National Park Service Grant for Visitor Trail Use Study to Enhance Injury Prevention

OVERVIEW

The National Park Service (NPS) and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation (HJF) will collaborate on a public health activity to reduce unintentional fatal and non fatal injuries at high risk areas in the National Park Service.

STATEMENT OF JOINT OBJECTIVES/PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

The objective of this project is to conduct social science research on trail use in national parks to gain information that will help target prevention efforts to reduce the number of people who experience injury or require rescue to avoid injury or death.

The aims of this effort are to:

1. Describe patterns of trail departure.
2. Identify reasons that hikers leave the trail near high risk locations.
3. Assess trail transgressors’ reactions to possible alternatives to leaving the trail at that location.
4. Develop a survey instrument that can be used to quantify trail transgressors’ reasons for leaving the trail at the hazardous location, and gauge the appeal of possible preventive countermeasures.

The principal purpose of this research is to increase basic knowledge and understanding of visitor behavior in high risk areas in parks to develop a survey that could be administered in a follow-on investigation that would ultimately lead to an intervention trial. The goal of this body of work is to reduce the number of people who experience an injury or require professional rescue to avoid injury or death.

RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT

Henry M. Jackson Foundation will:
1. Hire research team to conduct the study outlined in the statement of work.
2. Purchase or provide the mechanism through which researchers can obtain necessary supplies and equipment, coordinate travel arrangements to the park site, and dispense appropriate compensation.
3. Ensure final report is completed and submitted to NPS.
4. Ensures researchers’ compliance with project statement of work and guidelines.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INVOLVEMENT

National Park Service will:
1. Provide researchers with general orientation to park operations and NPS mission, respond to questions, and provide an on-site liaison for park-specific inquiries.
2. Provide input into research design, implementation, and study protocols.
3. Provide access to data, staff, and relevant park locations and sites as appropriate to facilitate data collection.
4. Review and approve each phase of the projects prior to the commencement of subsequent phases.

Department of the Interior Policy (505 DM 2) requires a written justification which explains why competition is not practicable for each single-source award. The justification must address one or more of the following criteria as well as discussion of the program legislative history, unique capabilities of the proposed recipient, and cost-sharing contribution offered by the proposed recipient, as applicable.

NPS did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria:

Unsolicited Proposal – The proposed award is the result of an unsolicited assistance application which represents a unique or innovative idea, method, or approach which is not the subject of a current or planned contract or assistance award, but which is deemed advantageous to the program objectives.