Cooperative Agreement Between the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and American Trails
Task 1. Redesigning Website for Easier Search and Navigation Functions Starting in the late 1990s, American Trails (AT) began a collection of online trail resources â¿¿ documents, web pages, and links for the trails comm...
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Award$1–$60kDeadlineFixedLocationAlabamaTypegrantLevelFederalOpenposted Aug 11, 2016
✦ AI Summary
Who can apply: Federal-level applicants (see eligibility for details).
Funding amount: $1 – $60,000, total pool ~$60,000.
The “key facts” mode pulls structured fields directly from the official source posting (amount, deadline, eligibility tags). The AI mode adds a short plain-English narrative on top, generated from the same source. Always verify with the agency before applying.
AI-generated. Always verify with the official source.
Award amount
$1–$60k
Deadline
Fixed
Total pool
$60k
About this opportunity
Task 1. Redesigning Website for Easier Search and Navigation Functions Starting in the late 1990s, American Trails (AT) began a collection of online trail resources ⿿ documents, web pages, and links for the trails community to utilize. This collection has grown to over 6,000 pages, all stored in static, HTML code that requires manual updating. While this method worked for us for many years, the mass amount of resources has led to a website that is loaded with information, but that can be difficult to navigate. A user may have to click through multiple pages to find a given resource. Our current search method, using Google indexing, can be helpful, but as a keyword-only search method, it often returns dozens of pages of articles for the user to sort through. AT proposes building a single, powerful Content Management System (CMS) to organize and store these resources ⿿ a system that will be simple to use and that will provide an unparalleled resource library for the trails community including FWS users who have requested better access to information on the American Trails website. The Trail Resource CMS we propose will provide detailed search options ⿿ full article text search of thousands of American Trails⿿ resources. Updating the website will make it easier for the American people as well as FWS employees to better help navigate the most current up to date information on wildlife considering habitat in trail planning, construction and maintenance. By updating to the CMS American Trails will be able to better organize data, make it more accessible and easier for FWS to look up information and find trail resources. Task 2. National Recreation Trails National Recreation Trails may be designated by the Secretary of Interior to recognize exemplary trails of local and regional significance in response to an application from the trail's managing agency, such as a management unit of FWS. Through designation, these trails are 5 recognized as part of America's national system of trails as authorized by the National Trail System Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-543). The FWS vision document ⿿Conserving the Future: Wildlife Refuges and the Next Generation⿝ recommends creative thinking about enabling visitors to learn about FWS resources: "We must actively encourage and provide new opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to connect with nature by visiting their national wildlife refuges, personally or virtually." Trails in particular can provide the low-impact managed use that can help meet FWS goals for the future. Designation of trails on FWS lands as NRTs has been identified by FWS staff as a way to encourage visitation of trails that would benefit from increased attention. Trails are a critical way that visitors discover the natural heritage of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and NRT designation is a cost-effective way to provide visibility to Refuge resources. The NRT website and database are essential tools for reaching the public with up to date information on FWS trails and other recreation opportunities. In 2015, analysis of website visitation documented that 40,446 trails were searched and located using the database on average, per month, by the public. In addition, visitors printed out 5,636 trail records from the database. The cost for updating these online resources is minimal compared to traditional public information techniques such as staffing visitors' centers, printing brochures, and attending public events. Most of the FWS NRTs designated in 2008-2015 have included good information in their applications that can be used for website creation and to populate the NRT designation. However, older designations are typically sketchy with details. Information that is of most use to visitors includes trail description, directions to trailheads, points of interest, and related activities.
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