Prineville_DFO_Youth_Mini Announcement_FY25.docx

Office: Prineville District, Deschutes Field Office Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: L25AS00147 Project Submission Dates and Times: January 31, 2025, 5PM EST

Project Title: Prineville District Deschutes Field Office Youth Opportunity

Maximum Available Funding in FY25: $42,000 ($210,000 lifetime)

A standard youth crew consists of nine youth or young adult members, ages 16-30 and veterans up to age 35, and one staff crew lead working an estimated 350 hours per week. BLM has determined that individual stipends of $600 a week, equal to $15.00 per hour are reasonable. Higher stipends must be justified in the budget justification in Attachment B. Crew based work will be evaluated based on how many crew members are needed and must be justified in Attachment B.

Project Background Information: The Prineville District’s Deschutes Field Office manages a diverse range of natural resources and recreation opportunities across Central Oregon. The field office manages a wide variety of landscapes from sage brush steppe to desert river canyons. DFO is continuously engaged in improving, expanding, and maintaining its recreation facilities while also improving and restoring habitats across the landscape.

Project Objective: BLM Prineville District’s Deschutes Field Office has an opportunity to introduce local youth to natural resource and recreation management careers in the BLM, with a specific focus in recreation maintenance and habitat restoration. The Deschutes Field Office has resource specialists who would like to provide work experience to local Central Oregon youth for their career and educational benefit. This would be accomplished by providing local youth opportunities to gain hands-on experience, learn about and further their understanding of public lands, and pique their interest in conservation, restoration and recreation careers.

This opportunity will be focused on implementing restoration and conservation activities such as removing and rebuilding fences, installing flight diverters in sage grouse habitat, and stream restoration projects throughout the field office. This opportunity also focuses on recreation management projects such as constructing and maintaining recreation infrastructure including fences, tent pads, picnic tables and trails as well as vegetation management at recreation sites.

Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, generally 8 AM to 5 PM. Work may occur year-round and would likely be scheduled one week at a time, roughly. Overall scheduling will be determined by availability of both youth crew and BLM staff.

Qualification Requirements: This opportunity will require time outdoors and field work that is often under somewhat rigorous physical conditions and challenging weather conditions. Chainsaw certifications and Oregon Pesticide Applicators License are helpful, but not required.

Housing: Housing is not being offered.

Vehicle Needs: Youth Corps organizations will need to provide for all transportation of crews. Some project sites are accessible via 2-wheel drive vehicles, but 4-wheel drive vehicles are required at many locations. Driving on pavement, gravel and native surface roads will be a common occurrence.

Other Project Considerations: BLM will provide all materials, special tools and planning for projects. Crews are responsible for providing all Personal Protective Equipment and basic tools such as shovels, hand saws, rakes, etc. Specific tool needs will be determined for each project.

Duties: The youth crew will assist the Prineville District’s Deschutes Field Office with implementing their on-the-ground recreation, habitat and conservation activities. Projects can include recreation infrastructure projects such as repairing fence, installing picnic tables and trail rehabilitation, or vegetative management projects at recreation sites such as pruning trees in campgrounds, weed whacking campsites, and applying herbicide at recreation sites. Other potential projects include habitat and conservation projects such as installing flight diverters in sage grouse habitat, retrofitting fences in mule deer winter range, or planting vegetation in riparian areas.

Project expected outcomes include six work weeks for a crew of 10 (approximately 2,100 hours). Specific expected outcomes will be project specific and could include miles of fence, number of tables, linear feet of roads/trails/streams treated.

BLM’s Involvement: There will be substantive BLM programmatic involvement by BLM. BLM professionals will work alongside the crew on a daily or weekly basis, providing project orientations and specific training as needed. The BLM will develop projects for the Youth Corps crew leads to complete with crews. BLM will have the right to intervene by modifying the project management plan if the project is not staying on schedule, technical issues arise, or other circumstances warranting modifications arise. In addition, BLM and recipient will regularly discuss progress and track project outcomes; review any training needs; and then make decisions related to finalizing projects or moving to the next phase.

BLM Program Contact:

Jim Mueller, Outdoor Recreation Planner 541-966-2003 J2muelle@blm.gov

Please refer to the full program announcement number L25AS00147, 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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