Synthesis of historical and contemporary information on the avian fauna of Cape Krusenstern and Bering Land Bridge National Park | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

This National Park Service (NPS) funding opportunity is a one-year cooperative agreement intended to pull together, organize, and translate decades of scattered bird data for two remote Alaska park units: Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR) and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA). The project focuses on the parks 1600 km of coastline, especially lagoons and estuaries that serve as critical breeding and staging areas for migratory birds. The urgency behind the work is tied to two major pressures converging in the region: rapid climate warming (reported as occurring at about twice the global average) and expanding industrial activity in the nearby Chukchi Sea following federal oil and gas leasing decisions that could increase shipping traffic and place offshore infrastructure relatively close to the parks. Together, those forces heighten the need for the NPS to understand and protect habitat supporting internationally significant migratory bird populations, including multiple species identified as conservation priorities and the threatened yellow-billed loon, which is also part of the Arctic Network vital signs monitoring.

The grant is structured as a non-competitive, single-source award to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) for $54,389, with substantial NPS involvement. The statutory authority cited is 16 USC 5933, which supports cooperative agreements that build research and integrated information products relevant to National Park System resources and their broader regional context. Although the parks and partners have collected or supported avian research in the area since at least the 1970s, the central problem the announcement highlights is that the information has not been synthesized into usable, decision-ready products. As a result, park managers lack a consolidated baseline for understanding historical conditions, current status, and natural variability across time, and the public does not have accessible outputs that reflect decades of research investment.

The core objective is to establish a baseline status summary of the parks avifauna and begin assessing which species may be most vulnerable to climate change or development-related impacts, producing outputs that serve both management needs and public outreach. The work is meant to cover not only CAKR and BELA, but also to connect with parallel sites along the Chukchi coast in the Russian Federation that are relevant to the NPS Shared Heritage Beringia Program. In other words, the project is designed to be immediately useful locally while also fitting into a broader Beringia-wide synthesis effort spanning coastal areas from the Indigirka River region (Chukotka) to the Mackenzie Delta in Canada.

Planned deliverables are laid out in phases. First, WCS and NPS will synthesize existing avian data for CAKR and BELA in a way that aligns with other NPS efforts such as coastal inventories, bioblitz-style work, and ongoing vital signs monitoring (with explicit mention of coastal lagoons and yellow-billed loons). Second, WCS will produce an electronic, georeferenced database that can be archived with the park network, helping ensure the information is stored in a structured format suitable for future analysis and long-term access. Third, the project will be integrated with other synthesis initiatives in Chukotka and northwest Alaska as part of a longer-term goal of producing a comprehensive Birds of Beringia monograph. That publication concept is not just technical; it is also intended to recognize and celebrate the individuals and groups who collected early field data, highlighting continuity between past work and modern management needs. Fourth, the project will generate communication products: baseline information for the parks websites (including species lists that are currently missing), a four-page glossy fact sheet aimed at park managers, and cooperative outreach products developed with park interpretive staff for local communities, focused on key findings and conservation needs.

NPS is not simply providing money; the announcement anticipates substantial agency participation. NPS staff will help review field journals, digitize archived records, facilitate access to archived materials held at the Alaska Regional Office, guide how the synthesized information is incorporated into NPS data structures and storage systems, and collaborate on communications so the results can be shared through NPS channels. This hands-on role is framed as necessary to ensure the compilation work is accurate, complete, properly archived, and translated into formats that are actually usable by managers and interpreters.

The decision to avoid full and open competition is justified on the basis of unique qualifications. The NPS states that WCS is the most appropriate organization because the work ties directly into WCS broader synthesis of Bering Land Bridge avifauna information and because of WCS extensive avian conservation experience in the region. The justification also points to the specialized expertise of Dr. Robards of WCS, described as uniquely qualified due to extensive international coordination experience with Bering-region avian researchers and established engagement with local communities near BELA and CAKR on wildlife conservation issues. In effect, the NPS argument is that continuity, regional networks, and on-the-ground relationships make WCS the practical choice to deliver the synthesis efficiently and in a way that matches NPS management and Beringia-partnership needs.

Administratively, the opportunity is listed as a discretionary cooperative agreement in the environment and natural resources category, with an expected single award and no cost-sharing or matching requirement. The funding opportunity number is P13AS00142, posted July 18, 2013, with an estimated total funding amount and ceiling of $54,389. Eligible applicants are identified broadly as nonprofits (both with and without 501(c)(3) status, excluding institutions of higher education), though the notice functions primarily as a public statement of intent to fund WCS via a single-source approach rather than a standard open solicitation. Contact information is provided for technical and grants access questions through NPS Alaska Region staff.

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