NOTICE OF INTENT: Next Generation Ranger Corps opportunity to learn traditional interpretation | P18AS00575

Opportunity Information: Apply for P18AS00575

The grant opportunity titled "NOTICE OF INTENT: Next Generation Ranger Corps opportunity to learn traditional interpretation" (Funding Opportunity Number P18AS00575) is a discretionary National Park Service funding announcement under the U.S. Department of the Interior. The award is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the National Park Service is expected to be actively involved alongside the recipient in carrying out the project. The effort falls under the Natural Resources funding activity category (CFDA 15.954) and was posted on August 22, 2018, with an original closing date of September 1, 2018. The opportunity anticipated making one award, with a maximum funding amount (award ceiling) of $68,732. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with the expectation that additional eligibility details would be clarified in the full notice.

At its core, the project is designed to create paid, career-connected youth employment pathways for local Tucson youth at Saguaro National Park, focusing on professional interpretation, education, and outreach. The goal is not simply seasonal work, but structured, mentored experience that exposes participants to how the National Park Service communicates science, history, and cultural meaning to the public. The project is expected to provide opportunities for at least four youth, each placed into a distinct track that builds practical skills, confidence in public-facing roles, and awareness of longer-term career options within parks and conservation.

One of the four youth positions centers on traditional interpretation in the Tucson Mountain District visitor center. In this role, the participant would work directly with interpretive staff to learn how to design and deliver original interpretive programs, gaining hands-on experience in developing talks, activities, or other public programs tailored to park visitors. The position also includes assisting teams that develop non-personal services, which typically refers to projects and products that are created without requiring direct, ongoing staff delivery (for example, wayside exhibits, printed materials, self-guided content, or similar interpretive media). A key feature of this placement is cross-training with other park workgroups, giving the youth participant exposure to additional operational areas and career fields within the park that they might not otherwise realize are available.

Two of the youth positions are focused on working with neighboring Native communities. These participants are intended to be recruited from one of the nearby tribal nations or Native communities and would collaborate with park education and outreach staff. Their main responsibility is developing interpretive programming specifically for Native youth, delivered both within the park and on neighboring nation lands. This track also emphasizes cultural continuity and community engagement through coordination of cultural demonstrations and public programs related to the traditional harvest of saguaro fruit. In practice, this would likely involve helping plan events, supporting presenters and cultural practitioners, coordinating logistics with partners, and helping ensure that public programming reflects appropriate context, respect, and accuracy.

The fourth youth position connects Saguaro National Park with the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) to support community-based recreation and health programming in Tucson. The youth participant in this track would help lead an urban hiking initiative, with responsibilities that include coordinating with local nonprofits to recruit participants, planning outings and program components, and providing support for the iHike for Health program that was previously piloted in spring 2018. This component blends interpretation and outreach with public health and community recreation goals, emphasizing the park’s role as a community partner and helping participants gain experience in partnership-building, program coordination, and community engagement.

Overall, the opportunity is structured as a small, targeted investment meant to place a cohort of Tucson-area youth into meaningful, mentored roles that build real-world skills in interpretation, culturally grounded education, and community-based outdoor recreation leadership. It is explicitly oriented toward creating access and awareness, especially by recruiting from local communities and neighboring Native communities, and by giving participants practical training and cross-exposure to National Park Service career pathways.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NOTICE OF INTENT: Next Generation Ranger Corps opportunity to learn traditional interpretation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.954.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 22, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 01, 2018. (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 $68,732.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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