Framework for Addressing Culture Resource Vulnerabilities in the NPS | P18AS00724

Opportunity Information: Apply for P18AS00724

The National Park Service (NPS), within the Department of the Interior, issued this discretionary grant opportunity as a cooperative agreement to support the development of a practical framework for identifying and addressing vulnerabilities affecting cultural resources across the National Park System. The emphasis is on cultural resources located in the NPS Intermountain Region (IMR), with particular attention to how environmental stresses and ongoing weathering processes are putting those resources at risk. In plain terms, the project is meant to help the NPS move from simply recognizing that cultural sites, structures, and materials are being affected by changing conditions to having a clear, repeatable way to plan and act on those risks.

The work is structured as a multi-year, three-phase effort, with each phase representing a distinct scope. Phase I, described as an Impacts Analysis, was already underway and funded in fiscal year 2018, and it produced the baseline data and analysis needed to understand what kinds of impacts are occurring and where the major vulnerabilities are concentrated. Phase II, which is the focus of this particular task agreement, is titled Adaptation and Mitigation Strategy Development and was also funded in fiscal year 2018. Phase III, planned for fiscal year 2019, is Scenario Planning, which typically involves testing different future conditions and exploring how strategies might perform under multiple plausible environmental or management scenarios. This Phase II effort is explicitly intended to build directly on the datasets and findings from Phase I (referenced as Impacts Analysis P16AC01463), rather than starting from scratch.

The specific objective of this funding opportunity is to complete Phase II by producing adaptation and mitigation strategies that the NPS can use to reduce vulnerability of cultural resources to environmental stresses and weathering. Adaptation strategies generally focus on adjusting management practices and priorities to live with or anticipate changing conditions, while mitigation strategies generally aim to lessen the severity of damage or slow the rate of deterioration. Because the opportunity frames this as a cooperative project, it implies close coordination with the NPS during the period of performance, with shared involvement in shaping deliverables, methods, and application to real management needs in the IMR.

Administratively, the opportunity is identified as "Framework for Addressing Culture Resource Vulnerabilities in the NPS" (Funding Opportunity Number P18AS00724). It was posted on September 24, 2018, with an original application closing date of October 3, 2018, indicating a short submission window. The program is categorized under Regional Development and is associated with CFDA number 15.945. Eligibility was limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, signaling that the NPS intended this work to be carried out by a university-based partner with relevant expertise, such as cultural resource management, archaeology, historic preservation, climate and environmental science, conservation, or risk assessment. The anticipated funding level was modest, with an award ceiling of $40,000 and an expectation of one award, which suggests a targeted, partner-specific scope focused on producing concrete Phase II planning outputs rather than a large multi-institution research program.

Overall, this grant opportunity supported the middle step in a larger NPS effort: taking the impact and vulnerability information already compiled in Phase I and turning it into usable, on-the-ground adaptation and mitigation strategies in Phase II, with the expectation that those strategies would later be tested or refined through scenario planning in Phase III. The end goal across all phases is an NPS-ready framework that can systematically identify cultural resource vulnerabilities and guide practical responses to environmental stressors and weathering, starting with the Intermountain Region and potentially informing broader application across other parks and regions.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the regional development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Framework for Addressing Culture Resource Vulnerabilities in the NPS" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 24, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 03, 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 $40,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for P18AS00724

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