Youth Project Abstract Summary SNDO Gold Butte SNPLMA BL85 Youth Conservation Crew.docx

Office: Southern Nevada District Office Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: L22AS00306 Project Submission Dates and Times: June 16, 2022, 5:00 p.m. (ET)

Project Title: Southern Nevada District Gold Butte NM Restoration Youth Crew Maximum Available Funding in FY22: $45,000 Project Background Information: The Southern Nevada District Office has established the protection of Gold Butte’s Cultural Heritage as a priority project for the Gold Butte National Monument. Protection measures necessary are directed in the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA) Project BL85, Protecting Gold Butte’s Cultural Heritage. This project focuses on three cultural complexes in the Gold Butte area that are well known and receive heavy visitation by the public. The three complexes include: Whitney Pocket, an area currently designated as an ACEC containing one historic Civilian Conservation Corps camp and one prehistoric rock shelter and roasting pit site; Falling Man Rock Writing Complex; and Kirk’s Grotto Site Complex, a slot canyon containing a number of petroglyph panels.

The conditions at these sites are threatened by the impacts of recreational use, which has already resulted in damage to archaeological features. These complexes stand to suffer additional significant damage absent protection measures, increased management of recreational traffic and visitation, and monitoring. Youth crews are an important component in the effort to protect and restore the value of these resources and values.

Involving youth crews in this project is important for developing careers in the BLM and helping the District accomplish priority resource protection and restoration. BLM specialists in recreation and natural resourcers will guide the youth crews in completing the work, as well as providing insights into resource management and career opportunities.

Project Objective:

The project objective is to restore trails and routes previously closed through travel management planning that access three cultural complexes and lead to the degradation of the sites. This is a long-term effort that may take several years to restore; full restoration may not be completed for decades following the reseeding of these routes and trails.

Youth crews will perform a variety of restoration tasks, including collecting native seed, transporting seedlings from the greenhouse to restoration sites, planting seedlings, installing temporary fencing, and barriers to protect restoration areas, using hand tools to decompact soil, dig holes for planting or creating vertical mulch, installing signage and removing remnants from established campsites.

Work Schedule: Youth crews will generally work Monday – Thursday, 7:30 AM - 5PM. for approximately 6 weeks, with flexible start/end dates from approximately October to April.

Qualification Requirements: This opportunity is suitable for organizations that have experience recruiting for and managing youth work crews. Members of the youth work crews must be able to work in outdoor conditions and have the basic skills and abilities to complete routine restoration and maintenance work, such as weed pulling, painting, trash pick-up, data collection, etc.

Housing: Agency cannot provide housing. Camping locations for field crews are available at no charge.

Vehicle Needs: The applicant is required to provide transportation for the youth crew members to and from the work location. This transportation must be able to handle gravel, dirt, and primitive road conditions.

Other Project Considerations:

· Food: The applicant is required to supply youth crew members with all food and living supplies.

· All Supplies: The applicant is required to provide the youth crews basic living supplies and work tools. The BLM may be able to supplement crews with basic work tools on a limited basis.

· Training Requirements: The applicant is required to provide youth crew members with the appropriate training to complete the work outlined in this opportunity, including, but not limited to, basic tool use and operation, first aid, and crew lead training.

· Travel: Travel between the youth crew camping location and project site may be required, but is generally no more than 10 miles each way.

Duties: The successful youth corps applicant will assist the Southern Nevada Distritct with the following specific projects:

· Restoration of surface disturbances, including 15.5 miles of previously closed routes leading to/from the cultural resource complexes and along connecting routes using vertical mulch, soil decompaction, seeding and similar techniques.

· Improve and maintain closed route accesses to deter illegal or inadvertent access to restored areas.

· Install information and regulatory signage at route accesses to educate the visiting public of restoration, closure, or authorized route.

· Collection of native plant seed, transportation of container stock and other duties related to restoration of these sites.

This work is expected to occur over approximately 6 weeks of the southern Nevada winter field season from October to April. BLM specialists will meet with crews in the field on the first day of a new project week to ensure a good start to individual projects. Crews will often be working in remote locations without cell service, and in weather conditions common on the Mojave Desert.

Project expected outcomes include the employment of approximately 5 youth who will also gain knowledge on natural resource management and careers while completing restoration for significant archeological, cultural and historical resources.

BLM’s Involvement: There will be substantive BLM programmatic involvement by BLM professionals that will work with the crews weekly to ensure project objectives are known and complete, as well as providing information to crew members on the purpose of the work, relationship to BLM management objectives, and career opportunities. The BLM will have the right to intervene by modifying the project work, if project is not staying on schedule, technical issues arise, etc.

BLM Program Contact:

Applicants are encouraged to refer to the full program announcement number L22AS00306 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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