Opportunity Information: Apply for P19AS00045
The National Park Service, within the Department of the Interior, issued a public notice tied to a cooperative agreement for a project called "Biological Monitoring on Deferred Maintenance Projects, Endangered Species Act, Joshua Tree National Park" (Funding Opportunity Number P19AS00045). The effort is part of Joshua Tree National Park's broader push to address more than $35 million in deferred maintenance, with a specific focus on multiple road rehabilitation projects (including routes such as Pine City, Geology Tour, and Black Eagle Mine Road). Because these roads cut through habitat used by the federally threatened desert tortoise, the work requires biological monitoring so construction can proceed while meeting Endangered Species Act (ESA) obligations and maintaining environmental protections. The project is framed as supporting the Secretary of the Interior's priority around modernizing infrastructure, specifically the deferred maintenance component.
At the center of the need is the desert tortoise, a long-lived species with a slow life history that makes populations especially vulnerable to losses of adult animals. The notice highlights that tortoises often do not reproduce until roughly 15 to 20 years of age, so mortality events can have outsized, long-term impacts on recovery. Roads create several predictable risks: direct vehicle strikes during routine crossings, increased attraction to roadside vegetation that can provide preferred forage, and a tendency for tortoises to use pooled water that collects on road surfaces after rainstorms, which can place them directly in the path of vehicles. Joshua Tree is described as one of the strongest tortoise recovery areas across the species' range and an important reproductive stronghold, contributing to recovery work carried out alongside other Department of the Interior and Department of Defense partners. That context is used to underline why added safeguards during maintenance work matter.
The grant-funded work is essentially the compliance and protection layer that allows the road projects to move forward. Biological monitors are required during construction activities to reduce the chance of harm to protected wildlife and to ensure park resources are not degraded. While the desert tortoise is the flagship concern, the opportunity also calls out monitoring needs for migratory birds and invasive plant species during the same construction window. This reflects a broader resource-protection approach: preventing direct take or disturbance of listed species, avoiding impacts such as nest disruption for protected birds, and watching for the spread or introduction of invasive plants that can occur when equipment, soil movement, and roadside disturbance increase.
The notice also emphasizes that this monitoring is not optional or merely best practice; it is a prerequisite for construction. Monitoring activities for listed species are required under the ESA and are carried out with guidance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support species survival and avoid construction-related harm. By building monitoring into the project, the park can streamline the regulatory process while still meeting environmental standards, reducing the risk of delays, noncompliance, or preventable impacts once rehabilitation work begins. The underlying message is practical: the deferred maintenance road projects cannot start without qualified biological monitors in place.
Administratively, this announcement is not a typical open competition. It is categorized as a discretionary opportunity using a cooperative agreement instrument under the natural resources activity category (CFDA 15.931). The creation date listed is July 30, 2019, and the "closing date" language is effectively a notice of intent to award rather than a request for applications. The announcement states it is being issued to provide public notice that the National Park Service will fund the project under an existing cooperative agreement with GBI, meaning the recipient relationship is already established and the notice functions primarily as transparency around the planned award rather than an invitation for new proposals.
The listed award ceiling is $136,000, and the expected number of awards is shown as zero, which aligns with the notice-of-intent format and the fact that the work is being supported under an existing agreement rather than through a new competitive selection. Eligible applicants are described as nonprofits that do not have 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, though in practice the specific award described in the notice is directed through the existing cooperative agreement referenced. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as targeted funding to ensure ESA-compliant biological monitoring occurs alongside urgent infrastructure rehabilitation in desert tortoise habitat, protecting sensitive wildlife while allowing critical visitor access and park road improvements to proceed.Apply for P19AS00045
- The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Biological Monitoring on Deferred Maintenance Projects, Endangered Species Act, Joshua Tree National Park" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.931.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 30, 2019.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Notice of Intent to Award. This is NOT a request for application. This funding announcement is to provide public notice that the National Park Service will fund the following project under an existing Cooperative Agreement with GBI.. (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 $136,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the name of this funding opportunity?
The public notice is tied to a cooperative agreement for a project called "Biological Monitoring on Deferred Maintenance Projects, Endangered Species Act, Joshua Tree National Park" under Funding Opportunity Number (FON) P19AS00045.
Which federal agency is issuing this notice?
The notice was issued by the National Park Service (NPS), within the Department of the Interior.
What is the overall purpose of the project?
The purpose is to fund biological monitoring that allows multiple road rehabilitation (deferred maintenance) projects in Joshua Tree National Park to move forward while meeting Endangered Species Act (ESA) obligations and maintaining environmental protections.
How does this project relate to deferred maintenance at Joshua Tree National Park?
The monitoring supports Joshua Tree National Park's broader effort to address more than $35 million in deferred maintenance, particularly road rehabilitation work. The monitoring is positioned as a necessary compliance and protection component that enables the road projects to proceed.
Which types of construction projects are associated with this monitoring work?
The notice describes the effort as supporting multiple road rehabilitation projects, including routes such as Pine City, Geology Tour, and Black Eagle Mine Road.
Why is biological monitoring needed for these road projects?
The road corridors cut through habitat used by the federally threatened desert tortoise. Biological monitoring is required so construction can proceed while reducing the chance of harm to protected wildlife and ensuring park resources are not degraded.
Which species is the primary focus of the monitoring?
The desert tortoise is the flagship concern identified in the notice. It is described as federally threatened, and the monitoring is needed to address ESA compliance during construction activities in its habitat.
Why does the notice emphasize the desert tortoise's life history?
The notice highlights that desert tortoises are long-lived and typically do not reproduce until roughly 15 to 20 years of age. Because adult survival is especially important for such a slow-reproducing species, mortality events can have long-term impacts on population recovery.
What risks do roads create for desert tortoises?
The notice describes several predictable road-related risks: direct vehicle strikes when tortoises cross roads, increased attraction to roadside vegetation that may provide preferred forage, and tortoises using pooled water that collects on road surfaces after rainstorms, placing them in the path of vehicles.
Why is Joshua Tree National Park important for desert tortoise recovery?
Joshua Tree is described as one of the strongest tortoise recovery areas across the species' range and an important reproductive stronghold, contributing to broader recovery efforts alongside other Department of the Interior and Department of Defense partners.
Is the monitoring limited only to desert tortoises?
No. While the desert tortoise is the primary concern, the notice also calls out monitoring needs for migratory birds and invasive plant species during the same construction window.
Why are migratory birds included in the monitoring needs?
The notice frames monitoring as a broader resource-protection approach during construction, including avoiding impacts such as nest disruption for protected birds.
Why are invasive plants included in the monitoring needs?
The notice notes that invasive plant spread or introduction can occur when equipment is used and soil is moved, and when roadside disturbance increases. Monitoring is included to watch for and help prevent those impacts during construction.
Is biological monitoring optional for these road rehabilitation projects?
No. The notice emphasizes that monitoring is not optional or simply best practice; it is a prerequisite for construction. It states the road projects cannot start without qualified biological monitors in place.
What law or regulatory driver is cited as requiring this monitoring?
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is cited as the requirement for monitoring activities for listed species during construction.
Which agency provides guidance related to ESA monitoring in this project?
The notice states that monitoring activities for listed species are carried out with guidance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support species survival and avoid construction-related harm.
How does building monitoring into the project affect construction and compliance?
The notice suggests that incorporating monitoring helps the park streamline the regulatory process while still meeting environmental standards, reducing the risk of delays, noncompliance, or preventable impacts once rehabilitation work begins.
What type of funding instrument is described?
The notice describes a cooperative agreement as the instrument supporting this work.
Is this an open, competitive grant opportunity?
No. The notice indicates this is not a typical open competition. The "closing date" functions as a notice of intent to award rather than a request for applications.
Why does the notice say the opportunity is not open competition?
The announcement states it is being issued to provide public notice that NPS will fund the project under an existing cooperative agreement with GBI, meaning the recipient relationship is already established and the notice is primarily for transparency around the planned award.
Who is the referenced recipient under the existing cooperative agreement?
The notice references an existing cooperative agreement with GBI and indicates the project will be funded under that existing agreement.
What is the CFDA number and activity category listed?
The notice lists the activity category as natural resources and includes CFDA 15.931.
When was the opportunity created?
The creation date listed in the notice is July 30, 2019.
What is the maximum (ceiling) funding amount listed?
The listed award ceiling is $136,000.
How many awards are expected?
The expected number of awards is shown as zero, which aligns with the notice-of-intent format and the fact that the work is being supported under an existing agreement rather than a new competitive selection.
Who is listed as eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants are described as nonprofits that do not have 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education. However, the notice also makes clear that the specific award described is directed through an existing cooperative agreement, rather than being an open call for new proposals.
How is this project connected to Department of the Interior priorities?
The project is framed as supporting the Secretary of the Interior's priority around modernizing infrastructure, specifically the deferred maintenance component.
In plain terms, what does this funding support?
It supports on-the-ground biological monitoring during road rehabilitation work so the park can complete urgent infrastructure improvements while protecting sensitive wildlife and meeting ESA requirements.
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