Inventory and Evaluate Archaeolgical Resources along High Priority Trail Segments | P17AS00463

Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00463

The grant opportunity titled "Inventory and Evaluate Archaeological Resources along High Priority Trail Segments" (Funding Opportunity Number P17AS00463) is a National Park Service cooperative agreement focused on identifying, documenting, and assessing archaeological and other cultural resources located along heavily used or high-impact trail corridors in Yellowstone National Park. The work is driven by the park's predictive modeling, which suggests that areas with high visitor traffic are also likely to contain archaeological sites because many modern trails mirror older travel routes, including pre-park Native American footpaths. In practical terms, the project is designed to find and better understand what cultural resources exist near these trail segments, determine their significance, and help the park manage them responsibly as visitation and trail maintenance continue.

A core objective is to conduct systematic inventory and evaluation of cultural resources and assess whether identified sites are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). This involves field survey, documentation, and evaluation work that supports both long-term research into prehistoric use of Yellowstone and compliance requirements under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), as amended. The opportunity notes that the resources expected in these corridors may represent a wide range of archaeological site types and time periods, so the project is not limited to a single kind of site or era. Alongside identifying and evaluating sites, the project also emphasizes condition assessment, meaning it will examine the current state of resources and the risks they face from visitor use, erosion, trail work, and other management or environmental factors.

Another major deliverable is the development of recommendations for monitoring strategies and treatments that reduce threats to archaeological resources during ongoing trail use and park management activities. This can include guidance on how to watch for damage over time, how often to revisit sensitive locations, what indicators to track, and what practical mitigation measures could be used to prevent or reduce impacts. The intent is for the results to feed directly into an active, ongoing monitoring program focused on cultural resources along trail corridors. The data generated is meant to be useful beyond a single field season, supporting a longer-term stewardship framework where archaeological information is updated, maintained, and routinely used in decision-making.

The project is also structured to be integrated into park operations and planning. The NPS expects that findings will be presented to park management for incorporation into daily operations, planning and compliance activities, resource stewardship decisions, and interpretive programming. This signals that the work is not just academic research; it is applied cultural resource management meant to influence how Yellowstone manages trails, visitor use, and associated ground disturbance. The description also makes clear that park staff will be directly involved, working with the selected cooperator during both fieldwork and analysis phases, and collaborating on public education related to the project outcomes, which could include interpretive materials, presentations, or other outreach that communicates why these resources matter and how they are being protected.

Administratively, this was a discretionary funding opportunity offered by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, under CFDA 15.945, categorized under Natural Resources. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates substantial involvement by the federal agency in carrying out the project rather than a hands-off grant. Eligibility was limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, suggesting the NPS was seeking an academic partner with professional archaeological capabilities, field training capacity, and the ability to produce defensible NRHP eligibility evaluations and management recommendations. The opportunity anticipated a single award with an award ceiling of $42,000. The posting was created June 30, 2017, with an original closing date of July 9, 2017, indicating a short application window and a relatively focused, scoped project intended to produce tangible inventory, evaluation, and monitoring outputs that Yellowstone could quickly incorporate into its cultural resource management program.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Inventory and Evaluate Archaeolgical Resources along High Priority Trail Segments" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 30, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 09, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $42,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for P17AS00463

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