Midwest National Natural Landmark Gap Analysis - GRPL

Description

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Master Cooperative Agreement P16AC00011 was entered into by and between the National Park Service (NPS) and a unified group of federal and non-federal partners to provide for the operation and maintenance of the Great Plains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (GP-CESU). The objectives of the GP-CESUs are to: (1) provide research, technical assistance and education to federal land management, environmental and research agencies and their potential partners; (2) develop a program of research, technical assistance and education that involves the biological, physical, social, and cultural sciences needed to address resources issues and interdisciplinary problem-solving at multiple scales and in an ecosystem context at the local, regional, and national level; and (3) place special emphasis on the working collaboration among federal agencies and universities and their related partner institutions. STATEMENT OF WORK: The purpose of this task agreement is to complete a gap analysis of National Natural Landmarks (NNLs) located in NPS Midwest region. Unless otherwise specified herein, the terms and conditions as stated in the Master Cooperative Agreement will apply to this Task Agreement. The project will assist in the creation, promotion, facilitation, and improvement of the public understanding of natural, recreational and ecological conservation areas, in state and private ownership. The outcome of this project will be the identification of new NNLs to be considered for designation for the purpose of conserving public and non-public lands that have historical and cultural significance. NNLs allow for the public’s potential understanding of the value of our shared natural heritage. The Principal Investigator will conduct a gap analysis of current NNLs and their features in the Midwest Region in order to identify natural features that are not currently represented in the list of NNLs. The NNL designation promotes conservation of natural areas regardless of ownership. This project will assist the NNL program in identifying, designating, and conserving ecologically important natural areas on state, private and federal lands. RECIPIENT AGREES TO: (1) Work closely with NNL staff and subject matter experts to assess the analysis approach in Detail; (2) Identify specific concerns, and fully outline/describe products that will be most appropriate; identify datasets needed and collect, process, and make compatible all required datasets; conduct gap analysis to identify under-represented thematic types; (3) Identify areas that may be suitable as potential NNLs, focusing on areas that will fill identified thematic gaps; produce final analysis report to include: (a) gap analysis: identification of natural history themes not presently represented by designated sites in the Midwest region states of interest; (b) development of criteria to prioritize gaps in natural history theme representation using landscape conservation elements (c) prioritized list of theme study classifications identified in gap analysis employing developed prioritization criteria; (d) two to three suggested sites to consider as Potential National Natural Landmarks (PNNLs) for each of the high priority classifications, including a brief description of the resource and proposed boundary for each; (e) brief write-up describing methods used to conduct gap analysis, landscape conservation elements used for prioritization, and the selection of PNNL sites. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AGREES TO: (1) Collaborate on the development of the gap analysis parameters and data gathering; (2) Assign an NPS staff to serve as Project Coordinator, participate in all scoping meetings and assist in developing criteria for the prioritization of potential NNL sites. NPS participation will allow for the incorporation of landscape conservation elements into the criteria development; (s) Midwest NNL Coordinator will facilitate any communication with potential NNL landowners, if necessary.

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