National Park Service Grant for Bering Strait Ocean Current and Traditional Knowledge Documentation

This Funding Announcement is not a request for applications. This announcement is to provide public notice of the National Park Service (NPS), intention to fund the following project activities.

ABSTRACT

Funding Announcement: H9911100026

Project Title: Ocean Currents within the Bering Strait region

Recipient: Kawerak

Principle
Investigator: Julie Raymond – Yakoubian
Total Anticipated
Award Amount: $90,000

Cost Share: N/A

New Award
Or Continuation: New

Anticipated
Length of
Agreement: 5 Years

Anticipated
Period of
Performance: July 30, 2010 – July 29, 2015

Award
Instrument: Cooperative Agreement/CESU

Statutory
Authority: 16 U.S.C. §1(g): The National Park Service may in fiscal year 1997 and thereafter enter into cooperative agreements that involve the transfer of National Park Service appropriated funds to State, local and tribal governments, other public entities, educational institutions, and private nonprofit organizations for the public purpose of carrying out National Park Service programs pursuant to section 6305 of title 31 to carry out public purposes of National Park Service programs.

CFDA# and 0.00 Not Elsewhere Classified
Single Source
Justification
Criteria Sited:

BACKGROUND:

• A brief history of this project. Is this part of an on-going program, agreement, etc? This project has previously been competed through the Shared Beringian Heritage Program of the NPS. A nationwide announcement is conducted yearly requesting proposals. Projects are subsequently selected through a 3-step competitive process. The selection process includes: internal NPS review; ranking by a FACA compliant panel of external stakeholders; and final selection by the NPS. Projects must be of mutual interest and benefit to the cooperator and the NPS, and must involve substantial involvement by both parties.

1) 505 DM 2 Single Source – Only one responsible source will satisfy agency requirements.

• Identify the source and explain why specifically competition is not practical. The cooperator proposed the project for consideration.

2) Nature and description of the deliverable required to meet the agency’s needs:

• Description of the deliverables and the required delivery schedule: Document the traditional and contemporary use of and knowledge about ocean currents by communities in the Bering Strait region over a four year period (extended from 3 years due to NPS delays). Deliverables: conduct local expert consultations and mapping sessions; conduct field observations; provide digital photos, maps, educational poster, transcripts of the interviews and articles; host workshop in Anadyr, Russia; give presentations; write popular article; and complete annual and final reports.
• The minimum essential characteristics or unique features of the item(s). The documentation of TEK knowledge and use of Bering Strait currents is of critical timing due to: the rapid change in the currents caused by climate change; the effect this change is having on the safety of subsistence users and other travelers in the Bering Strait (especially in small craft) and on the environment; and the fact that native elders are of advanced age and the potential to lose this knowledge if not documented immediately.
• State the price of the requirement – base year and every additional anticipated agreement period thereafter. Funding in FY10 of $20,000.08, FY11 of $30,000, and FY12 or $40,000.

3) Criteria for justifying award without competition. In order for an assistance award to be made without competition, the award must satisfy one or more of the following criteria. Please explain which criterion specifically addresses the proposed agreement. This project has previously been competed (described above). The cooperator proposed the project for consideration and has the qualifications to complete the work.

DOCUMENTATION FOR USE OF A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

Cooperative Agreement Number or PR Number H9911100026
Kawerak, Inc., Indigenous Knowledge and Use of the Bering Strait Region Ocean Currents

Type of funds to be used for this project: ONPS

1. What type of competition is appropriate? Nationwide announcement for Beringia proposals.

2. Why was this cooperator selected? Cooperator proposed the project through a 3-step competitive process, and had the necessary expertise to perform the selected project.

3. Who are the parties to the agreement? Kawerak, Inc. and the Alaska Region, NPS.

4. What is the purpose of the agreement? To document the traditional and contemporary use of and knowledge about ocean currents by communities in the Bering Strait region.

5. What are the deliverables expected? Conduct local expert consultations and mapping sessions; conduct field observations; provide digital photos, maps, educational poster, transcripts of the interviews and articles; host workshop in Anadyr, Russia; give presentations; write popular article; and complete annual and final reports.

6. Explain the nature of the anticipated substantial involvement. What will NPS specifically do to carry out the project?

– Provide technical assistance and expertise to the project. This assistance will also include outreach with NPS interpretive and education specialists, and further assistance with outreach in Beringian communities in Alaska.
– The Shared Beringian Heritage Program, NPS has continuing projects that are involved in the documentation of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and climate change related studies. There are other NPS sponsored cultural resource projects working in the region in 2010.
– NPS will help link this project with other planned research in the region; to NPS staff, nongovernmental organizations and the scientific community with interest in TEK and related fields. At the rate at which environmental change is occurring in the arctic, it is critical that the results of studies such as this are shared quickly and broadly – and prior to final results, that there is collaboration in the planning and implementation.

7. Why is the substantial involvement considered to be necessary? For successful outcome.

Further: Substantial involvement on the part of Kawerak, Inc. is necessary to complete the project because as the native Alaskan non-profit for the region, they have the local relationships, knowledge and language expertise to conduct the work. Substantial involvement from the NPS is necessary because in addition to cultural resource staff experts, they have the broader relationships with Russian government institutions, State and U.S. Federal agencies and other Beringia partners, to ensure collaboration and coordination, and ensure that the deliverables are accessible and useful.

Explain why the project or activity entails a relationship of assistance rather than a contract. How will the NPS benefit from this collaboration? As described above, this project brings the inherent strengths of the local, placed-based organization and the federal government together to complete a project of shared interest and benefit.

Further: The Shared Beringian Heritage Program of the NPS seeks to build partnerships with parties working on either side of the Bering Strait, increasing international cooperation and the conservation of the shared heritage of the region. Therefore, project supported through the program need to be of mutual benefit with substantial involvement from both parties. These partnerships further the NPS program goals of fostering collaboration across research and cultural studies in the region; leading to increased understanding and appreciation of the region; and furthering the goals of international cooperation.

8. What is the public purpose of support or stimulation? Resource stewardship and conservation.

9. Which law or laws authorize granting of assistance for performance of this project or activity? 104-208 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997.

National
Park Service
Point of Contact: Erica_Cordeiro@nps.gov