Partnership for Ecological Monitoring in the NPS HTLN | NPS NOIP18AC00171

Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS NOIP18AC00171

The Partnership for Ecological Monitoring in the NPS HTLN is a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement opportunity designed to strengthen long-term ecological monitoring across a multi-park network in the central Great Plains. It sits under the NPS Vital Signs Monitoring Program, which began in the late 1990s to track key indicators of ecosystem condition, or "vital signs," such as water quality, species diversity, and other measures that help detect environmental change early. The basic idea is that consistent, long-term monitoring can reveal emerging problems like habitat loss, invasive species spread, or other disturbances before they become severe, giving park managers the information they need to respond proactively and protect park resources.

This opportunity is centered on the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network (HTLN), which coordinates monitoring for 15 NPS units spread across eight states. HTLN partners with Missouri State University to provide scientific capacity, field staffing, and student involvement to support stewardship decisions in these parks. Monitoring is organized at the "network" level, meaning multiple parks share protocols, expertise, and resources rather than each park trying to run a full monitoring program on its own. The result is more consistent data, stronger scientific comparability across parks, and more efficient use of funding and staff time.

The agreement lays out several connected objectives. First, it aims to engage university faculty and students in applied scientific work that directly benefits NPS natural resource management, while giving students meaningful professional development and hands-on experience. Second, it focuses on monitoring vital signs in collaboration with Missouri State University to improve science-based stewardship and conservation across the 15 park units. Third, it explicitly seeks to build broader awareness of conservation among students and the public by connecting monitoring results and stewardship work to education and outreach. Fourth, it aligns with a government-wide priority of providing youth opportunities to learn about the environment through direct project work in national parks, emphasizing real-world experience rather than classroom-only learning.

A major feature of the project is workforce and training support through the university. Missouri State University is expected to recruit and employ two full-time research assistants plus one temporary student worker. These positions are meant to expand field and analytical capacity while also creating structured, resume-building experiences for early-career professionals and students. The project description emphasizes collaboration between the research assistants and NPS staff, reflecting the cooperative agreement model where substantial involvement and coordination with the federal partner is expected.

The first full-time research assistant role is focused on terrestrial and landscape-scale monitoring. This includes annual data collection and trend monitoring related to breeding birds, deer, vegetation communities, protected species, and invasive plants across the 15 NPS units. In addition to fieldwork, the assistant is responsible for data entry and data summarization, and for working with NPS staff to translate results into reporting products that park managers can use. The role also includes field operations support, such as preparing and maintaining equipment to keep sampling efficient and consistent from year to year.

The second full-time research assistant role is focused on aquatic and water-related vital signs. That work includes annual data collection to monitor trends in fish communities, aquatic invertebrates, springs, and water quality across the same set of park units. Similar to the terrestrial position, responsibilities span field sampling, data entry, data summaries, and collaboration with NPS staff to report findings in a management-relevant way. Equipment preparation and maintenance are again called out as essential, reflecting how much monitoring quality depends on reliable gear and repeatable methods.

The temporary student worker position is intended to provide additional support in both field and laboratory tasks, helping expand capacity during busy sampling periods and creating another entry point for student participation. Across all roles, the monitoring effort is not just about collecting data, but about turning that information into actionable insight for park stewardship, supporting communication and understanding of conservation issues, and contributing to the broader scientific community through new knowledge and dissemination of results.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, offered as a cooperative agreement under the Natural Resources funding activity category. The opportunity is identified as NPS NOIP18AC00171 and is associated with CFDA number 15.944. The posting listed an award ceiling of $850,000 with one expected award. The original posting dates show it was created July 11, 2018, with an original closing date of July 21, 2018. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with clarification expected in the additional eligibility information in the full announcement. Overall, the grant is structured to blend rigorous, long-term ecological monitoring with workforce development and public stewardship outcomes, using a university partnership to scale up scientific support across a large regional network of national park units.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Partnership for Ecological Monitoring in the NPS HTLN" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.944.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 11, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 21, 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 $850,000.00 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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