Management for the Conservation of Park Grasslands

Description

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Numerous parks within the Midwest Region (MWR) manage for species reliant on grazing habitat. Yet, integrating the need to manage these park lands for grazing species with biodiversity conservation is critical to yielding a more robust and resilient landscape. Identifying management objectives to promote a grassland ecosystem that will support the production of forage as well as sustain the ecosystem processes of pollination, soil conservation and sustaining the biodiversity of all native species is necessary for holistic grassland conservation. Such management goals would not only improve habitat for all grazing species within the park, but also enhance pollination, improved soil condition, minimized erosion and would contribute to the resilience of a grazing ecosystem that could better withstand the extreme weather events and changes in temperature and precipitation resulting from climate change. As such, management objectives would not focus on the number of grazing animals that could be sustained on the landscape but rather on the sustainability of their populations over the long term. The long term sustainability of the populations would include increased reproduction, decreased mortality and appropriate distribution across the landscape. In addition, the landscape within which the park resides will be considered so that management actions would contribute to the larger landscape and regional resilience. STATEMENT OF WORK: The purpose of this study is to develop management techniques to achieve the goals described above. Such techniques could include the implementation of prescribed fire, control of woody species, removal of exotic plants, and restoration of native grass and forb species. The order and timing of such efforts to create the best possible grazing habitat for multiple species would also need to be planned and coordinated. Parks within the MWR that might benefit from such a study include Wind Cave, Badlands, Theodore Roosevelt, Tallgrass Prairie and Agate Fossil Beds. RECIPIENT AGREES TO: The tasks to be completed by the Recipient in this study include: (1) Work with park and regional staff to identify specific management goals and objectives for each park to work towards a more resilient grassland ecosystem; (2) Consolidate and synthesize existing data, prior management actions and current assessment of resources for each park; (3) Work with park and regional staff to in light of the develop education management objectives, existing data and synthesis to identify next management steps; (4) Complete a Final Report for the parks listed in the statement of work; (5) Provide a copy of the data collected during the study to the parks. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AGREES TO: In an effort to develop the most effective and feasible management recommendations, specific to individual NPS parks with grazed grasslands, the NPS agrees to: (1) Provide Recipient with all key publications, reports and data pertinent to the study; (2) Discuss options and unique characteristics and management limitations applicable to their parks; (3) Allow access and provide guidance on areas of the park the Recipient should visit for site evaluations; (4) Work collaboratively on final reports and publications resulting from the study. SINGLE-SOURCE JUSTIFICATION: Department of the Interior Policy (505 DM 2) and National Park Service Policy FAP&P 1443-2015-06 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: Unique Qualifications – 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; Dr. McGranahan has conducted research and published nationally and internationally on fire and grazing ecology in grasslands. He has worked in both the North American tallgrass prairie (most recently in the Bakken Formation) and grassland/savanna ecosystems in Southern Africa. Dr. McGranahan leads the International Affairs Committee of the Rangeland Society and as such collaborates with rangeland research scientists and managers throughout the world. This unique perspective will ensure the broadest possible management strategies be considered, critical to developing the most feasible and effective site specific management plans for NPS parks. His research identifies (1) factors and the interactions of these factors that affect fire behavior and (2) fire effects in fire-dependent ecosystems, including plant community composition, disturbance regimes, land-use, and environmental change. He applies a variety of approaches, including sampling and modeling grassland fuelbeds and fire behavior, and multivariate analysis of ecological communities. In addition, his location within the Great Plains allows for the most efficient use of travel funds to conduct NPS site evaluations.

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