Southwest Border Resource Protection Program | P25AS00045

Opportunity Information: Apply for P25AS00045

The Southwest Border Resource Protection Program (SWBRPP) is a National Park Service funding opportunity designed to help protect natural and cultural resources along the U.S.-Mexico border, especially in and around National Park Service (NPS) sites that have been heavily impacted by illegal cross-border activity. The program recognizes that border-related traffic and associated activity have caused widespread damage in several parks and nearby desert southwest park units, including the creation of thousands of miles of unauthorized roads and trails, disruption of ecological processes and wildlife migration, vandalism to historic places, and looting of archaeological sites. In response, SWBRPP supports projects that strengthen on-the-ground stewardship, expand scientific understanding through research and monitoring, improve preservation and conservation outcomes, and deepen public appreciation of shared cross-border heritage through interpretation and education.

A central requirement of this program is that proposals must be developed in a way that directly benefits an NPS unit in the Intermountain Region along the U.S.-Mexico border and also benefits a protected area in Mexico. In other words, projects need to address cultural or natural resource issues that are shared by both countries, with a clear binational connection rather than work confined to only one side of the border. The opportunity highlights specific parks frequently involved in this work, including Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Big Bend National Park, Amistad National Recreation Area, Palo Alto National Historic Site, Padre Island National Seashore, Saguaro National Park, Tumacacori National Historical Park, Chamizal National Memorial, Coronado National Memorial, and Chiricahua National Monument. It also leaves room for applicants to work with other Intermountain Region parks near the border, even if they are not listed, as long as the project supports shared U.S.-Mexico cultural or natural resource priorities.

Funded activities fall into three broad project categories. The first is Research and Monitoring, which can include cultural resource work such as identifying, researching, and evaluating archaeological and historic sites, and preparing National Register of Historic Places or National Historic Landmark nominations. It also includes natural resource efforts like wildlife habitat management, inventory and monitoring of invasive plants and animals, studying climate change impacts on endangered species, and assessing how border activities affect threatened and endangered species. The second category is Conservation and Preservation, supporting cultural projects like stabilizing, rehabilitating, or restoring historic structures, archaeological sites, trails, and cultural landscapes, as well as conserving museum and archival collections. On the natural resource side, this category includes reestablishing natural processes and ecological systems, tracking and responding to resource damage tied to human development, protecting endangered and threatened species, integrated pest management planning, and restoring native wildlife and vegetation, including removal of invasive or exotic species. The third category is Interpretation, Education, and Tourism, which emphasizes professional training and exchange and public-facing work, such as student internship programs, workshops and training events, binational conferences and information-sharing networks, creation of interpretive materials and programs, and geotourism-related efforts that encourage responsible visitation and understanding.

This opportunity is offered by the National Park Service as a discretionary program using a cooperative agreement, which typically means NPS expects substantial involvement in shaping, coordinating, and carrying out the work. Rather than a single large umbrella project, the program anticipates authorizing projects individually through separate awards, each with its own work plan and budget that are developed collaboratively between NPS and the selected partner. Eligible applicants are broad and include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status. The funding opportunity number is P25AS00045 under CFDA 15.963, with an expected maximum award amount (ceiling) of $55,000. The original closing date listed for applications is 2024-12-15, and the opportunity was created on 2024-10-18. Overall, SWBRPP is aimed at practical, binational projects that combine stewardship and science with education and collaboration, with the larger goal of reducing resource damage and strengthening long-term protection of shared borderland parks and protected areas.

• The National Park Service in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Southwest Border Resource Protection Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.963.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-10-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-12-15. (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 $55,000.00 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), 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.

Apply for P25AS00045

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: