UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Recovery Act - Northwest Alaska Inter-village Trails Marking and Mapping, AlaskaAuthority :
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, 43 U.S.C Section 1737(b), P.L. 94-579.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Section 3; states the following objectives: to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; to assist those most impacted by the recession; to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; and to stabilize State and local governments budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases.
RECOVERY-ACT-BLM-AK-RFA10-1638
CFDA No. 15.231
CFDA Title: Fish, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Resource Management
ISSUE DATE: November 4, 2009
CLOSING DATE & TIMEDecember 4, 2009 11:49 p.m.
Alaska Standard Time
Contact Information:
Grants Management Officer (GMO) Sandee Smith
Phone: 907 271-5193
Fax: 907-271-4595
SECTION I. Funding Opportunity Description
A. Project Background Information:
The primary means of intervillage travel in Northwest Alaska is via a network of winter trails that cross multiple land ownerships (Federal, State, Local, and private). Travel on these trails in arctic winter conditions with limited daylight can be hazardous. For many years, land managers have attempted to utilize the knowledge of experienced locals to mark the trails in order to improve public safety, reduce trespass issues, and facilitate intervillage commerce. Limited budgets have precluded fully marking all the trails in any given year. Some trials remain unmarked, and many marked trails require maintenance and re-marking.
B. Project Objective:
This project will enhance public safety through marking remote winter trails used for inter-village travel across BLM-managed Public lands and adjacent Federal, State, and private lands. It will help reduce unauthorized use on Native Corporation lands adjacent to BLM-managed lands by marking Alaska Native Claim Settlement Act (ANCSA) 17(b) easements, which are the legal access across those lands to reach public lands. It will acquire geospaital data that will help improve land use planning by Federal, State, and Local agencies and enhance search and rescue capabilities in Northwest Alaska.
The recipient will acquire services from residents with local knowledge of traditional winter transportation routes and hire local residents to utilize snow machines and/or ATVs to place or replace trail marker tripods. The recipient will place signs on ANCSA 17(b) easements reserved across Native Corporation lands to ensure access to public lands. The recipient will acquire GPS data that meets or exceeds minimum standards specified by BLM, verify the data quality, and make the data available to all Federal, State, and local government land management agencies in Northwest Alaska, to all agencies with search and rescue authority in Norwest Alaska, and to the general public in a non-proprietary format that can be uploaded to recreation grade GPS units.
Accomplishing the work will employee local residents in Northwest Alaska. The public will benefit from improved public safety and enhanced search and rescue capability. The public will benefit from better coordinated land use planning across jurisdictions. Native Corporations (private land owners) will benefit from reduced trespass due to clearly marked ANCSA 17(b) easements.
C. Statement of Joint Objectives/Project Management Plan:
The joint objectives of BLM and the recipient are to 1) create jobs in Northwest Alaska, 2) enhance public safety, and 3) minimize unauthorized use on Federal, state, local, and private lands in the region.
The recipient will be responsible for project management, for acquiring services of local residents with knowledge of winter travel routes, for providing personnel and equipment to carry out the trail marking and mapping, for ensuring project completion and work quality, and for keeping BLM apprised of progress.
Either BLM or the recipient may purchase supplies and equipment to be used in completing the project. Any non-consumable supplies and equipment purchased to complete the project will remain the property of BLM at completion of the project.
Substantial Involvement:
BLM will be substantially involved.
BLM will provide specifications for materials used and will discontinue marking if the specs are not met.
BLM will provide to the recipient data content and quality standards for map data acquired during the project. BLM employees will accompany the recipient’s personnel to assist with the work and monitor work quality. BLM will also monitor very closely all of the work being done on the trails
BLM Performance Measures:
3.1.01 Percent of visitors satisfied with the quality of their experience
3.1.09 Number of trail and shoreline miles made available for recreation through management actions: This project will make trails in NW Alaska safer, more accessible, and more hospitable to users.
3.1.12 Law Enforcement: Number of serious injuries per 100,000 visitors.
3.1.13 Law Enforcement: Number of fatalities per 100,000 visitors.
This project will make trails in NW Alaska safer for users and provide trail location data to local search and rescue organizations.
4.1.37 Law Enforcement: Percent change of natural, cultural, and heritage resource crimes that occur on DOI lands or under DOI jurisdiction
4.1.23 Percent of open complaints received from property owners, concerning DOI actions affecting status of their private property, resolved within one year.
This project will make travel routes in NW Alaska more manageable on all landowner jurisdictions and reduce trespass on private lands by Public land users.
4.1.39 Percentage of DOI public lands management units where travel management plans or equivalent regulatory or policy documents are completed. (SP)
This project will acquire data needed to complete the travel management plan for the Kobuk-Seward Peninsula planning area.
D. Period of Project: Upon signature of Grants Management Officer and ending December 31, 2011 or when ARRA funds are expended.
SECTION II. AWARD INFORMATION
A. Expected Number of Awards and length of Award(s): 1 award through December 31, 2011. Length of Award is two years.
B. Estimated Total Program Funding: (for entire program) $300,000.00
C. Award Ceiling: $300,000.00
D. Assistance Instrument: Cooperative Agreement
*NOTE: The funding made available through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is one-time funding only.
SECTION III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION
A. Eligible Applicants: Unrestricted
B. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program has no matching requirements; however, applicants offering matching funds either for the project’s internal expenses or for funding the program are more likely to be funded. If cost sharing is from a third party, include a copy of the letter committing funds or interest in the project if possible. (If youth program indicate 75/25 match)
SECTION IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
A. Address to Request Application Package: This announcement contains all information and electronic addresses necessary to submit an application through Grants.gov.
B. Content and Form of Application: The application package shall consist of all the required Standard Forms shown below, Attachment A, Certification For Federal Assistance, AND a project narrative and budget narrative that must include the following information:
1. Required Standard Forms:
SF Forms to Submit / SF Form InformationApplication / Form SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance
Budget Information / Form SF-424A, Budget Information - Non-Construction Programs
or SF-424C – Construction Programs
Assurances / Form SF-424B, Assurances - Non-Construction Programs
or SF-424D– Construction Programs
2. Detailed Narrative Proposal
1. Indirect Charges. Most States, Universities and larger nonprofit organizations have a negotiated indirect cost rate agreement with the Federal Government. This agreement provides the rates approved for use on cooperative agreements, grants, contracts and other agreements with the Federal Government. A copy of a current rate agreement must be submitted with proposed projects. Smaller organizations may not have an agreement with the Federal Government. In these cases, the indirect costs requests must be accompanied by a determination from an independent auditing firm. This determination will include the indirect cost rate, the calculations of the indirect cost rate including the base and indirect costs pools and the associated dollar figures for both. Proposals that fail to document their indirect costs will be disallowed.
2. Proposal Submission Format (Attachment B) can be used as an example in submitting a proposal. The proposal technical text must be no longer than 10 pages, no smaller than font size 11, and have 1-inch margins. The 10-page limit includes all text, figures, references, and vitae. (The Budget, Attachment C, is not included in the 10-page limit.) The text should include the following:
a. Introduction, Purpose, Objectives, and Relevance – (a) Describe why the project is needed by the applicant; (b) Describe the applicant’s objectives; (c) Describe how the applicant’s objectives support their mission and how this project will provide a public benefit; (d) Describe how this project will preserve and create jobs to promote economic recovery, provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health, and will invest in transportation, environmental protections and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits.
b. Technical Approach - Describe how the applicant proposes to conduct and achieve the project in accordance with the Statement of Joint Objectives in Section I.D. The project design must contain enough detail to show the development of the project and the relationship between the partners, tasks, milestones, and objectives. The work plan must be clear, suitable, and feasible with respect to the following; (a) Describe the techniques, procedures, and methodologies to be used; (b) Describe data collection, analysis, and means of relationship interpretation; (c) Describe expected results or outcomes; and (d) Describe the procedures for evaluating project efficacy, including fixed performance indices with probabilities for obtaining them. Explain how the applicant will meet the completion schedule identified in Section I.D.
c. Qualifications, Experience, and Past Performance - Describe who will carry out the project activities. List all project personnel, including consultants. Describe their responsibilities and the amount of time each will dedicate to the project. Briefly describe how their experience and qualifications are appropriate to successfully achieve the stated objectives.
3 Budget (Attachment C). Include a description of the cost share (cash vs. in kind). The budget should contain the following:
a. Salaries and Wages. Include all employees and their titles working on the project.
b. Fringe Benefits. Proposed rates/amounts. If rates are audit approved, include a copy of the audit agreement and/or the name of the audit agency. If more than one rate is used, list each rate and the wage or salary base.
c. Consultant/Contracting Fees. Include payments for professional and technical consultants and contractors participating in the project.
d. Travel and Per Diem. For each trip, indicate the number of persons traveling, the total days they will be in travel status, and the total subsistence and transportation costs for that trip. Per diem rates shall not exceed maximum Federal rates. To view current Federal per diem rates, visit http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentId=17943&contentType=GSA_BASIC and follow the links to per diem information.
e. Supplies and Materials. Include consumable supplies and materials to be used in the project, listing each item and quantity individually. Include items of expendable equipment, i.e., equipment costing less than $500 or with an estimated useful life of less than two years. Equipment costing more than that should be listed in the Other Costs category (Category G, below).
f. Services. This should include the cost of duplication and printing, long distance telephone calls, equipment rental, postage, and other services not previously listed.
g. Other Costs. List equipment items in excess of $500 and other items not previously listed. Note that equipment items worth less than $500 or that have a useful life of less than 2 years must be listed in the Supplies and Materials category.
h. Indirect Charges. If indirect costs will be charged to the grant/cooperative agreement, complete the table below with your current approved indirect cost rate and the direct costs it will be applied to. A copy of your most recent indirect cost rate must be attached if indirect costs are requested.
C. Submission Dates and Times:
The electronic submission into Grants.gov is due by December 4, 2009@ 11:59 p.m. Alaska Standard Time. A proposal received after the closing date and time will not be considered. If it is determined that a proposal will not be considered due to lateness, the applicant will be notified immediately.
All proposals/applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov. All of the required attached forms can be prepared online. Any form that is not available online may be submitted as attachments at the end of the proposal. If you have not registered in Grants.gov, visit the website www.grants.gov and get started in the registration process. Application preparation time may take several weeks to get certified. Once at the website, choose “Get Started” and work through the first 5 steps. If you have any questions or problems with the registration process, please contact the grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726. In addition, Grants.gov has an “Applicant Users Guide” available at: http://www.grants.gov/help/user_guides.jsp that will answer most if not all your questions.
D. Submission Instructions and Information:
Applications/proposals must be submitted by the following method only:
1. On-Line Submittal – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is participating in the Grants.gov Initiative that provides the grant community with a single site to find and apply for grant funding opportunities. BLM requires applicants to submit their applications/proposals electronically through: http://www.grants.gov/Apply.
YOU MUST REGISTER WITH GRANTS.GOV PRIOR TO SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION THROUGH THE GRANTS.GOV WEBSITE. THE REGISTRATION PROCESS MAY TAKE FROM 7 TO 21 DAYS.
2. Electronic Signature. Applications submitted through Grants.gov constitute submission as electronically signed applications. The registration and e-authentication process establishes the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). When you submit the application through Grants.gov, the name of your authorized organization representative on file will be inserted into the signature line of the application. Applicants must register the individual who is able to make legally binding commitments for the applicant organization as the AOR.