The Student Conservation Association, Inc.

The Student Conservation Association, Inc., doing business as SCA, is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, that operates as a federal grant recipient providing conservation internship placements, youth workforce development, and environmental stewardship services to Department of the Interior agencies, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other federal land managers. SCA acts almost exclusively as a prime recipient on cooperative agreements—99% of its recent awards are prime grants rather than subgrants—and does not hold federal contracts or contract vehicles.

SCA's federal footprint is almost entirely grant-funded through cooperative agreements under programs such as the Youth Conservation Services program (CFDA 12.010), Youth and Veteran Organizations Conservation Activities (CFDA 15.931), Youth Engagement, Education, and Employment (CFDA 15.676), and the National Wildland Fire Management and Natural Resource Training and Workforce Development program (CFDA 15.969). The organization places conservation and recreation interns at federal facilities to perform habitat restoration, invasive species removal, trail maintenance, visitor services, environmental education, archaeological support, and facility maintenance. Recent representative work includes cooperative agreements with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District ($404,088.47 for conservation and recreation interns supporting Long-Range Planning projects, May 2026–November 2026), the National Park Service for interpretive services at White Sands National Park ($152,349.43 for two year-long interns delivering digital and ranger-led interpretive programming, July 2025–October 2026), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6 for invasive plant species mapping and treatment in Minnesota and Iowa ($245,091.46 for youth conservation work through September 2028).

Customer concentration is heavily weighted toward the Department of the Interior. The National Park Service dominates by award count (2,029 awards across all regions—63% of the active footprint), with significant volume in the Intermountain Region (252 awards), Alaska Region (217 awards), and Northeast Region (217 awards). The Fish and Wildlife Service ranks second by count (635 awards) but anchors the top-customer ranking by potential dollar value, with Region 2 carrying $1.6 million in combined potential value, Region 4 carrying $757 thousand, and Region 9 Headquarters carrying $320 thousand. The Army Corps of Engineers appears across multiple districts as a consistent funder of youth intern placements. The top five customer agencies account for 63% of award volume; combined potential value concentration is lower at 37%, indicating that many small cooperative agreements fund individual intern placements across dispersed federal sites.

SCA's activity trajectory shows consistent volume in the 140–190 awards per year over the past five years, with 146 awards in 2025 and 53 awards recorded year-to-date in 2026 (reflecting a partial reporting year). One hundred thirty-seven awards are slated for completion within the next twenty-four months, representing a moderate recompete exposure. The organization carries approximately 200 active cooperative agreements across federal agencies, positioning it as the nation's largest provider of hands-on environmental conservation programs for youth and young adults. SCA also operates as a subgrant recipient under AmeriCorps programs administered by state offices of volunteerism and service, including agreements with Alaska Department of Commerce Community & Economic Development, Massachusetts Service Alliance, Washington State Office of Financial Management, and other state entities to field AmeriCorps members for conservation work.

SCA's capability portfolio centers on recruiting, training, and placing youth and young adult interns (typically aged 16–30) and veterans (up to age 35) in seasonal and multi-month conservation positions. Work spans habitat restoration, invasive species control and monitoring, trail construction and maintenance, visitor services and interpretation, environmental education delivery, biological surveys, cultural resource management and documentation, historic preservation and masonry repair, park operations, and facility maintenance. The organization functions as an intermediary between federal land managers and young people seeking conservation workforce development and career training, leveraging cooperative agreement funding to remove barriers to youth participation by providing stipends, transportation, housing, training, and mentorship. SCA explicitly markets itself as the primary non-profit service provider for federal youth conservation workforce programs, particularly for the Army Corps of Engineers Youth Conservation Services initiatives and the National Park Service Youth and Veteran Organizations Conservation Activities program.

SCA has no federal contract footprint and no involvement with GWACs, BPAs, or agency-wide IDIQs. The organization does not compete for contracts and operates entirely within the federal grant and cooperative agreement space. This positioning reflects its mission-driven nonprofit status and reliance on direct appropriations and grant programs rather than commercial contracting vehicles.