EKDO IYSC Ancestral Landscape Restoration Project.doc

Office: Elko District Office Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: L23AS00144 Project Submission Dates and Times: April 24, 2023, 5:00pm ET

Project Title: Elko District Indian Youth Service Corps Ancestral Landscape Restoration Project Maximum Available Funding in FY23: $300,000.00 Project Background Information:

The BLM seeks to develop collaborative partnerships with Native American Tribes, Alaskan Natives, and Hawaiian Natives having youth serving organizations who have the expertise to develop and administrator youth development programs that focus on providing employment, education, and engagement opportunities for Native American Indians across ancestral lands administered by the BLM or on Native American Indian Reservations. Through the Indian Youth Service Corps (IYSC), the BLM has a mechanism to provide Tribes access to educational, employment, and training opportunities through conservation projects on public and Tribal lands.

This approach is critical in supporting continued Tribal access to ancestral lands as well as assisting the BLM in engaging in meaningful dialog and collaborative landscape management with Tribes based on shared stewardship of ancestral lands. Restoration of recreation areas assists the BLM in meeting its mission to provide high quality recreation experiences on public lands. Further, this work is recognized as key to the BLM’s commitment to promote restoration, enhancement, and protection of important and diverse habitats and will support the restoration and recovery of habitats crucial to threatened and endangered species, as well as ecologically significant habitats relied upon by numerous species. Program participation will provide Tribal youth with the ability to steward ancestral lands and landscapes through Traditional Ecological Knowledge alongside industry-standard restoration techniques. Additionally, program participants will gain experience in and an understanding of natural resource management and job skills associated with such work.

Project Objective:

The Elko District BLM, situated across Elko, Eureka, and Lander counties, Nevada, encompasses close to twelve million acres of lands across which bands of Newe (Western Shoshone) peoples made their homes, and bounds the western and southern portions of the Duck Valley Reservation. Under the Elko District Indian Youth Service Corps Ancestral Landscape Restoration Project, the District seeks to develop a landscape restoration program in conjunction with the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation (the Tribe) that benefits both public and Tribal lands, and by partnering with an IYSC provider to introduce Tribal youth to natural resource management and landscape restoration and stewardship. Additionally, projects will provide economic and social support to historically disadvantaged communities in the region, and introduce a new generation of natural resource stewards to the work of the BLM.

For the initial work proposed under the Elko District Indian Youth Service Corps Ancestral Landscape Restoration Project, the BLM will partner with the Tribe to identify specific restoration needs at target recreation areas located at the Wildhorse Reservoir, Wilson Reservoir, Sheep Creek Reservoir, or Tabor Creek recreation facilities. The BLM administers recreation facilities at Wildhorse and Wilson reservoirs, and the Tribe administers recreation facilities at Sheep Creek and Wildhorse Reservoir. These areas are recreational destinations known throughout Nevada and Idaho, while the surrounding landscapes are important habitat for sage grouse, pronghorn, mule deer, elk, and numerous fish and avian species. Wildland fire and recreation have created an environment ready for the spread of noxious/invasive plant species, and this project would seek to address the spread of existing noxious/invasive plants while fostering the restoration of native plants and riparian areas.

Work Schedule:

The work schedule will be established by the Indian Youth Service Corps provider, but will generally follow a proposed work-period of eight ten-hour work days followed by six days off; although, exact hours may vary depending on task, location, or season.

Qualification Requirements:

Applicants to the successful IYSC provider must meet IYSC definitions of being between 16 and 30 years of age (inclusive), or a veteran aged 35 or younger.

Housing:

Housing is not being provided. Should project work be located in remote areas, the IYCS provider may choose to have crews camp near or on-site. In that case, the IYSC provider will be responsible to furnish tents and sleeping bags. Participants may wish to bring their own tents, sleeping bags, or other camping equipment if preferred.

Vehicle Needs: Transportation to and from the project location will be the responsibility of the IYSC provider. It is assumed high-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicles will be necessary to ensure safe access to project locations.

Other Project Considerations:

Food: The IYSC provider will be responsible for providing food for crews if work will necessitate camping at the project location. Meals provided should include breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each day spent on-site. If camping is not necessary (e.g. the project location can be accessed by crews daily from the base location of the IYSC provider), then the IYSC provider will not be responsible for providing food for crews; each crew member will be responsible to provide their food for the day. Drinking water will be provided by the IYSC provider in any case.

All Supplies: As discussed above, the IYSC provider will be responsible to furnish tents and sleeping bags if crews will be expected to camp at project locations. Materials needed for project work (including but not limited to handtools like shovels, handsaws, loppers, fence stretchers, post drivers, gloves, personal protective equipment such as hardhats, waste disposal bags or containers, etc.) will be provided by the IYSC provider. Consumable materials such as paint, hardware, temporary fencing supplies, wire, seed, etc. will be provided by the BLM. Should location maps be needed, the BLM will provide those. It is not anticipated computers, cell phones, or GPS units will be needed to complete project work, although the IYSC provider may chose to provide a device such as an In-Reach, Shout, or satellite phone for crews for project work in remote areas with no cellular coverage.

Training Requirements: The IYSC provider will be responsible for crew lead and individual crew member training. Project location specific task training may be conducted in conjunction with the BLM if requested. Training in the use of applicable equipment (e.g. handtools or chainsaws) will be the responsibility of the IYSC provider.

Travel: Travel to and from project locations will be required. Travel may be on a single work-day basis (returning home daily) or to a project location for an extended, multi-day work period (camping at a remote project location) and then returning home at the conclusion of the work period.

Duties:

BLM’s Involvement: There will be substantive BLM programmatic involvement by BLM professional that will work with the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation to identifty location-specific needs, develop location-specific project details, and draft location-specific scopes of work for the IYCS provider to implement at BLM and Tribally administered sites. The BLM will provide a project orientation to IYSC participants to ensure they understand goals and objectives of the BLM and the Tribe. Additionally, the BLM will coordinate with the recipient on all projects to ensure appropriate equipment is available, project locations are accessible, projects remain on-scheduld and also be. The BLM will have the right to intervene by modifying the project management plan, if project is not staying on schedule, technical issues arise, etc. In addition, BLM and recipient will meet biweekly to discuss progress and track project outcomes; review any training needs; and then make a decision what direction to take in finalizing project or move to the next phase.

BLM Program Contact:

Field PO Name: Jessica Montcalm

Field PO Phone Number: 775.385.5162

Field PO Email: jmontcalm@blm.gov

Applicants are encouraged to refer to the full program announcement number L23AS00144 posted on Grants.gov for all program requirements and applicable terms and conditions. Recipients selected for awards will be required to adhere to those requirements should an award be made.

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