Ethnographic Overview and Assessment
NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD This Funding Announcement is not a request for applications. This announcement is to provide public notice of the National Park Serviceâ₏™s intention to fund the following project activities without full and open competition. ABSTRACT Funding Announcement Number P15AC00994 Project Title Hunters, Trappers, Miners, and Homesteaders: An Ethnographic Overview and Assessment Recipient University of Alaska Fairbanks Principle Investigator / Program Manager Leslie McCartney, Principal Investigator Curator of Oral History, University of Alaska Fairbanks Andrew M. Gray, Associate Director, Office of Grants and Contracts Administration, University of Alaska Fairbanks Total Anticipated Award Amount $53,000 Cost Share None New Award or Continuation? Continuation Anticipated Period of Performance 08/01/2015 through 12/31/2017 Award Instrument Cooperative Agreement Statutory Authority 54 USC Section 100703 54 USC Section 101702(a) CFDA # and Title 15.945, Cooperative Research and Training Programs â₏“ Resources of the National Park System (CESU) Single Source Justification Criteria Cited (2) Continuation NPS ATR Point of Contact Barbara Cellarius OVERVIEW The primary objective of this project is to develop a written report that documents the culture and traditions of non-native groups and communities traditionally associated with the park. â₏œHunters, Trappers, Miners, and Homesteaders: An Ethnographic Overview and Assessmentâ₏ will document existing ethnographic literature and related information (e.g., journals, audio recordings, photos) pertaining to the study area. Using an existing annotated bibliography provided by National Park Service (NPS) as a starting point, the cooperator will compile a narrative overview about the non-native communities and occupational groups traditionally associated with the park and engaged in the use of park resources or occupying lands in what is now Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (WRST). These communities and occupational groups include, but are not limited to, small-scale miners, hunting guides, trappers, and homesteaders. The study will assess the completeness of the ethnographic record and recommend areas of future research to address identified data gaps. The final product will include a listing of bibliographic references and locations of relevant collections. STATEMENT OF JOINT OBJECTIVES/PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN NPS and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Oral History Program will collaboratively undertake the project. This work will draw upon existing documentation and oral history recordings along with between four to six new oral history interviews to produce an ethnographic overview of non-native communities associated with WRST. The cooperator will be responsible for finding, analyzing, and collating existing archival, published, and non-published materials. New oral history interviews will be conducted and video and/or audio recorded to contextualize written materials and suggest future research needs. NPS will be involved in making decisions about project management, including identifying data gaps and developing a research strategy to fill those gaps. RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT The University of Alaska Fairbanks will participate in numerous tasks for this project, including: 1. In consultation with the ATR, identify data gaps in the existing literatures and propose, as needed, a plan for conducting new oral history interviews, as well as other types of research that will allow the satisfactory filling of these gaps. 2. Conduct four to six oral history interviews that will fill any gaps identified in the Annotated Bibliography. 3. Prepare a draft outline for the Ethnographic Overview and Assessment. 4. Produce the draft text of the Ethnographic Overview and Assessment, which integrates published, archival, and interview data into a single, thematic document and submit as an electronic document to NPS staff for review and editorial comment. 5. Identify photographs and other illustrations to illustrate the final report and ensure that permission to reproduce them is obtained. 6. Incorporate comments received from National Park Service into the draft document developed during Phase I to produce the final text of Ethnographic Overview and Assessment. 7. Layout the final report, including all graphics, tables, and other illustrations, and provide print ready digital copy on CD or Flash drive and submit as an electronic document to NPS staff for review and comment. 8. Revise the final report as needed in response to NPS comments and submit the final electronic document to NPS. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INVOLVEMENT Substantial involvement on the part of the National Park Service is anticipated for the successful completion of the objectives to be funded by this award. In particular, the National Park Service will be responsible for the following: 1. Providing NPS policy direction and review, anthropological expertise, and assistance in accessing NPS archives and planning documents. 2. Reviewing all work as it progresses. Adjustments to protocol, interview subjects, scheduling, and subject matter may be discussed and implemented as necessary as project proceeds. 3. Participating in oral history interviews, as well as analysis and writing as needed throughout the project and if available. 4. Providing comments on the draft documents in a timely fashion. 5. Collaborating with the cooperator on identifying appropriate illustrations to incorporate into the final report. SINGLE-SOURCE JUSTIFICATION DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR SINGLE SOURCE POLICY REQUIREMENTS 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. In order for an assistance award to be made without competition, the award must satisfy one or more of the following criteria: (1) Unsolicited Proposal â₏“ 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; (2) Continuation â₏“ The activity to be funded is necessary to the satisfactory completion of, or is a continuation of an activity presently being funded, and for which competition would have a significant adverse effect on the continuity or completion of the activity; (3) Legislative intent â₏“ The language in the applicable authorizing legislation or legislative history clearly indicates Congressâ₏™ intent to restrict the award to a particular recipient of purpose; (4) Unique Qualifications â₏“ The applicant is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based upon a variety of demonstrable factors such as location, property ownership, voluntary support capacity, cost-sharing ability if applicable, technical expertise, or other such unique qualifications; (5) Emergencies â₏“ Program/award where there is insufficient time available (due to a compelling and unusual urgency, or substantial danger to health or safety) for adequate competitive procedures to be followed. The National Park Service did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria: (2) Continuation â₏“ The activity to be funded is necessary to the satisfactory completion of, or is a continuation of an activity presently being funded, and for which competition would have a significant adverse effect on the continuity or completion of the activity. This project continues cooperation between the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve to document the stories of people with traditional ties to the park. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve has been working with the Oral History Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks since the 1990s to document the stories of people living in or around the park or with other traditional ties to the park. This project builds upon that work in using a number of the existing interviews in that collection, along with additional information, to produce a narrative report documenting the non-Native occupational groups traditionally associated with the park. It is essential to have consistency in interviewers and interview methods to ensure comparable results. It will have the added benefit that any new oral histories conducted for the current project can be incorporated into UAF's existing Project Jukebox on-line oral history collection.
Office: National Park Service
Contract Specialist
Phone 907-644-3315
