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…

Conservation Legacy (operating as Southwest Conservation Corps) received a $406,733.33 cooperative agreement award from the National Park Service (NPS), Department of the Interior, under the Youth and Veteran Organizations Conservation Activities program (CFDA 15.931), effective August 20, 2025, through September 30, 2026. The award funds the deployment of ten interns positioned at ten Southeast Region National Park Service units with limited frontline staffing capacity. These interns deliver direct visitor services and interpretive programming, including staffing visitor centers, conducting roving park patrols, presenting interpretive talks, walks, and tours, and supporting interpretive events such as park anniversaries and America's 250 commemorations.

In addition to frontline visitor services, the interns support capacity expansion of the parks' volunteer programs by assisting in volunteer recruitment, onboarding, training, and volunteer leadership activities. The project serves multiple beneficiary categories including non-profit organizations, academic institutions, state and local government agencies, and the general public through enhanced visitor services and resource conservation education on federal lands. This cooperative agreement exemplifies the program's core objective of simultaneously addressing operational needs at National Park Service units while providing career development and workforce training opportunities for young adults in natural and cultural resource management.

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 hires ten interns placed at ten southeast region parks where there are two or fewer frontline staff available for summer to fall visitor services and interpretive and education programming. The interns will staff visitor centers, provide orientation services, perform roving patrols of parks, present interpretive programs (talks, walks, or tours), and support interpretive events such as anniversaries and america s 250 commemorations. Interns will also have the opportunity to expand visitor services capacity by assisting in volunteer program management including recruitment, onboarding, training, and leading volunteers.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 benefitfrom the development and execution of these programs and projects.