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 The Student Conservation Association, Inc. a cooperative agreement totaling $108,451.12 on January 16, 2026, under the Youth and Veteran Organizations Conservation Activities program (CFDA 15.931).

The award funds two intern placements serving 38 weeks at Canyonlands National Park in Moab, Utah. The interns will provide visitors with safety information and trip-planning assistance, patrol backcountry roads and trails, educate visitors on low-impact camping, assist with resource monitoring protocols, and support search-and-rescue operations. Through this work, the interns will develop hands-on career skills and gain education, leadership, and personal development experiences in natural resource stewardship.

The period of performance runs from January 16, 2026, through December 31, 2026. The Student Conservation Association, a tax-exempt nonprofit headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, acts as the prime recipient and intermediary, recruiting and placing youth interns in conservation positions across federal land management agencies. The program serves individuals aged 16 to 30 and veterans up to age 35, with the Youth and Veteran Organizations Conservation Activities program targeting young adults and veterans seeking hands-on experience protecting America's public lands while building conservation career pathways.

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 agreement will provide internships to two interns serving 38 weeks at canyonlands national park to provide visitors with safety information and trip-planning assistance, rove backcountry roads and trails, educate visitors on low-impact camping, assist with resource monitoring protocols, and help with search-and-rescue operations. The youth interns will gain valuable hands-on career skills and a range of education, leadership, and personal development experiences that will promote life-long stewardship of public lands.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.