This program utilizes qualified non-profit youth- and veteran-serving organizations to carry out appropriate natural and cultural resource conservation, education, volunteer service and education…

The National Park Service (NPS), under the Youth and Veteran Organizations Conservation Activities program (CFDA 15.931), awarded a $240,659.54 cooperative agreement to Friends of Saguaro National Park, effective July 8, 2025, through December 31, 2027. This award supports the delivery of resource management internship opportunities for local youth ages 18-30 in the Tucson, Arizona area at Saguaro National Park. The project provides paid internship positions combined with comprehensive training in natural and cultural resource conservation and professional development.

Under this agreement, participating interns engage in critical park management activities including invasive species removal, ecological monitoring of native plants, assessment of damaged sites, field data collection, and creation of educational content. The program simultaneously addresses resource management needs on federal lands while providing career development pathways and hands-on conservation experience for underrepresented youth in southern Arizona. Beneficiaries include the participating interns, local academic institutions, state and local government agencies, and the general public through enhanced park services and conservation outcomes at Saguaro National Park.

This program utilizes qualified non-profit youth- and veteran-serving organizations to carry out appropriate natural and cultural resource conservation, education, volunteer service and education projects on department of the interior lands through authorized national park service programs. The project aims to provide resource management internship opportunities for local youth in tucson and surrounding areas in southern arizona at saguaro national park. Activities include managing invasive species, assessing damaged sites, monitoring native plants, data collection, and creating educational content.beneficiaries include private non-profit institutions and organizations public and private non-profit academic institutions state and local government agencies quasi-public non-profit institutions and organizations that support youth and young adult career training and development, and education in the areas of natural and or cultural resource conservation and management. Individuals families students and the general public will receive a benefit from the development and execution of these programs and projects.