JUNEAU: The Alaska Legislative Council issued an RFP on December 14, looking for an agency to help it reverse the negative economic impacts of listing species, like polar bears, as endangered based on climate change concerns. Terms of the contract include a two-year term.
The criteria is two-fold. The agency must first assemble a panel of scientific and economic experts, as part of the Alaska Conference on Climate Change. It would then execute a PR campaign based on the conclusions of the panel, designed in part “to achieve a workable resolution to the current regulatory constraints on the State's economy due to ESA [Endangered Species Act] listings based on climate change,” reads the RFP.
It also asks agencies to “give some details on what efforts you will include within the framework of this operation to support the State's ongoing lawsuit.” Alaska is suing the federal government in an attempt to overturn a 2008 decision that listed polar bears as an endangered species. The decision was based on the fact that projected changes in sea ice could lead to habitat loss—and possibly cut the world's polar bear population by two-thirds before 2050.
Proposals will be graded on three criteria: understanding of the project (25%), experience and qualifications (35%), and cost (40%). They are being accepted until 1:30 pm January 4, 2010.
