U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grant: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 50th Anniversary Documentary

PURPOSE:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Dec. 6, 2010. The Arctic Refuge is the largest of the nation’s 550 national wildlife refuges, preserving unique wildlife, wilderness and recreation values in a continuum of five different ecosystems. Because there are no roads leading to the refuge and no visitor facilities or roads within the refuge, few people are able to visit. For this reason, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided to bring the refuge to the public with a documentary that will highlight its wildlife, landscape and unique attributes. This documentary film will be the centerpiece of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Arctic Refuge 50th Anniversary celebration. The Fish and Wildlife Service and Alaska Geographic will work cooperatively to complete this time-critical project.

OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of this agreement are that the Fish and Wildlife Service will receive project management support and technical assistance from Alaska Geographic with the production, review, marketing, and distribution phases of this documentary film project.

BACKGROUND

Alaska Geographic is the official Regional Cooperating Association/non-profit partner of the 16 national wildlife refuges in Alaska and has a Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to perform this and other activities to enhance the public’s understanding of Alaska’s natural, cultural, and historic resources.

REASON FOR SINGLE SOURCE:

(1) Unique Qualifications – The applicant is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based upon a variety of demonstrable factors. Alaska Geographic has 50 years of experience in interpreting the unique wildlife and cultural resources of Alaska and in partnering with public land management agencies to achieve mutual educational goals. In addition to publishing books, newsletters, and other interpretive materials it has produced federal agency documentaries and has experience in distributing documentary films and videos through strategic outreach plans that include television, internet, and film festivals. Alaska Geographic has experience in providing project management support and technical assistance for the production, review, marketing and distribution of a film about Arctic Alaska, produced in cooperation with the National Park Service. Alaska Geographic is uniquely situated to make the finished film quickly available to the public through its educational bookstores located in public lands across the state of Alaska by contributing their own funding and technical expertise into reproduction of the film. In addition, Alaska Geographic meets other criteria which preclude competition for this cooperative agreement, including key project management personnel; in-kind donation of labor, equipment, and materials; and support capacity for this time critical project.