Scientific Educational Workshops and Conferences

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 Service¿s intention to fund the following project activities without full and open competition.

ABSTRACT
Funding Announcement P14AS00124
Project Title Natural Resource Management Educational Workshops and Conferences
Recipient George Wright Society
Principle Investigator / Program Manager David Harmon
Total Anticipated Award Amount Approximately $100,000.00
Cost Share none
New Award or Continuation? Continuation of previous Cooperative Agreements
Anticipated Length of Agreement From date of award for five years
Anticipated Period of Performance From date of award for five years
Award Instrument Cooperative Agreement
Statutory Authority 16 USC 1(g)
CFDA # and Title 15.944 Natural Resource Stewardship
Single Source Justification Criteria Cited (4) Unique Qualifications
NPS Point of Contact June Zastrow 303-98706718 june_zastrow@nps.gov

OVERVIEW

George Wright Society
The George Wright Society (GWS) is a nonprofit association of researchers, managers, administrators, educators, and other professionals which, in part, advances the scientific and heritage values of parks, protected areas, and cultural sites by promoting professional research and resource stewardship across natural and cultural resource disciplines for the benefit of all people. GWS also serves as a focal point for knowledge about the use, conservation, and management of cultural and natural parks, public forests and rangelands, historic and other cultural sites, wildlife refuges, marine reserves, and other protected areas. The GWS achieves its purposes and goals by bringing together through conferences, meetings, and written materials diverse scientific and scholarly professions and concerns for the purposes of compiling scientific and scholarly information, educating and training people, dispensing information, and exploring issues regarding park and related area management.

As part of its purpose, the GWS has established proactive goals to recruit, involve, and train minority professionals for natural and cultural resource management careers in parks, public lands, and related areas. GWS has articulated proactive steps to involve Native Americans in educational, training, and other activities related to natural, cultural, and recreational resources and related areas and to achieving common natural resource and cultural heritage preservation goals.

National Park Service
The NPS preserves and manages more than 84 million acres in over 401 units of the National Park System for the enjoyment of present and future generations and is responsible for increasing the public knowledge, awareness, and appreciation of natural and cultural resources. NPS policies promote the scientific management of natural and cultural resources, including the conservation of native ecosystems, cultural landscapes, and the integrity of resources found therein. The NPS also strives to provide opportunities for the public to enjoy the natural and cultural resources found in parks and to engage ethnically diverse populations and youth in stewardship. The NPS Associate Directorates, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science (NRSS) and Cultural Resource Partnerships and Science (CRPS), are responsible for preserving, protecting, and managing natural and cultural resources throughout the National Park System for the benefit of the public.

B. Public Purpose

The NPS wishes to partner with the GWS for the public purposes of:

1. Promoting, facilitating, and improving people¿s understanding of natural, cultural, recreational, and other aspects of protected areas, national parks, ecological conservation areas, national forests, and state parks through the GWS Biennial Conferences on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites.
2. Preparing, encouraging, and challenging young people, adults, and faculty from underrepresented ethnically diverse backgrounds to develop skills and knowledge about environmental stewardship in parks, protected areas, and cultural sites through the GWS Biennial Conferences on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites.
3. Increasing the availability of science-based information and other scholarly information which forms the basis of NPS management decisions, sharing with others scientific and other scholarly information related to natural and cultural area management generated as a result of research and management conducted in parks, and increasing the NPS¿s interactions with a diverse body of local, state, federal, tribal, and international natural and cultural management professionals, volunteers, and students through the GWS Biennial Conferences on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites.
4. Involving Native Americans and other indigenous people in educational, training, and other activities related to natural, cultural, and recreational resources through the GWS Biennial Conferences on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites.
To that end, the objectives of NPS and GWS for entering into this Cooperative Agreement are:
C. Objectives
The objectives of this agreement are:
1. Coordinate efforts to engage GWS members, cultural and natural area managers, private and public sector agencies, and other organizations in cooperative activities with the NPS to address protected area research, conservation, and management challenges through the GWS Biennial Conferences on Parks, Protected Areas and Cultural Sites.

2. Improve partnership efforts with adjacent and related protected areas (federal, state, tribal, private, and international) to conserve natural and cultural resources and landscapes and promote natural and cultural resource-based recreational opportunities through the GWS Biennial Conferences on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites.

3. Collaborate with federal, state, tribal, and private partners to design and plan the GWS Biennial Conferences on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites.

4. Develop and engage in two Biennial Conferences (2015 and 2017) to assist in the promotion, facilitation, and improvement of a variety of professionals¿, students¿, and others¿ understanding of the natural, cultural, recreational, and other aspects of protected areas such as national parks, ecological conservation areas, national forests, state, and local parks through interdisciplinary and inter-organizational dialogue including but not limited to topics such as:
a. Integrated cultural and natural resource management.
b. Development and implementation of regional cooperative and adaptive management efforts.
c. Cooperation in management activities to conserve resources in the face of challenges such as climate change, habitat fragmentation, oil spills, and lack of diverse professional staff.
d. New and innovative approaches that improve the ability of natural and cultural resource conservation practitioners to understand management dynamics and establish more effective ways to address them, utilizing the tools, processes, and theory developed in the field of resource management and protection to ensure that conservation solutions are more successful and sustainable.
5. Prepare and distribute widely educational proceedings of the two GWS Biennial Conferences which address the educational, research, and interchange content of the conference for distribution nationally and internationally through multiple mechanisms to promote professional natural and cultural resource management.
6. Prepare, encourage, and challenge young adults, adults, and faculty from underrepresented ethnically and economically diverse backgrounds to address environmental and social issues in their community, through leadership development, career exploration, and goal setting. These individuals will be exposed to the skills necessary to become professional resource managers through establishment of a mentoring and engagement program supporting conference participation and travel.

7. Involve Native Americans and other indigenous peoples in educational, training, and other activities related to Native American, natural, cultural, and recreational resources and related areas to achieve common natural and cultural resource heritage preservation goals.

8. Collaborate with NPS, state, federal and tribal agencies to develop up to 4 workshops and other professional meetings a year that contribute to advancing knowledge and/or increasing practical skills with regard to scientific and other scholarly research, cultural and natural resource management, interpretation/education, and related endeavors, focused on parks, protected areas, and cultural sites; as well as fostering partnerships and information exchange among governments, agencies, and nongovernmental organizations.

For full description see attachment