Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00109
The Notice of Intent for "Local Youth Employment for Natural Resource Vegetation Management: Next Generation Ranger Corps (NextGen)" describes a cooperative agreement led by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS), in partnership with Friends of Saguaro National Park (FOSNP). The core idea is to use NPS funding to recruit, hire, and support paid internships for local youth and young adults from Tucson and nearby communities, placing them at Saguaro National Park to work directly with park staff. The program is framed as both a workforce development effort and a conservation-focused project, aiming to create economic opportunity while building a pipeline into natural resource and public lands careers, especially for youth from under-represented areas who may not typically see these pathways as accessible.
At a practical level, the agreement funds FOSNP to bring on 10 interns (referred to as NextGen Rangers), generally within the age range of 16 to 30, and place them specifically within the park's Division of Resource Management. While the program emphasizes vegetation management, it is intentionally broader than a single job type. Interns are expected to gain hands-on exposure to how a national park is managed and to develop both technical and professional skills that translate into long-term education and career advancement. The opportunity also includes life-skills development such as resume building, public speaking, and community engagement, reinforcing that the program is designed to support participants as whole emerging professionals, not just temporary labor for field projects.
The conservation and resource-management work described includes a range of field and applied science activities. Interns may participate in saguaro and forest health surveys, rare plant surveys, studies or monitoring related to native plant flowering and pollination, invasive plant management, and natural resource education. The description highlights experiential learning activities that also connect the park to surrounding communities, such as organizing or supporting buffelgrass pulls, service-learning projects, and citizen science efforts. Interns are expected not only to participate but also to develop leadership capacity, including helping bring other underserved youth into the park for educational and service experiences.
Mentorship and training are central elements of how the program is supposed to function. The interns are mentored by an NPS biologist (named in the notice as Don Swann), and they are expected to meet regularly with their mentor, receive guidance on projects, and report on activities and accomplishments. NPS commits to providing applicable training that supports intern success, including safety training, communication, and other skill-building needed for field and workplace performance. Interns are also offered cross-training and broader professional development to help them understand the wider landscape of careers inside the National Park Service beyond vegetation work, including Interpretation, Outreach, Visitor Protection, Wildlife, Wilderness, Water Conservation, Trails and Facility Management, Education, and Business Administration.
FOSNP's role is essentially to run the program's participant management and administrative backbone. That includes recruiting local and diverse applicants, handling hiring and placement logistics, providing stipends based on submitted and approved timesheets, maintaining participant records, and supplying uniform items that distinguish interns from other park and partner staff. The stipend rates listed depend on age and experience, with hourly amounts of $16.13, $13.86, or $11.17. The program also tracks leave at a rate of 1 hour of personal leave per 20 hours worked, and if that leave is not used, FOSNP agrees to pay out the accumulated unused leave at the end of the appointment. FOSNP is also responsible for ensuring placements follow NPS policies and regulations and for coordinating corrective actions with NPS if conduct or disciplinary issues arise. Reporting is another explicit deliverable: FOSNP must provide an annual report summarizing NPS-related activities and achievements along with participant demographic information.
NPS's responsibilities focus on accepting and supporting placements, providing mentorship and training, and transferring funds to cover intern compensation and related expenses. NPS also commits to coordinating with FOSNP on any disciplinary or administrative actions and to ensuring interns have opportunities to learn about native and invasive vegetation management and the broader resource management mission. In other words, FOSNP handles recruitment, pay administration, and program oversight from the partner side, while NPS provides the worksite, supervision/mentorship, training, and financial support.
A notable feature is the connection to the Public Lands Corps (PLC) and the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2005 (Title 16 USC Sections 1721-1726; Public Law 109-154). Under the agreement, FOSNP will assess whether the work completed qualifies as PLC-eligible project work and may recommend qualifying NextGen members for PLC hiring authority. NPS then reviews those recommendations, and the notice states that Saguaro National Park will certify former NextGen participants as PLC-eligible upon completion of a 120-hour PLC project requirement. This matters because PLC hiring authority can provide an advantage for participants seeking federal land-management employment pathways after the internship.
From the funding opportunity details provided, the instrument is a cooperative agreement (meaning NPS expects to have substantial involvement in the project rather than simply issuing a grant and stepping back). The opportunity is categorized under Natural Resources (CFDA 15.939), with an award ceiling of $73,758 and an expectation of one award. The opportunity number is P17AS00109, created March 7, 2017, with an original closing date of March 17, 2017. Overall, the notice describes a targeted local youth employment and training initiative at Saguaro National Park that combines paid work, mentorship, conservation field experience, and career-pathway support, with a strong emphasis on inclusive access and community benefit in Southern Arizona.Apply for P17AS00109
- The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NOTICE OF INTENT: Local Youth Employment for Natural Resource Vegetation Management: Next Generation Ranger Corps Program (NextGen)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.939.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 07, 2017.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 17, 2017. (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 $73,758.00 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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