ORWA Youth Project Wenatchee Round 1 Due 8.14.2026.docx

STATE: Oregon-Washington Office: Spokane District Office Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: L26AS00064 Project Submission Dates and Times: Round 1 Due 5 pm EST 08/14/2026

Project Title: Washington: Spokane District Office Maintenance and Restoration Youth Opportunity Available Funding in FY26: $150,000 Maximum Available Funding (if multi-year): $350,000 BLM has determined $800 weekly stipend equal to $20.00 per hour is reasonable. Stipends above this amount must be justified in budget narrative.

Period of Performance: December 31, 2026-April 30, 2031 Project Background Information: The BLM’s Spokane District (SPD) manages approximately 450,000 acres of public lands in eastern and central Washington. Projects will occur in multiple counties across diverse landscapes. Youth crews will support BLM’s multiple-use mission, including BLM priorities related to post-wildfire recovery, livestock grazing management, invasive species management, wildlife habitat restoration, and recreation management. The project area encompasses shrub-steppe, forested and riparian landscapes with a vast array of wildlife and plant species. By integrating youth into restoration activities, the program advances BLM’s goals of fostering environmental stewardship, building local workforce capacity, and engaging communities in the long-term care of public lands.

Project Objective: The primary objective of this project is to promote wildfire recovery. Youth crews will focus on fence and minor facility maintenance and construction, vegetation management including invasive species treatments, and small-scale shrub-steppe, forest, and riparian restoration. Projects will be conducted based on wildfire activity Washington State, primarily in Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Yakima, Ferry, Stevens, Lincoln, Whitman, Adams, Benton and Franklin Counties. This project would be appropriate for students or young professionals studying land management, range science, or natural sciences. Participation will provide opportunities to enhance basic career skills such as communication, teamwork and organization along with field skills including construction, use of GPS equipment, and documentation of conditions. Previous experience with any or all of these skills would significantly enhance the applicant’s experience.

This project introduces youth to careers in the natural resource sector, including range management, post-wildfire management, and sensitive resources management. SPD would like to a provide work experience to youth for their career and educational benefit through field work experience and learning about public lands to further their understanding and appreciation of natural resources and resource management. Youth will also develop and expand their skills in maintenance of range infrastructure (fencing) and restoration management.

Work Schedule: Flexible based on crew priorities, field conditions, and travel. Schedules will often be Monday-Thursday 7:00 AM to 5:30PM, with start/end dates in May-June/August-September.

Qualification Requirements: This opportunity is suitable for youth working towards an undergraduate degree in natural resource management or natural sciences or related discipline, recent graduates looking to get field experience, or young adults looking for field experience prior to entering a degree program. This opportunity will require time outdoors and field work that is often under rigorous physical conditions.

Housing: Agency cannot provide housing. Stipend funds may be applied to housing.

Vehicle Needs: The BLM will not be providing vehicles for this opportunity. Applicants will provide transportation sufficient to navigate primitive roads. Four-wheel drive vehicles will be needed to complete most job duties.

Other Project Considerations: Applicants should plan for the following:

· Travel: travel from applicants’ home base to BLM field sites will be a daily requirement/expense. Applicant will be responsible for transportation to and from jobsites. Reimbursement for travel time (through stipend or other) is an allowable and anticipated cost.

· Housing: Camping at or near the project site is available. The BLM does not provide funding for camping or guarantee availability to local camp sites, but the BLM can recommend camping locations.

· Food: Youth Corps are responsible to provide meals for their crew.

· Supplies: BLM will provide fencing materials including sage grouse strike markers. BLM will provide specialized tools for restoration (weed pullers, planting tools, etc.) as needed. Youth Corps organizations will be responsible to provide most hand tools along with any laptops, GPS units, cell phones, chainsaws, and tents/camping supplies needed by crew members.

· Training Requirements: Youth Corps are responsible for all necessary training for crews, such as pesticide applicator licenses, first aid, four-wheel drive/off road, UTV training, computer training, crew leads training, fence construction training, chainsaw training (optional), and individual skills training. BLM will provide training related to specialized in-the-field requirements on a per job basis.

Duties: The successful youth applicant will assist SPD in shrub-steppe, forest and riparian management through fence maintenance and construction, vegetation management including mechanical and chemical treatment of noxious and invasive plants and hazard tree removal, and small-scale shrub-steppe, forest and riparian restoration including seeding, seedling planting and construction of beaver dam analogs.

Work will often be remote from nearby towns and often be away from paved or gravel roads. Applicants and crews will need to be self-reliant. Applicants (crew leads) will need to find work locations based on maps, GPS coordinates and verbal direction from BLM. Crews will need to transport construction materials and tools to job sites. Crews will need to work in difficult conditions (heat, dust, steep ground) to complete projects. Fieldwork will be done in a remote backcountry setting and requires strenuous exertion. Weather and terrain conditions may be extreme (e.g. heat, cold, thunderstorms, steep badlands).

Crews will not need access to BLM Field Office facilities, but often meet at these facilities (in Wenatchee, WA or (less frequently) Spokane, WA) to transfer materials (fencing, plants, etc.). BLM staff will often meet with crews in the field on the first day of a new project assignment to ensure a good start to individual projects and will sometimes assist with projects day-to-day depending on need. Individual projects will be coordinated by BLM SPD Program Officer (stationed in Wenatchee, WA), assisted by SPD resource leads for post-fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation, Riparian Botany and Wildlife.

Project outcomes will include improved maintenance of SPD shrub-steppe, forest and riparian habitats and advancement of land management skill sets by applicants. Project outcomes may be measured through the following metrics:

· Acres protected through fencing and other infrastructure projects

· Miles of fence maintained/installed

· Acres of habitat restored/treated to improve conditions

BLM’s Involvement: There will be substantive BLM programmatic involvement by BLM professional to include mentoring, oversight, and engagement with youth participants as appropriate. 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 weekly 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: Chris Sheridan Field PO Phone Number: 509-665-2118 Field PO email: csherida@blm.gov Applicants are encouraged to refer to the full program announcement number L26AS00064 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.

image1.png