice emphasizes practical efficiency given limited salary support (described as only about three months total of project support). It argues that bringing in a team unfamiliar with the ARCN datasets and established methods would require substantial ramp-up time and money, while the identified team can proceed more directly to analysis and mapping.
How will the project results be shared with local communities?
The recipient must present results at two local community meetings selected by the Northwest Arctic Borough. NPS will also assist with local logistics to help make those community presentations happen.
How will the project results be shared with the scientific community?
The deliverables include at least one peer-reviewed journal manuscript submission and at least one scientific conference presentation.
How does this project relate to subsistence-resource management?
The notice states the project supports caribou habitat and subsistence-resource management in northwestern Alaska. It highlights that twelve communities represented by the Northwest Arctic Borough depend heavily on subsistence hunting of caribou from this herd, and positions the research as serving those local subsistence needs in addition to federal research interests.
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