OpportunityTitle: Scion and Seed Collection and Processing
CategoryExplanation: This is a request for letters of interest and is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).
Description: This is a request for letter of interest and is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA); therefore, the National Park Service (NPS)-Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site is not accepting applications but is seeking to identify potential collaborators from capable and qualifed sources including, but not limited to, universities, university-affiliated research centers and private or public companies. For the purposes of this announcement, NPS-CARL seeks, in letters of interest, examples of current and previous research work conducted in this specific area of study: Scion and Seed Collection and Processing. The purpose of this Request for Letters of Interest is to identify collaborators for a conservation partnership to protect the historic landscape plants of Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (Park) by creating a seedling nursery reserve of the Park&#146;s landscape trees and shrubs, and a seed collection to preserve germplasm. The Park is requesting information regarding interest and qualifications to provide support for this project work. The Park hopes to develop a statement of objectives and begin project work within six (6) months. BACKGROUND: The Park has a rich and diverse vegetative landscape that frames the cultural features of the Carl Sandburg home. Several of the trees at the Park have been in place well beyond the 170 year history of the historic home. Others were planted on the site during the Sandburg residency through the 1950s and 1960s. As these trees decline and require removal, there is a need for a suitable genetic replacement that would help maintain the native and cultural vegetative integrity of the Park. Additionally, the Park is home to two herbaceous species, one of which is state-listed as threatened, and the other is being closely monitored as a species of management concern. Both require protection and a preservation effort. The Park is currently concerned about the health and condition of several trees that will need removal and replacement within the next decade. Maintaining the Sandburg era vegetative landscape is the primary management objective. Replacing these trees with plants from commercial nurseries may be feasible (and costly), but it is the interest of the Park to replace with genetic material found precisely at the Park, as nature would have done. The need to begin is pressing as it takes time to establish a seedling reserve, and there is already a need for replacement plant material. Examples of trees and shrubs in need of conservation include American elm, Japanese maple, Chinese quince, variegated common boxwood, horse chestnut, Eastern and Carolina hemlock, Asian pear, Japanese snowball, Chinese chestnut, Japanese maple, an heirloom or Old World apple and a yellow fruited flowering dogwood. The Park currently has five (5) American elms that are huge veteran specimens dating back to the initial development of the property in the 1830s. These elms have escaped the fungal infection, Dutch elm disease and remain though in decline. Several years ago, one elm was lost to toppling in a windstorm and has been replaced with a seedling propagated on-site from seed. Other species at the Park that would be difficult to replace in kind include variegated leaf patterned American boxwood (planted in the mid-1800s), Old World apple, Asian pear, Chinese quince, and a yellow fruited flowering dogwood. These genotypes are not readily available on the market. In addition, both the Eastern and Carolina hemlock are locally threatened species due to widespread infestation of hemlock woolly adelgid throughout the eastern US. The Park hopes to conserve the local genotype for all these trees and shrubs in order to ensure the cultural integrity of the Sandburg&#146;s hemlock-lined historic drive. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this project is to conserve the culturally and botanically significant plants at the Park by means of establishing a seedling reserve cultivated from scion and/or seed of selected specimens and by collecting and storing seed for immediate and future use. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This project involves of two phases: Phase 1&#149;A collection of representative seeds of select herbaceous species and woody species, and cuttings from desired tree and shrub species, all occurring within the Park, will be assembled. Seeds and/or cuttings would be gathered from such species as white and chestnut oak, American elm, Japanese maple, Chinese quince, variegated common boxwood, horse chestnut, Eastern and Carolina hemlock, Asian pear and flowering dogwood. This objective may take up to 9 months as seed and cutting collection windows are species-specific and occur at different times throughout the growing season. &#149;60-100 scion and seedling samples will be collected and transferred to the partner&#146;s facilities for propagation. &#149;Seed will be harvested from select native wildflowers and woody landscape specimens (where appropriate), treated and prepared for conditioned storage. Retention and conservation of the processed seed will be at the Park.Phase 2&#149;A portion of the harvested seed and all of the cuttings will be propagated in a greenhouse setting outside of the Park, for up to three years. &#149;A secure greenhouse facility will provide services for propagation and maintenance of 60-100 tree and shrub seedlings or grafts until they have matured to a size suitable for transplanting in the Park nursery. INFORMATION REQUESTED IN THE LETTER OF INTEREST:Please prepare a summary of how you would envision such a collaborative project. Include your name, department, university or organization, and contact information, as well as information about any relevant experience, past projects, and staff, faculty, or students who would be available to work on the project. Please submit electronic Statement of Interest to Judy Couch by close-of-business on Friday, April 1, 2011. Contact information is below. CONTACT INFORMATION: Judith C. Couch Agreements Contracting Officer NPS-Great Smoky Mountains National Park North Administrative Service Unit 107 Park Headquarters Road Gatlinburg, TN 37738 Phone: 865-436-1224 Fax: 865-436-1220 Email: judy_couch@nps.gov
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Email:
GrantorContactText: Judith Couch &lt;br/&gt;Financial Agreements Specialist &lt;br/&gt;Phone 865-436-1224