Park Based Traveling Conservation Corps Vegetation Team- HTLN | NPS NOIP19AC00048

Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS NOIP19AC00048

The Park Based Traveling Conservation Corps Vegetation Team - HTLN grant opportunity (NPS NOIP19AC00048) is a National Park Service cooperative agreement designed to support hands-on vegetation management and cultural landscape stewardship across 15 national park units in the Midwestern United States. The core idea is to pair practical resource management work with youth development, using conservation corps crews to help parks protect and maintain landscapes that are historically and culturally significant. The project sits within the broader Landscape Initiative, a partnership effort tied to the National Park Service and the National Register of Historic Places that treats cultural landscapes as a key part of what visitors come to see and learn from, not just as scenery in the background.

A major focus of the work is controlling problematic vegetation, particularly federally listed noxious weeds and other invasive plant species that can degrade habitat, alter historic landscape character, and create legal and financial exposure for park units. The opportunity emphasizes that without consistent investment in weed control and restoration, parks can face escalating long-term maintenance costs and may also be vulnerable to enforcement actions, fines, or litigation under local, state, and federal noxious weed laws. By funding targeted, recurring field work, the program aims to prevent small vegetation issues from becoming expensive, widespread ecological and operational problems later.

The public purpose is explicitly youth-centered as well as resource-centered. The agreement is meant to introduce young people to natural resource and conservation career paths, provide mentoring and real-world exposure to park management, and build employability through outdoor work that requires teamwork, reliability, and leadership. At the same time, it improves on-the-ground conditions in park plant communities and habitats, supporting both ecological integrity and the preservation of cultural and historic landscape features that shape visitor experience.

Implementation is built around mobile, job-ready crews supplied by the Conservation Corps of Iowa. Crews are typically 4 to 6 people and are organized specifically to travel to different park sites and carry out vegetation restoration and related field tasks. Deployments are usually structured as eight-day trips with eight-hour workdays, with flexibility to adjust schedules based on park operational needs. Crew members are described as trained in first aid/CPR and key field competencies that parks commonly require for vegetation and fuels work, including herbicide application, prescribed fire or wildland fire-related training, chainsaw use, and the use of hand tools. For fiscal year 2019, the agreement anticipates covering 18 separate deployments, indicating a recurring, multi-site workload rather than a single park or one-time event.

From an eligibility and funding standpoint, this is a discretionary opportunity using a cooperative agreement instrument, meaning the NPS expects to remain substantially involved in planning or oversight compared to a standard grant. Eligible applicants are limited to nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). The opportunity was posted by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, with a creation date of May 22, 2019 and an original closing date of June 1, 2019. The award ceiling is listed at $1,125,000, with one expected award, suggesting the NPS intended to fund a single primary partner to deliver the traveling crew capacity across the participating parks.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the community development, education, employment, labor and training, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Park Based Traveling Conservation Corps Vegetation Team- HTLN" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.931.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 22, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 01, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,125,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for NPS NOIP19AC00048

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