NOTICE OF INTENT: Next Generation Ranger: Trade Skills Assistant Internships | P18AS00111

Opportunity Information: Apply for P18AS00111

The Notice of Intent titled "Next Generation Ranger: Trade Skills Assistant Internships" (Funding Opportunity Number P18AS00111) describes a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement effort designed to create paid, skill-building internships for youth from Tucson and surrounding communities. The project operates under an existing cooperative agreement (P17AC00171) between the NPS and Friends of Saguaro National Park (FOSNP). In practical terms, the NPS provides funding and program direction, while FOSNP takes the lead on recruiting, hiring, and managing participants so they can be placed in roles within Saguaro National Park and gain structured, on-the-job experience in park operations.

At the center of the opportunity is a new youth employment and economic opportunity initiative called the Next Generation Ranger Corps. Using NPS funds, FOSNP will recruit and hire nine local youth interns, referred to as NextGen Rangers. The broader purpose is twofold: first, to open doors into public lands, conservation, and park careers for young people who may not have traditionally seen these pathways as accessible; and second, to support community-focused economic opportunity, including an explicit aim of helping alleviate poverty through paid employment. The program also emphasizes engaging youth from under-represented areas of Tucson, pairing workforce experience with professional development so participants can build momentum toward longer-term education and career goals.

The internship experience is designed to be hands-on and grounded in real park work, with participants working directly alongside National Park Service staff across areas of park management. Beyond technical duties, the program includes training in transferable life and career skills such as resume building, public speaking, community engagement, and participating in conservation projects on public lands in Southern Arizona. Interns are also expected to gain exposure to outdoor recreation and learn more broadly about national park opportunities, including experiences connected to other national parks in Arizona, helping participants build awareness of the larger public lands system and potential career tracks within it.

While the program description references work with native and invasive plants as part of placement at Saguaro National Park, the specific focus highlighted for these internships is assignment to the park's Facilities Division. In that setting, interns receive mentoring from designated staff (named in the notice as Dan Green and/or Dennis Brown) and are introduced to the practical realities of modern facilities management and maintenance within the National Park Service. The training is intended to provide an overview of the division's responsibilities and how infrastructure and assets are maintained in an operational national park environment.

The trade skills component is a major feature of this opportunity. Interns are expected to develop entry-level knowledge and experience in areas such as plumbing, electrical work, and carpentry, along with exposure to the administrative and systems side of facilities operations. This includes learning about asset inventory and management, conducting and documenting condition assessments for roads, buildings, and trails, supporting contract surveillance, and working with asset management and labor tracking databases and related software tools. The intent is to give participants both field skills and an understanding of the documentation, compliance, and planning functions that support facilities work in a federal land management agency.

In terms of structure and accountability, the notice indicates interns will meet regularly with their assigned mentor and report on activities and accomplishments, reinforcing that this is a supervised, developmental internship rather than informal seasonal labor. The opportunity is categorized as a discretionary cooperative agreement within the natural resources activity category (CFDA 15.954). The listing shows an expected single award with an award ceiling of $37,922, and it was originally posted April 2, 2018 with an original closing date of April 12, 2018. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with clarification typically provided in the full eligibility text, but the narrative makes clear that implementation is through the partnership with FOSNP, which recruits and hires the youth interns locally.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NOTICE OF INTENT: Next Generation Ranger: Trade Skills Assistant Internships" 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 Apr 02, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 12, 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 $37,922.00 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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