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 awarded a Cooperative Agreement totaling $135,939.04 to The Great Basin Institute under the Youth and Veteran Organizations Conservation Activities program (CFDA 15.931) on June 25, 2025, with completion targeted for July 31, 2026. The award funds two full-time data scientist positions to address critical resource data management needs within the National Park Service. The first data scientist will enhance data transparency and accessibility for park-based resource datasets including forest regeneration, water quality, and wildlife monitoring by collaborating with park staff to implement standardized data management protocols. The second data scientist will develop and improve monitoring methodologies specifically for cave resources in parks with significant cave systems, with both positions designed to increase public data availability, optimize monitoring approaches, identify cost-saving efficiencies, and ensure proper data archiving and preservation.

The project is implemented through The Great Basin Institute's Nevada Conservation Corps division and aligns with the broader Youth and Veteran Organizations Conservation Activities program objectives of engaging qualified non-profit organizations in natural and cultural resource management on Department of the Interior lands. The initiative will benefit private non-profit institutions, academic organizations, state and local government agencies, youth and young adult career development programs, and the general public through improved access to park resource data and enhanced conservation management capabilities across California.

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. This project allocates funds for two data scientists to address critical needs for park-based resource data management. One data scientist will enhance data transparency for park-based resource data, such as forest regeneration, water quality, and wildlife, by collaborating with park staff to implement data management standards. The second data scientist will improve monitoring methodologies for cave resources in parks with large caves. Both positions aim to increase data availability to the public, improve methodologies, identify efficiencies for cost-savings, and ensure proper data archiving.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.