Opportunity Information: Apply for P16AS00131
Apply for P16AS00131
- The DOI-NPS in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Re-measuring the Effects of Heavy Metals on Vegetation in Cape Krusenstern National Monument" 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 Apr 26, 2016 and posted on Apr 26, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 07, 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 $175,000.00 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 grant opportunity titled "Re-measuring the Effects of Heavy Metals on Vegetation in Cape Krusenstern National Monument" is a National Park Service (NPS) notice of intent to award funding, not an open call for applications. In other words, the agency is publicly announcing that it plans to fund a specific project with a specific partner without running a competitive application process. The work focuses on natural resource monitoring in and near Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR) in Alaska, with the aim of tracking contamination trends and ecological effects associated with industrial activity along a major transportation corridor.
At the center of the project is the Delong Mountains Transportation System (DMTS), a haul road and associated transport route that crosses CAKR and links the Red Dog Mine to a port on the Chukchi Sea. Red Dog is described as one of the largest zinc-lead mines in the world, and ore concentrate has been trucked along this route since 1989. The concern driving the study is "fugitive dust" generated along the road, which can carry heavy metals that settle onto surrounding landscapes. Earlier research documented elevated levels of metals such as cadmium and lead near the road, raising questions about how far contamination spreads, whether it is changing over time, and what it means for local vegetation, especially sensitive organisms like lichens.
The project is essentially a continuation and remeasurement effort built on a long-term monitoring design. The NPS established a set of lichen monitoring plots and sampled them in 2006 with the intention of revisiting them on roughly a 10-year cycle. This award supports the next round of field sampling using the same established protocol so results can be compared directly to the earlier baseline. Beyond simply collecting new samples, the partnership is meant to develop and apply analytical methods capable of detecting change (or stability) across time, including spatial analysis and multivariate statistics where appropriate. The overall emphasis is on documenting both the spatial patterns of heavy metal deposition and any associated shifts in vegetation and lichen community composition and structure.
The intended recipient is Oregon State University (OSU), working cooperatively with the NPS under a Cooperative Task Agreement within the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) framework. Key personnel are identified on both sides. The NPS project lead and co-investigator is Peter Neitlich, serving as Acting Chief of Natural Resources/Ecologist for the NPS in the Western Arctic parklands context. On the university side, OSU is to appoint Dr. Alyssa Shiel as Principal Investigator, with Dr. Bruce McCune and Dr. Debashis Mondal as co-PIs. OSU is expected to staff the effort with a research associate or graduate student(s) and field assistants under the PI's supervision, reflecting both the research and educational components of the work.
Financially, the total anticipated federal award is $153,041 with no cost share required from the recipient. The performance period is planned from September 1, 2016 through December 31, 2018. The announcement lists an award ceiling of $175,000 and expects a single award. The statutory authority is cited as 54 USC 101702, and the CFDA listing is 15.945, "Cooperative Research and Training Programs - Resources of the National Park System / Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units Network." The funding instrument is described as a cooperative agreement (specifically a cooperative task agreement), which signals that NPS expects substantial involvement in the work rather than simply providing funds and receiving a final report.
The project deliverables are anchored around two major written products intended to be publishable and useful to managers and stakeholders. The first manuscript/report focuses on remeasuring spatial patterns of heavy metal deposition along the Red Dog Mine haul road corridor within Cape Krusenstern. The second focuses on remeasuring vegetation and lichen community structure along that same corridor to evaluate ecological responses potentially linked to contamination. The agreement also anticipates formal products in NPS technical report format (NRR-series), a student thesis, and/or manuscripts suitable for peer-reviewed journals. Supporting products include a complete project database in an NPS-approved template, curated voucher specimens of lichens collected during the work (with proper identification of unknowns), and project documentation consistent with NPS data standards and curation requirements.
A major stated rationale for the work is that it serves two public-facing goals. First, it provides information about contaminant status and trends in and adjacent to CAKR to a wide group of stakeholders, including those with strong subsistence and economic interests in the region. That language reflects the reality that environmental quality in northwest Alaska is closely tied to food systems and community wellbeing, alongside industrial development. Second, it provides funding to a public educational and research institution to build and maintain capacity to conduct this kind of applied monitoring and analysis for public benefit.
Responsibilities are clearly split, with OSU handling much of the on-the-ground sampling and technical analysis while NPS provides data continuity, logistical support, and oversight. OSU's role includes conducting fieldwork according to NPS protocols, planning logistics with the Agreement Technical Representative (ATR), identifying lichens, developing analysis methods jointly with NPS, producing reports/manuscripts, delivering curated voucher specimens, complying with park policies, and maintaining regular communication with the NPS ATR (email and phone are emphasized in lieu of interim reports). NPS, in turn, provides funding for personnel and field transportation, supplies plot locations and earlier datasets, trains OSU personnel on objectives and field methods, supports analysis development, manages peer review and information quality requirements under NPS guidance, provides templates and specifications for databases and voucher curation, helps with permits, and supplies key field support such as camping gear, lodging access in Kotzebue, and a mapping-grade GPS unit with post-processing of GPS data.
Finally, the notice addresses the noncompetitive nature of the award. It explains that the Department of the Interior requires written single-source justification when competition is not used, and it lists the standard justifications that could apply (such as continuation, unique qualifications, emergencies, and so on). In this particular notice, the "single source justification criteria cited" is listed as "N/A," while also noting that three sources were considered within the CESU network. Practically speaking, the project description itself reads like a continuation of an established monitoring effort with existing protocols and prior datasets, where consistency of methods and continuity of analysis are central to the value of the work.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is this an open grant competition where organizations can apply?
No. This is a National Park Service (NPS) notice of intent to award, not an open call for applications. The notice publicly states that NPS plans to fund a specific project with a specific partner without running a competitive application process.
Who is the intended recipient of the award?
The intended recipient is Oregon State University (OSU). The work is planned under a Cooperative Task Agreement within the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) framework.
What is the project title and what is it about?
The project is titled "Re-measuring the Effects of Heavy Metals on Vegetation in Cape Krusenstern National Monument." It focuses on natural resource monitoring in and near Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR) in Alaska to track contamination trends and ecological effects associated with industrial activity along a major transportation corridor.
Where will the work take place?
The work will take place in and near Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR) in Alaska, specifically along a corridor crossed by the Delong Mountains Transportation System (DMTS).
What is the Delong Mountains Transportation System (DMTS), and why is it central to this project?
The DMTS is a haul road and associated transport route that crosses CAKR and links the Red Dog Mine to a port on the Chukchi Sea. The project centers on the DMTS because ore concentrate has been trucked along this route since 1989 and the road is a source of "fugitive dust" that can transport and deposit heavy metals onto surrounding landscapes.
What heavy metals are of concern in this monitoring effort?
Earlier research documented elevated levels of metals such as cadmium and lead near the road. The project is designed to remeasure contamination patterns and evaluate whether contamination spreads, changes over time, and how it relates to vegetation, including sensitive organisms like lichens.
Why are lichens a focus of the study?
Lichens are described as sensitive organisms in the project context. The monitoring design includes established lichen plots, and the work will evaluate lichen community composition and structure along the corridor to assess potential ecological responses associated with heavy metal deposition.
Is this a brand-new study, or a continuation of earlier monitoring?
It is a continuation and remeasurement effort built on a long-term monitoring design. NPS established lichen monitoring plots and sampled them in 2006, with the intent to revisit them on roughly a 10-year cycle. This award supports the next round of sampling using the same established protocol so results can be compared directly to the earlier baseline.
What are the main goals of the project?
The project emphasizes (1) documenting spatial patterns of heavy metal deposition along the haul road corridor and (2) documenting any associated shifts in vegetation and lichen community composition and structure through time. It also includes developing and applying analytical methods capable of detecting change (or stability) over time.
What kinds of analytical methods are expected to be used?
The partnership is intended to develop and apply methods that can detect change across time, including spatial analysis and multivariate statistics where appropriate, while maintaining comparability to the 2006 baseline via consistent field protocols.
What is the funding instrument for this award?
The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, specifically described as a cooperative task agreement. This indicates NPS expects substantial involvement in the work rather than simply providing funds and receiving a final report.
What is the anticipated award amount, and is cost share required?
The total anticipated federal award is $153,041, and no cost share is required from the recipient.
Is there an award ceiling, and how many awards are expected?
The announcement lists an award ceiling of $175,000 and expects a single award.
What is the planned performance period?
The planned performance period is September 1, 2016 through December 31, 2018.
What are the statutory authority and CFDA listing for this opportunity?
The statutory authority cited is 54 USC 101702. The CFDA listing is 15.945, "Cooperative Research and Training Programs - Resources of the National Park System / Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units Network."
Who are the key personnel identified for this project?
On the NPS side, the project lead and co-investigator is Peter Neitlich (Acting Chief of Natural Resources/Ecologist for the Western Arctic parklands context). On the OSU side, OSU is to appoint Dr. Alyssa Shiel as Principal Investigator, with Dr. Bruce McCune and Dr. Debashis Mondal as co-PIs.
Will students be involved in the work?
Yes. OSU is expected to staff the effort with a research associate or graduate student(s) and field assistants under the PI's supervision, reflecting both research and educational components.
What are the primary deliverables expected from the project?
The deliverables are centered on two major written products intended to be publishable and useful to managers and stakeholders: (1) a manuscript/report on remeasuring spatial patterns of heavy metal deposition along the corridor, and (2) a manuscript/report on remeasuring vegetation and lichen community structure along the corridor to evaluate ecological responses potentially linked to contamination.
Are additional products besides the two main manuscripts expected?
Yes. The agreement anticipates formal products in NPS technical report format (NRR-series), a student thesis, and/or manuscripts suitable for peer-reviewed journals. Supporting products also include a complete project database in an NPS-approved template, curated voucher specimens of lichens, and project documentation consistent with NPS data standards and curation requirements.
What are "voucher specimens" in this project context, and what is required?
The project includes collecting and curating voucher specimens of lichens gathered during the work. Requirements include proper identification of unknowns and curation consistent with NPS specifications.
What are the data management expectations?
OSU is expected to deliver a complete project database using an NPS-approved template and provide project documentation consistent with NPS data standards and curation requirements. NPS will provide templates and specifications and will also support GPS post-processing for mapping-grade location data.
How are responsibilities divided between OSU and NPS?
OSU is responsible for much of the field sampling and technical analysis, including conducting fieldwork according to NPS protocols, coordinating logistics with the Agreement Technical Representative (ATR), identifying lichens, jointly developing analysis methods with NPS, producing reports/manuscripts, delivering curated voucher specimens, complying with park policies, and maintaining regular communication with the NPS ATR. NPS provides funding and oversight, ensures continuity by providing plot locations and earlier datasets, trains OSU staff on objectives and methods, supports analysis development, manages peer review and information quality requirements, helps with permits, and supplies logistical support and key field equipment.
What kind of logistical and field support will NPS provide?
NPS support includes funding for personnel and field transportation, camping gear, lodging access in Kotzebue, and a mapping-grade GPS unit. NPS also provides post-processing of GPS data, supplies plot locations and prior datasets, and assists with permits.
How will progress and coordination be handled during the project?
Regular communication with the NPS Agreement Technical Representative (ATR) is emphasized, specifically via email and phone in lieu of interim reports.
Why is this work described as important for the public and stakeholders?
The rationale includes two public-facing goals: (1) providing information about contaminant status and trends in and adjacent to CAKR to a broad group of stakeholders, including those with subsistence and economic interests, and (2) supporting a public educational and research institution to build and maintain capacity for applied monitoring and analysis for public benefit.
Why is the award noncompetitive if the agency considered other sources?
The notice states this is a noncompetitive intent to award and notes that the Department of the Interior requires written single-source justification when competition is not used. It also notes that three sources were considered within the CESU network. The project description emphasizes continuity with an established monitoring design, existing protocols, and prior datasets, where consistent methods and direct comparability to the 2006 baseline are central to the value of the work.
What does it mean that the "single source justification criteria cited" is listed as "N/A"?
In the notice, the field for the single source justification criteria is shown as "N/A," while also indicating that multiple sources were considered within the CESU network. The notice still frames the action as a noncompetitive intent to award tied to a specific continuation-style monitoring effort.
What does "substantial involvement" by NPS likely look like under a cooperative agreement?
Based on the roles described, NPS involvement includes providing plot locations and prior datasets, training personnel on objectives and methods, supporting analysis development, managing peer review and information quality requirements, providing templates and specifications for databases and voucher curation, assisting with permits, and providing field logistics and equipment.
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