Notice of Intent: Local Youth Employment in Southern Arizona, aka Next Generation Ranger Corps Program (NextGen) | P17AS00497

Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00497

The Notice of Intent: Local Youth Employment in Southern Arizona, also called the Next Generation Ranger Corps Program (NextGen), is a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement opportunity designed to create paid, career-building internships for local youth in and around Tucson, Arizona. The project is structured around a partnership between Saguaro National Park and Friends of Saguaro National Park (FOSNP), with FOSNP serving as the organization responsible for recruiting, hiring, and managing the interns while they are placed at the park and supported by NPS funding. The overarching goal is to connect young people to meaningful work on public lands, reduce barriers to employment, and build long-term pathways into conservation and park-related careers.

At the center of the program is a plan for FOSNP to recruit and hire three local youth interns who will become NextGen Rangers at Saguaro National Park. These interns are intended to come from Tucson and surrounding communities, with a clear emphasis on reaching youth from under-represented areas and youth who may not typically see public lands and conservation as accessible career options. Once placed at the park, participants work alongside NPS staff and gain exposure to a wide range of park operations and management functions. Rather than being limited to a single narrow task, the internships are described as providing experience across “all areas of park management,” which can include stewardship and conservation work, visitor-facing activities, and other operational support that helps the park meet its mission.

The opportunity places strong weight on professional development and life skills training in addition to hands-on conservation experience. Interns are expected to build practical, transferable skills such as resume development, public speaking, and community engagement. The intent is to help participants not only complete work assignments but also leave the program better prepared to pursue future employment or education. The program also emphasizes conservation projects within public lands in Southern Arizona, giving interns direct experience working in natural resource settings and contributing to tangible on-the-ground outcomes.

A major purpose of the NextGen initiative is economic opportunity and poverty alleviation through paid youth employment. By funding internships and intentionally recruiting locally, the program aims to keep benefits within the community while providing early job experience that can be pivotal for young people entering the workforce. In parallel, the program is designed to broaden participation in conservation by introducing underrepresented youth to career tracks in natural resources, public service, and park management, helping them build networks and confidence in fields where they may have had limited prior access.

The project also frames its conservation and education outcomes as public benefits. It highlights opportunities for youth to learn about the environment by spending time in national parks and completing conservation projects, as well as motivating youth to become involved in protecting natural resources in their own communities and beyond. Beyond individual development, the description points to broader outcomes such as gaining and disseminating new scientific knowledge and improving public understanding of natural resources and conservation, suggesting that interns may participate in activities that support learning, documentation, monitoring, interpretation, or outreach that helps the park communicate stewardship values to visitors and local residents.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity issued by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, using a cooperative agreement instrument (Funding Opportunity Number P17AS00497; CFDA 15.954; activity category: Natural Resources). It references an existing Competitive Master Cooperative Agreement (P17AC00171) between NPS and FOSNP, and indicates that the master agreement terms and conditions govern unless specifically modified by the related task agreement. The opportunity anticipated a single award, with an award ceiling of 1 (as stated in the source data), and it was originally posted on July 13, 2017 with an original closing date of July 23, 2017. Eligibility is listed broadly as “Others,” with additional details intended to be clarified in the full eligibility text associated with the notice.

• 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 in Southern Arizona, aka 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): 15.954.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 13, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 23, 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 $1.00 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).

Apply for P17AS00497

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: