Visitor Use Estimation and Monitoring | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Visitor Use Estimation and Monitoring opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number J9836100056) is a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement issued through a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) arrangement with the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). It is a discretionary, information-and-statistics focused award intended to improve how Denali National Park and Preserve (Denali NPP) measures and tracks visitor use across the park. The agreement is structured as a new CESU task agreement, with Dr. Peter Fix listed as the principal investigator and an anticipated total federal award amount of up to $90,000. There is no cost-share or matching requirement stated for applicants, and the announcement indicates one expected award with an award ceiling of $90,000 and a floor of $40,000. The anticipated agreement length is four years, with a performance window running roughly from September 10, 2010 through September 30, 2013. The statutory authority cited includes 16 U.S.C. 1a-2(j) for NPS cooperative agreements and ANILCA (16 U.S.C. 5933), which supports cooperative study units and partnerships with universities to conduct research and produce integrated information products relevant to park resources and the broader region.

The purpose of the project is to fix known gaps and weaknesses in Denali’s visitor use estimation data, which park staff determined was either incomplete or not accurate enough to support current planning and management needs. Denali has been developing and using major planning documents tied to both visitor experience and resource protection, including efforts like a Vehicle Management Plan and a Resource Stewardship Strategy. Those planning processes highlighted that the park needs better, more defensible estimates of how many visitors are using the park, where they go, how they travel, and how patterns differ across “user segments” (distinct categories of visitors based on access mode, destinations, activities, or trip characteristics). The entrance-area visitor survey data was noted as being over a decade old, and the park also identified missing coverage for important areas and entry points, especially South Denali and other access locations off the George Parks Highway. The overall aim is to improve the model and methodology Denali uses to estimate and monitor visitor use so managers can more accurately evaluate potential impacts on both biophysical resources (wildlife, vegetation, soils, etc.) and experiential resources (crowding, solitude, quality of visitor experiences).

The work is described as a two-phase effort. Phase one focuses on designing and refining the survey instruments and the overall sampling strategy so that the study can reliably capture the different visitor segments Denali cares about, including both concentrated use (for example, corridor and developed-area visitation) and dispersed use (visitors entering through less typical access points). Phase two centers on field implementation at multiple locations and across different months of the year, followed by data processing, analysis, and synthesis into products that can be used in future monitoring cycles. The announcement also emphasizes collaboration with Denali staff, including the park social scientist and planning/visitor use personnel, so the resulting approach is practical for long-term park operations rather than a one-off academic study.

Deliverables are clearly spelled out and are geared toward both immediate planning needs and long-term repeatability. Expected products include a formal report presenting formatted survey results; the finalized survey instrument in a reusable format so the park can repeat the monitoring in the future; and a compiled dataset of visitor numbers stored in a scalable, easily queried and editable database format (an example given is MS Access). The university team is also expected to collaborate with NPS staff on presenting results and producing management-oriented recommendations that explain how to collect and monitor Denali visitor use park-wide going forward. Those recommendations are expected to be specific and operational, including alternative monitoring strategies and associated estimates of equipment and staffing needs at different levels of accuracy and effort. In addition, the project anticipates maps and graphics that show visitor use patterns by segment and area, making the findings easier to interpret for decision-makers and planners.

A notable part of the scope is integrating and aligning this new survey-based work with existing visitor use datasets already being collected by the park. The announcement references examples such as park road use, air taxi activity, and Cantwell ORV-related use, and it notes that integration work may involve both park headquarters and the Talkeetna area. Beyond deliverables, the services include providing staff and/or graduate student labor for data collection and analysis, conducting background research on visitor use data collection methodologies, and helping the park quantify the relative proportions of different visitor groups, their modes of access, and the specific places and services they use. The project explicitly mentions the need to distinguish patterns such as visitors who ride buses beyond Savage versus those who only visit the first portion of the park road (mile 0 to 14) or those accessing directly off the George Parks Highway.

The award is presented as a single-source CESU task agreement rather than a fully competed opportunity, and the justification is based primarily on “unique qualifications.” The NPS argues that the University of Alaska System is uniquely positioned due to its proximity and logistical advantages for work in Alaska, Alaska-specific data sources, and a track record of similar work in Alaskan national parks, along with relevant faculty expertise in visitor use measurement on federal lands in Alaska. The announcement also notes that the university team can begin quickly and that the proposal is not tied to sole-source procurement of equipment. Market research is described as a literature review of visitor use projects in parks and protected areas, which the NPS states further supported using UA experts for the particular services needed.

Budget information is broken out by fiscal year with estimated amounts of $37,000 in FY 2010, $45,000 in FY 2011, and $5,000 in FY 2012, with the narrative suggesting funding could extend beyond those years as the work continues. Administrative details identify the funding activity category as Information and Statistics, list the CFDA number as 00.000 (Not Elsewhere Classified), and provide an NPS point of contact (Erica Cordeiro) with email and phone information. The original posting date is September 1, 2010, with a closing date of September 8, 2010, reflecting that it was essentially a targeted CESU action tied to the UAF partnership rather than an open call for broad applicant competition.

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