Natural Resource Management Education and Training for Eugene Area Youth Provided by Qualified Youth Services and Conservation Corps Organizations | W9127N 18 2 0002

Opportunity Information: Apply for W9127N 18 2 0002

The grant opportunity titled "Natural Resource Management Education and Training for Eugene Area Youth Provided by Qualified Youth Services and Conservation Corps Organizations" is a discretionary funding announcement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Portland District. Through a cooperative agreement, USACE is looking to partner with a qualified youth service organization or conservation corps to carry out hands-on land stewardship and ecological restoration work on USACE-managed lands in Oregon's Willamette Valley. The central idea is to pair real environmental management needs on federal project lands with structured education, job training, and practical conservation experience for youth from the Eugene, Oregon area.

The work supported under this agreement is framed around USACE environmental stewardship responsibilities, particularly the restoration and long-term management of native prairie ecosystems and associated wildlife habitat. The recipient organization would involve participating youth in meaningful field and support tasks that contribute directly to restoration outcomes. At the same time, the project is designed to function as a training pipeline where youth gain exposure not just to manual restoration activities, but also to the behind-the-scenes elements of conservation work such as project planning, project development, and implementation. In other words, the youth component is not incidental; it is a core deliverable alongside the on-the-ground stewardship results.

Most of the project activities are expected to take place at Fern Ridge, with an emphasis on prairie and habitat restoration, general land stewardship, and nursery and greenhouse maintenance. The nursery and greenhouse element suggests work such as propagating native plants and supporting restoration plantings, which is often a key piece of prairie recovery and invasive species management. Depending on project needs, additional tasks may also be carried out at other USACE sites in the region, specifically Lookout Point Lake, Dexter Lake, or Fall Creek Lake. This gives the program some flexibility to respond to seasonal priorities and site-specific restoration demands across multiple project locations.

USACE anticipates making a single award under this opportunity, with an award ceiling of $20,000. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates an arrangement where the federal agency expects to have substantial involvement during the period of performance, such as collaboration on planning, coordination, or oversight of the work. The legal authority cited for the award is 33 U.S.C. 2339(c), which is commonly used by USACE for partnerships that support conservation, natural resource management, and related public benefit activities.

Eligibility is described broadly as "Others" with clarification referenced in an additional eligibility section, but the announcement makes clear who USACE is trying to reach: a qualified youth service organization or conservation corps with a local footprint in the Eugene community. USACE also signals a strong preference for organizations that can field small crews of youth who are supervised by experienced crew leaders. That supervision requirement is important because the program is meant to teach ecological concepts accurately and safely while producing quality restoration work. In practice, this means the partner should already have proven capacity to manage youth crews, deliver structured training, and complete conservation and restoration tasks to professional standards.

Key administrative details include the funding opportunity number W9127N 18 2 0002, the activity category of Natural Resources, and the associated CFDA number 12.010. The opportunity was created on June 19, 2018, with an original closing date of July 19, 2018. Overall, the grant is a relatively small, single-award partnership focused on tangible prairie and habitat restoration outcomes while building environmental skills, work experience, and conservation leadership among Eugene-area youth through a supervised corps-style model.

• The Department of Defense, USACE Portland District in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Natural Resource Management Education and Training for Eugene Area Youth Provided by Qualified Youth Services and Conservation Corps Organizations" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.010.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 19, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 19, 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 $20,000.00 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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