F23AS00069 Youth Engagement, Education, and Employment | F23AS00069

Opportunity Information: Apply for F23AS00069

F23AS00069, titled "Youth Engagement, Education, and Employment," is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) funding opportunity offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement (CFDA 15.676) within the Natural Resources category. The core idea is to support paid, structured work and learning experiences that put young people and veterans to work on real conservation and public lands projects, while also strengthening the pipeline into conservation and public service careers. This opportunity sits under the legal authority of the Public Lands Corps Act (16 USC 1721-1726, as amended, including the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2005) and is framed as part of FWS efforts to build and retain a workforce that better reflects the diversity of the United States across culture, language, socioeconomic background, and lived experience.

A major emphasis of this NOFO is that it is tied to Justice40 (Executive Order 14008). FWS PLC programs are considered covered programs under Justice40, meaning the Service is working toward the federal goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments reach disadvantaged communities that are underserved, overburdened by pollution, or otherwise marginalized. The NOFO connects this work to broader national investment categories like climate and clean energy, clean transit, workforce development and training, pollution remediation, and clean water and wastewater infrastructure. In practice, applicants should expect that projects demonstrating clear benefits to underserved communities, equitable access to jobs and training, and inclusive recruitment and support structures will align strongly with the intent of the program.

The program being funded is not a generic youth grant. It specifically supports projects run through FWS Public Lands Corps (PLC) programs operating under the FWS Youth Corps umbrella (formerly the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps). The target participant group is youth ages 16 to 30, with eligibility extended up to age 35 for veterans. Participants work on public lands in areas such as natural and cultural resource conservation, habitat improvement, restoration, scientific research support, and public education. A key feature is that qualifying PLC participants may earn a Public Lands Corps non-competitive hiring authority, typically valid for up to two years, which can give them a meaningful advantage when applying for certain federal jobs they are otherwise qualified for. The NOFO also notes that PLC participation can allow individuals to seek forbearance on Stafford loans, which is relevant for participants managing student debt.

This NOFO is explicit about partnership structure and eligibility. The funding is meant to support collaborative projects that have already been developed between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and an existing, designated FWS Youth Corps member organization (generally a "qualified youth or conservation corps"). The notice is not intended to create brand-new partnerships. Unsolicited applications, or proposals that are not collaboratively developed with an existing FWS Youth Corps member and FWS, are considered ineligible and will be returned. Because of that, one of the most important practical steps is early coordination: prospective applicants are directed to consult with a local FWS office before developing or submitting an application. The cooperative agreement format also signals that FWS expects substantial involvement in project design, oversight, technical guidance, or shared implementation rather than a hands-off pass-through grant.

The opportunity is designed to help FWS accomplish conservation work in a cost-effective way on eligible lands, especially projects that would not otherwise be performed by existing government employees. At the same time, it aims to deliver participant-focused outcomes: exposure to public service, hands-on skill-building, increased understanding of natural and cultural resources, and a stronger interest in conservation careers. Beyond individual benefits, the program also supports governments and Tribes by enabling research and public education work connected to natural and cultural resources, which can expand local capacity and strengthen community relationships with public lands.

Several example program models are described to show the kinds of activities that may be supported under the PLC umbrella. The Public Lands Transportation Fellows Program places transportation-related fellows (often recent graduates or sometimes current students) into federal land units to work on visitor transportation challenges, such as planning, implementation, and alternative transportation solutions that protect resources and improve visitor experience. The Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) is described as a summer employment program, typically 8 to 10 weeks, generally non-residential, paying at least minimum wage for a 40-hour week, and focused on meaningful stewardship work that builds environmental ethic and civic responsibility. The Career Discovery Internship Program (CDIP), built with the Student Conservation Association, is aimed at introducing culturally and ethnically diverse college freshmen and sophomores to conservation careers through paid internships, field station placements, mentoring by Service staff, and a structured orientation with training on topics like cultural awareness and practical conservation challenges.

The NOFO also highlights newer or expanding pathways, including the Indian Youth Service Corps (IYSC), which is specifically designed to benefit Tribal members through conservation crews, resource assistant roles, and apprenticeships, while expanding education and job training opportunities and increasing exposure to conservation careers. Another area described is the FWS Fire Management Program focus on fuels work and project leadership, with expectations like providing sufficient work to employ a crew module for multiple months, ensuring safety and quality control, and offering educational opportunities about refuge management, ecology, and wildland fire. In addition to non-competitive hiring authority pathways, the notice references direct-hire style pipelines such as the Directorate Fellows Program (DFP), connected to the Department of the Interior Resources Assistant Internship Program framework, emphasizing targeted recruitment and rigorous internships (minimum 11 weeks) to help diversify and strengthen entry-level hiring pipelines into science and natural resource careers.

Eligibility for applicants is broad in the sense that many entity types can apply, including state, county, city or township governments, special districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized Tribes, Tribal organizations, and nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status. The practical limitation, though, is that applicants must be positioned within the existing FWS Youth Corps partnership ecosystem, because only designated member organizations can certify participants for PLC purposes. The notice also mentions that other eligible organization types may include 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(5) organizations such as labor unions or neighborhood associations, particularly those that reach or represent underserved communities, as long as they meet the PLC-related eligibility and membership requirements laid out in the attachments.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity number is F23AS00069, the agency is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, and the listed award ceiling is $2,000,000. The original closing date shown in the source data is September 10, 2023, and the opportunity was created November 7, 2022. Applicants are repeatedly encouraged to coordinate early with local FWS contacts and to submit projects through the specified submission system (the notice references GrantSolutions for certain regionally run YCC financial assistance submissions). Overall, the grant is best understood as a workforce development and conservation delivery mechanism at the same time: it funds on-the-ground stewardship and research capacity for FWS while creating paid, mentored, career-launching experiences for young people and veterans, with a strong equity and Justice40 lens guiding who benefits and how those benefits are delivered.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F23AS00069 Youth Engagement, Education, and Employment" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.676.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-11-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-09-10. (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 $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

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