OpportunityTitle: Youth Engagement, Education, and Employment Programs
Description: I. Description of Funding OpportunityThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service&#226;&#191;&#191;s (USFWS or Service) National Youth Development Program is accepting proposals from non-profit, state, and local government youth-serving organizations with the interest and capacity to work cooperatively with the USFWS to develop and administer projects focused on providing employment, educational, and public-service opportunities for U.S. citizens and legal residents between 15 and 25 years of age and for military veterans up to the age of 35. Projects funded under this program will be carried out at USFWS regional and field offices and on non-Federal lands in adjacent communities. Projects are developed based on needs identified by USFWS offices at the national, regional and local levels that will lead to the development of project scopes of work in consultation with the youth-serving organizations selected as program partners under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The National Youth Development Program is focused on providing the following types of opportunities:1. Employment: Projects that provide participants with job skills training, education and professional development. These projects will engage youth crews, small teams and individuals. Crews will work collectively and intensely together under the supervision of trained and experienced crew leaders or conservation professionals. Teams and individuals will work under the direction of conservation professionals on initiatives that require specific skills or dedicated attention. Most projects require significant outdoor-based activity, but may also involve indoor work related to visitor services, administration, and research that contribute directly to the Service&#226;&#191;&#191;s mission. Examples of employment projects include: visitor communications and support; historic and archaeological site data collection and research; inventory and monitoring of fish and wildlife habitat; facility preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, and maintenance; trail building and maintenance; invasive species removal; habitat restoration; wilderness stewardship; leading and conducting educational and informational outreach events; research; and endangered species monitoring and recovery work.2. Education and Public Service: Projects that provide participants an opportunity to be exposed to civic engagement and collaborative, community-based stewardship of natural and cultural resources. These projects will employ a variety of educational techniques to convey the USFWS mission to &#226;&#191;&#191;work with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people&#226;&#191;&#157;. Examples of education projects include: place-based learning opportunities; training seminars; and projects that engage and train young people as mentors and educational leaders for younger students and children.The purpose of this NOFO is to identify non-profit youth-serving organizations with the interest and capacity to work cooperatively with the USFWS to develop and administer projects under this program. The USFWS seeks to partner with organizations focused on providing youth with educational, technical, life and leadership skills and helping them to develop a sense of community and purpose from their work on projects conducted under this program. As a result of this NOFO, the USFWS will establish a list of approved partner organizations. The USFWS will send written notice to all applicants confirming if they have or have not been selected as potential project partners under this program. Selection as a potential project partner does not guarantee the entity will receive funding under this program. The list of selected potential partners will be shared with USFWS national, regional and field station program points of contact, who will then notify the partner organizations on the list who perform work within particular regions or states about upcoming projects that they may be qualified to undertake. USFWS regional program points of contact and field station managers will be responsible for selecting and working with partners to develop project-specific work plans, timelines, and budgets to carry out priority projects. Each project developed will be funded under a unique cooperative agreement award with funding and a period of performance specific to that project. Selected project partners will be required to submit to the USFWS, in advance of award, the documentation listed in Section VII. Award Notices below. Contingent upon the availability of funds, the USFWS estimates having available a maximum of $10,000,000 this fiscal year nationwide for projects under this program. The number of projects to be funded each year will vary based on USFWS national, regional and field station management priorities, needs, and available funding to perform the work.This program supports the goals of the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC). The 21CSC is a national collaborative effort to put America&#226;&#191;&#191;s youth and veterans to work protecting, restoring and enhancing America&#226;&#191;&#191;s natural and cultural resources. This inter-agency effort is a central component of the President&#226;&#191;&#191;s America&#226;&#191;&#191;s Great Outdoors Initiative, which is helping to protect some of the places that Americans love most and to connect people from all backgrounds with the recreational, economic and health benefits of our nation&#226;&#191;&#191;s lands and waters. For more information, visit the Department of the Interior&#226;&#191;&#191;s Youth in the Great Outdoors webpage at http://www.doi.gov/youth/index.cfm and the 21CSC website at http://21csc.org/.The USFWS is committed to engaging young people with diverse cultural, ethnic and economic backgrounds under this program. Potential partners engaging young people from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply. This program is authorized under the Public Lands Corp Act of 1993, as amended (16 U.S.C 1723). Refer to the &quot;Related Documents&quot; tab for a PDF version of the full text of this NOFO
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Administrative Officer
GrantorContactText: Devon Larson 703-358-2052 &lt;br/&gt;devon_larson@fws.gov &lt;br/&gt;