Implementation of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Management Plan | P17AS00107

Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00107

The grant opportunity titled "Implementation of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Management Plan" (Funding Opportunity Number P17AS00107) is a mandatory National Park Service cooperative agreement issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Its purpose is to carry out the formal compact required by the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-319), as later amended (Public Law 109-318). In other words, Congress created the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area (YCNHA) and directed the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement with the local management entity, and this funding vehicle is designed to support that relationship and the implementation of the approved management plan. The opportunity also recognizes that Yuma Crossing holds national-level significance beyond the heritage area designation, since it is a National Historic Landmark (designated November 13, 1966).

At its core, the project is about turning the YCNHA management plan into on-the-ground action. The plan focuses on protecting and showcasing a landscape with roughly 500 years of recorded history and a concentration of cultural, historic, architectural, natural, recreational, and scenic resources. The heritage area is framed as a key location in the broader story of the United States, especially as a strategic crossing point tied to westward expansion in the mid-19th century. Implementation is therefore not limited to historic preservation alone; it blends preservation with interpretation, recreation, visitor services, and community-driven economic development.

The opportunity lays out a set of six interrelated objectives that guide what the cooperative agreement is meant to accomplish. First, it aims to formally recognize and interpret the national importance of the Yuma Crossing in U.S. development, with emphasis on its role during westward expansion. Second, it prioritizes promoting, interpreting, and developing physical and recreational resources in the surrounding communities, using the area’s extensive historical record and strong inventory of cultural assets to educate and benefit both current residents and future generations. Third, it seeks to build and maintain close working relationships across all levels of government, the private sector, and local communities, with an emphasis on empowering local stakeholders to conserve heritage while still pursuing economic opportunity. Fourth, it supports providing recreation for visitors while preserving the natural resources within the heritage area. Fifth, it explicitly links heritage area projects to regional economic outcomes by improving the region’s capacity to serve visitors and by completing major projects identified in the management plan. Sixth, it encourages active sharing of resources, facilities, information, and expertise to strengthen public understanding and appreciation of National Historic Landmarks and National Heritage Areas more broadly, not just within Yuma.

The management plan described in the notice emphasizes a practical, partnership-based approach to conservation and interpretation. Key strategies include promoting conservation of important resources, developing clear interpretive themes that connect individual sites into a coherent public story, strengthening partnerships throughout the Yuma community, and creating linkages that help visitors and residents experience multiple related resources as an integrated network rather than isolated points of interest. A major throughline is tourism and visitation: the plan anticipates that heritage conservation and interpretation, when coordinated well, can support the growth of a regional tourism economy and contribute to long-term community vitality.

On the protection side, the opportunity highlights that the management plan identifies specific actions to safeguard YCNHA resources and provides a structured understanding of what needs protection and why. This includes an inventory of resources within the heritage area that merit protection due to their natural, cultural, historic, recreational, or scenic significance. The plan also points to existing and potential funding sources that could be used to protect, manage, and develop the heritage area, signaling that implementation is expected to be financially strategic and to leverage multiple streams of support over time rather than relying on a single grant.

The designated management entity for this cooperative agreement is the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Corporation (referred to as Yuma Crossing), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. The notice describes the organization as having preservation-oriented goals supported through education, advocacy, technical assistance, awards, and partnerships with other preservation groups and aligned organizations. In practice, that positions the management entity to act as a convener and coordinator, aligning federal partnership support with local implementation capacity and community priorities.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, this is a single-award opportunity with an expected award count of one and an award ceiling of $1. The opportunity category is listed as mandatory, the funding instrument type is a cooperative agreement (implying substantial federal involvement compared to a standard grant), and the activity category is natural resources under CFDA 15.939. The eligible applicant category is listed broadly as "Others," with the clear intent in the text that the award supports the heritage area’s management entity as established by the Act and the required compact. The posting shows it was created March 6, 2017, with an original closing date of March 16, 2017, reflecting a time-limited window consistent with a legislatively directed agreement rather than an open, competitive program.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Implementation of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Management Plan" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.939.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 06, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 16, 2017. (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 $1.00 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).

Apply for P17AS00107

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