BLM Utah SGFO Partnership to Document Historic Land Use in the Beaver Dam Wash, and Red Cliffs National Conservation Areas, Washington County, Utah | L17AS00116

Opportunity Information: Apply for L17AS00116

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is offering a cooperative agreement to support a partnership that will pull together, organize, and document the history of Euro-American land use in two protected areas in Washington County, Utah: the Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area (NCA) and the Red Cliffs NCA. The goal is not simply to write a general history, but to assemble and structure the existing historical record in a way that the BLM can directly use to create educational and interpretive products that connect specific places on the landscape (and the historic features that remain there) to a clear historical context. In other words, the work is meant to strengthen on-the-ground interpretation by tying stories, dates, people, and documented activities to identifiable locations and themes.

A key point of this opportunity is that a large amount of historical information already exists, scattered across many formats and repositories. The BLM notes that the Euro-American history of both NCAs has been documented through primary sources such as personal journal entries, government records, maps, and photographs, as well as secondary sources like prior historic studies written by academics, scholars, contractors, and local enthusiasts. In addition, many historic features have already been archaeologically documented, meaning there are likely site records and related documentation that can be integrated into a broader historical framework. The partner is expected to build on this base by identifying relevant sources, gathering them, evaluating what they contribute, and then organizing the results into products that are usable for future interpretation and research.

The selected partner will work collaboratively with BLM staff and will also coordinate with regional historians, local community members, and archaeologists to assemble source material specifically focused on Euro-American land use from the earliest settlement period to the present. While the two NCAs may share some overlapping themes, the deliverables are expected to treat each NCA as its own unit: the principal investigator (PI) is expected to work with students to produce a separate written report and a separate source database for Beaver Dam Wash NCA and for Red Cliffs NCA. This structure signals that the BLM wants documentation that is both comprehensive and clearly organized by place, so that staff and future researchers can pull information relevant to one NCA without having to disentangle it from the other.

The main deliverables are two final reports (one per NCA) and two accompanying Excel databases (again, one per NCA). Each report is expected to present a detailed narrative based on the research, organized chronologically, and incorporating the kinds of information needed to link land-use patterns and historic features to time periods, events, and individuals. The Excel databases are meant to function as a long-term framework for ongoing historic research and interpretation, not just as a bibliography. Each database should list historic themes and include, at minimum, a short description of each theme, the dates associated with it, the people connected to it, the source or sources where the information comes from, and the type of source (for example, photograph, journal, map, or government record). The emphasis on structured fields suggests the BLM wants a product that can be searched, expanded, and repurposed later for interpretive planning, exhibit development, web content, kiosks, guided materials, or other educational uses.

Administratively, this is a discretionary federal funding opportunity administered by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, under CFDA number 15.224, and it will be awarded as a cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial involvement by the agency during the project (for example, coordination on priorities, access to internal resources, and iterative review). The opportunity number is L17AS00116. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is open to a wide range of applicant types as long as any additional eligibility conditions in the full announcement are met. The BLM anticipated making a single award with a funding ceiling of $80,000. The opportunity was created on May 22, 2017, with an original closing date of July 21, 2017.

In practical terms, the project is best understood as a synthesis and organization effort designed to turn a dispersed body of historical knowledge into two clear, BLM-ready reference packages: one for Beaver Dam Wash NCA and one for Red Cliffs NCA. The value to the BLM is that this work would reduce fragmentation in the historical record, highlight the most relevant themes and sources for interpretation, and leave behind databases that can continue to grow as new materials are found or as interpretive needs evolve.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BLM Utah SGFO Partnership to Document Historic Land Use in the Beaver Dam Wash, and Red Cliffs National Conservation Areas, Washington County, Utah" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.224.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 22, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 21, 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 $80,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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