The Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks and Recreation Department is soliciting proposals from qualified Offerors to develop a new Comprehensive Recreational Trails Plan. The trail plan process will be necessary to identify major trail issues and needs faced by the community and establish planning and development priorities. A new plan will be a decision-making tool with a system-wide approach that helps the FNSB and its partners prioritize the allocation of available resources to local trails. The updated plan will help the FNSB develop goals, policies, and guidelines with actionable strategies to carry the FNSB through the next 10-20 years of trail management and development.

The planning area will cover trails within the FNSB boundaries, including trails that facilitate access to areas beyond the FNSB boundary. The FNSB covers a 7,444 square mile area, within which are more than 1,000 miles of trails used for transportation and recreation. The current Trail Plan alone includes nearly 800 miles of trail. The planning process is intended to focus and prioritize the FNSB’s involvement in trails within the Borough boundaries as it relates to the FNSB’s platting authority, land management powers, and parks and recreation powers.

Task 1 – Work Plan
This document should detail the proposed steps and resources to complete tasks 1-6, scheduled meetings and teleconferences, project milestones, assumptions, timeline, and critical path for completing the project on-time and within budget. The Work Plan may also finalize the proposed public engagement and outreach strategy in Task 3.

Deliverable(s):
1. Deliver a work plan complete with schedule and outreach strategies.

Task 2 – Data Collection, Inventory, Analysis, & Document Review
Literature Review
Collect and review relevant local plans that have the potential to impact access to and use of recreational trails throughout the Borough. A review should include at a minimum, but not be limited to the following plans and documents:

• FNSB Comprehensive Recreational Trail Plan (including 1984-1985 Background Information documents)
• FNSB Comprehensive Parks & Recreation Plan
• FNSB Regional Comprehensive Plan
• FNSB Comprehensive Road Plan
• FNSB Salcha Badger Road Sub-Area Plan
• AK DNR State Parks Alaska Recreational Trails Plan
• Alaska Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan
• FNSB Code Title 17 – Subdivisions
• FNSB GIS Trail Plan and Trail Easements feature classes

Trail Inventory & Analysis
Update the inventory of trails and trail needs to represent the community’s contemporary trail priorities. The entire inventory will include trails in various states of legal access and is not meant to be a trail guide. The inventory will not be limited to FNSB-owned or managed trails. FNSB has an extensive inventory of trails, and more data may be available from other agencies, such as the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and the Bureau of Land Management. This task requires compiling available information into a singular, usable format, and then reaching out to the trail user community to identify gaps in the current inventory. This task may coincide with Task 3 to facilitate stakeholder engagement and to identify new trails to add to the inventory.

Associated tasks include:
Review the FNSB’s current and historic trail inventories.
Gather information about trails of interest not included in the current inventory.
Produce an updated map of existing trail corridors and desired corridors that are not yet developed.
Some field reconnaissance may be helpful to survey common trail conditions encountered in Alaska’s Interior.

Deliverable(s):
1. Report of findings from literature review.
2. GIS feature class of existing trail corridors and desired corridors that are not yet developed.
3. GIS feature class of publicly accessible trails.

Task 3 – Public Involvement, Outreach, and Participation Strategy
Propose a comprehensive strategy to engage FNSB residents and trail users, appropriate agencies and landowners, FNSB staff, the FNSB Trail Advisory Commission and FNSB Planning Commission, and other stakeholders in the trail planning process. The Trails Advisory Commission will serve as the project’s primary steering committee. The consultant will be expected to facilitate all elements of the outreach strategy. A strategy should make use of technology to comply with state and local social distancing guidelines and recommendations, but also consider the importance (and challenges) of reaching out to residents in more remote regions of the borough. A strategy will include at a minimum a project website, public meetings, open-houses, and a trail user survey. The survey will be administered throughout the Borough to achieve a statistically valid sample of Borough residents.

Deliverable(s):
1. Public involvement plan that identifies public participation opportunities and methods (this can be combined with Task 1 Work Plan if desired).
2. Project webpage.
3. Attendance and presentation at regular monthly FNSB Trails Advisory Commission meetings (virtual or in-person) during the planning process. Consultant will participate in a minimum of four (4) meetings. Compile and provide meeting notes documenting stakeholder feedback.
4. Facilitation of broader outreach methods (e.g., digital open houses, regional meetings, etc.). Consultant will facilitate a minimum of four (4) such forums. Compile and provide notes documenting stakeholder feedback.
5. Develop survey questionnaire about local trail use and trail needs. Administer throughout the FNSB to obtain a statistically valid sample of FNSB residents. Produce a technical report of survey methods, results, and analysis.

Task 4 – Draft Vision, Goals, Strategies
Working closely with the Trails Advisory Commission, develop vision, goals and strategies for a comprehensive Borough recreational trail system. Strategies will guide the Borough on how to meet planning goals and allocate available resources to the trail systems as their access status and conditions change over time. Major issues and other information identified through stakeholder engagement in Task 3 shall be considered in this task.

Deliverable(s):
1. Draft vision statement, plan goals, and strategies.

Task 5 – Future Recreational Trail Corridors, Map, & Implementation Strategy
Future Recreational Trail Corridors List
Recommend a definitive list of priority trails to receive Borough statutory access protection. The list should not be limited to existing trails, but also recommended new and alternative trail corridors and areas to develop. Trail recommendations should be based on recreation potential and feedback about the community’s current needs and future vision for trails. A brief and basic description of the history, use, condition, access status for each trail, and other necessary information will accompany the list to provide justification for its inclusion in the trail plan.

Future Recreational Trail Corridors Map
Produce a “Future Recreational Trail Corridors” map to graphically represent and locate the list of trails above. The map is critical for determining the location of future trail easements when implementing FNSB Code Title 17 “Subdivisions," or other means to protect trail corridors. Consult with FNSB staff to include key feature class attributes such as trail access status and landownership.

Prioritization & Implementation Strategies
Individual trails vary considerably in land ownership, public access status, use, and condition. As such, each trail may receive different levels or types of Borough resources. Recommend strategies for each stage of the FNSB’s involvement with trails in the Future Recreational Trails Corridor including:
How to prioritize Borough resources among different types of trails.
How to gain and protect public access to trails using FNSB Code Title 17 Subdivisions or other means.
How to develop or manage trails once public access has been secured.

Deliverable(s):
1. Definitive list of Future Recreational Trail Corridors recommended to receive Borough statutory protection, accompanied by a written trail status and justification for each trail.
2. GIS feature class of Future Recreational Trail Corridors Map, complete with attributes developed with FNSB staff feedback.
3. Recommended implementation strategies for the Future Recreational Trail Corridors to address trail prioritization, protection, development and management (this can be combined with Task 4 Draft Vision, Goals & Strategies if desired).

Task 6 – Plan Development
A draft plan product will be delivered within twelve (12) months of contract award. The plan will go through revision and refinement in consultation with FNSB staff and the Trails Advisory Commission prior to the development of the Final Comprehensive Recreational Trails Plan. A new Comprehensive Recreational Trail Plan will include the following: vision statement and planning goals for a trail system throughout the Borough, prioritization and implementation strategies for all stages of Borough involvement with trails, and a list of recommended Future Recreational Trail Corridors with an associated map. After a Draft Plan has been approved by FNSB Staff and the Trails Advisory Commission, another public input opportunity shall be held.

Deliverable(s):
1. Draft Comprehensive Recreational Trail Plan
2. Final Comprehensive Recreational Trail Plan

Task 7 – Adoption of the Comprehensive Recreational Trails Plan as an Element of the FNSB Regional Comprehensive Plan
The final plan must be supported by the Trails Advisory Commission and the Planning Commission and adopted by the Borough Assembly. The adoption process will require at least two meetings with the FNSB Planning Commission and at least 2 meetings of the FNSB Assembly. The task will be completed by existing FNSB staff, but the consultant will be required to provide support. This support may require up to four on-site meetings depending on the status of health mandates.

Deliverable(s):
1. Support for FNSB Staff for plan adoption meetings, including document edits and presentations at Trails Advisory Commission, Planning Commission, or Assembly meetings.