NOTICE OF INTENT: Rangeland Health Condition Assessments for Livestock Allotments at Dinosaur National Monument | P18AS00301

Opportunity Information: Apply for P18AS00301

The National Park Service (Department of the Interior) issued a Notice of Intent for a discretionary cooperative agreement focused on improving how livestock grazing is managed at Dinosaur National Monument. The opportunity is aimed at filling a key information gap: the park does not currently have up-to-date rangeland health condition assessments for its domestic livestock allotments, and without those baseline assessments it cannot realistically build allotment-specific grazing management plans. Because livestock grazing occurs across roughly one-third of the monument, the park views this missing data as a direct risk to its ability to protect native plant communities and strengthen the resilience of both upland and riparian vegetation.

The core purpose of the project is to assess and document current rangeland health conditions on ten livestock allotments within the monument. The work centers on the standard pillars of rangeland health evaluation: soil and site stability (how well soils resist erosion and maintain site productivity), hydrologic function (how effectively the site captures, stores, and releases water, including runoff and infiltration patterns), and biotic integrity (the condition and composition of plant and biological communities relative to what is expected for that landscape). The expected deliverable is a clear presentation of the condition findings for each of the ten allotments so park managers can understand where conditions are meeting expectations, where they are trending away from desired conditions, and what specific factors appear to be driving those outcomes.

A major management outcome the park is working toward is adaptive, allotment-based livestock management. In practical terms, the park envisions using the assessment results to design grazing strategies tailored to each allotment that push conditions toward defined desired states while maintaining an overall standard of acceptable rangeland health. This includes identifying which components of rangeland health need improvement and which are already functioning well and should be maintained. The assessments are also intended to serve as the foundation for setting measurable management objectives and developing grazing recommendations that are defensible and tied to on-the-ground conditions.

Another key element of the opportunity is establishing the basis for a rangeland monitoring program that can track both short-term and long-term trends. The park anticipates using a combination of qualitative and quantitative indicators to document rangeland health, vegetation trends, and forage availability over time. By pairing initial condition assessments with an ongoing monitoring framework, managers would be able to evaluate whether changes in grazing management are producing the intended results and to adjust strategies as conditions change, rather than relying on assumptions or incomplete information.

Administratively, the funding opportunity is listed as P18AS00301 under CFDA 15.945 in the Natural Resources activity category, and it is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the NPS expects to have substantial involvement during the project rather than simply issuing a hands-off grant. The posted award ceiling is $97,643, with one expected award. The notice was created June 10, 2018, and the original closing date was June 20, 2018. Eligibility is described as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full eligibility text, implying it may be directed toward specific partner types (such as non-profits, research entities, or other qualified organizations) depending on the details included in the complete announcement.

In short, this opportunity is about producing credible, allotment-level rangeland health condition information for ten grazing allotments at Dinosaur National Monument, then using that information to enable grazing management plans and a monitoring approach that can demonstrate progress toward desired ecological conditions while supporting sustainable livestock use where it is authorized.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NOTICE OF INTENT: Rangeland Health Condition Assessments for Livestock Allotments at Dinosaur National Monument" 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 10, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 20, 2018. (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 $97,643.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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