Youth Employment Initiative

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) will partner with the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to implement a Youth Employment Initiative tentatively titled: America’s Great Outdoors: Developing the Next Generation of Conservationist (Youth Initiative). The goal of the program is to support competitive grants that provide meaningful conservation employment opportunities to youth aged 16-25 focused on benefiting BOR lands or assisting BOR in accomplishing its mission. In partnership with BOR and other funding participants, NFWF will manage a grant program that supports innovative youth employment opportunities in conservation. The focus of this effort will be to expose young people, particularly urban residents, to the natural world and the career opportunities that are available in conservation. The program will be modeled in part after the successful Federal Youth Conservation Corps and Public Lands Corps programs. It will have both work and environmental learning goals, and the participants will spend the majority of their time outdoors implementing conservation related projects. The Youth Initiative will bring together federal agencies including BOR, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (FS) and private partners to fund employment opportunities and outdoor education programs for young people growing up without contact with the natural world. BOR funds will support youth employment opportunities on or directly benefiting BOR lands, BOR programs, or BOR operations. With increased exposure to outdoor experiences, young people will improve their mental and physical health, gain awareness and appreciation of natural and cultural resources, enhance learning and employment skills, develop an environmental ethic and build support for conservation. The Youth Initiative is not a small grants program. It is anticipated that grants will range from $25,000 to $100,000 with the average grant size greater than $50,000. Eligible grantees will include non-profits, states, local governments, and Tribes.