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 Conservation Legacy $113,333.33 under a Cooperative Agreement (P26AC00136) effective January 16, 2026, through the Youth and Veteran Organizations Conservation Activities program (CFDA 15.931).

Conservation Legacy, doing business as Southwest Conservation Corps, will recruit and train four interns from Native communities to serve as cultural interpreters at Mesa Verde National Park through September 30, 2027. The interns will lead guided tours of ancestral sites, staff visitor information desks, and deliver curriculum-based educational programs. They will gain practical skills in interpretation and visitor services while sharing authentic cultural perspectives with park visitors.

The project is based in Colorado and targets tribal youth as primary beneficiaries alongside park visitors. Deliverables include guided tours, visitor engagement activities, and educational programming. The anticipated outcomes include strengthened tribal relations and enhanced visitor understanding of Mesa Verde's heritage.

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 will recruit and train four interns from native communities to serve as cultural interpreters at mesa verde national park. Interns will lead tours of ancestral sites, assist visitors at information desks, and deliver educational programs. They will gain practical skills in interpretation and visitor services while sharing authentic cultural perspectives. Deliverables include guided tours, visitor engagement, and curriculum-based programs. Beneficiaries include tribal youth and park visitors, with tangible outcomes of stronger tribal relations and enriched visitor understanding of mesa verdes heritage.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.