Archeological Inventory Survey of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (FLFO), Phase 2 | P26AS00028

Opportunity Information: Apply for P26AS00028

The National Park Service is offering a discretionary funding opportunity titled "Archeological Inventory Survey of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (FLFO), Phase 2" (Funding Opportunity Number P26AS00028). The award will be made as a cooperative agreement under CFDA 15.946, with one expected award and a maximum (ceiling) of $65,000. Applications are due by 2026-01-20, and the opportunity was posted on 2025-11-20.

The core purpose of the project is to complete an archeological inventory survey covering about 1,500 acres within Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. The work is meant to document cultural resources in the project area to professional standards, improve the park's cultural resource data, and support informed preservation and management decisions. A major emphasis is on producing high-quality, defensible documentation that can be entered into Colorado's Cultural Resource Information System and used for National Register considerations.

Applicants should be prepared to carry out fieldwork and reporting that meets current Colorado State Historic Preservation Office standards and definitions for archeological survey, as well as the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for archaeology and historic preservation. In practice, that means not only conducting systematic field survey, but also ensuring that documentation is complete, consistent, and formatted to include all required data fields used by the state's cultural resource reporting systems. The opportunity explicitly calls for recording accurate archeological site locations, boundaries, features, and artifacts in relation to broader landscape features, using a GPS/GNSS unit capable of submeter accuracy. This indicates the park is prioritizing precise spatial data suitable for GIS integration and long-term management use.

In addition to identification and documentation, the project requires evaluation of National Register of Historic Places eligibility for the cultural resources located within the inventory area. This typically involves assessing integrity, significance, and applicable National Register criteria, supported by field observations, contextual research, and comparison to known regional property types where appropriate. The NPS also requires a research report summarizing survey results, which should clearly present methods, findings, interpretations, and recommendations, including NRHP eligibility determinations or recommendations for additional work when eligibility cannot be confidently resolved.

Deliverables are a significant component of the agreement. The recipient must submit all project documentation generated during the work, including field notes, photographs, GIS data, and any other materials created over the course of the project, to FLFO. The project is described as a "generally no-collection" effort, but it still anticipates that any artifacts generated by the project (for example, items that must be temporarily collected for identification or analysis, or that are otherwise handled under park direction) must be turned over to the monument as part of the required submissions. The award also requires multiple written products on a schedule: a preliminary fieldwork report, a draft final report that FLFO can review and comment on, and a final report that incorporates FLFO comments and revisions, all submitted by the stated deadlines in the agreement.

Eligibility is limited to U.S.-based applicants in the listed categories: county governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. The funding cannot be awarded to foreign entities and cannot support projects conducted outside the United States. The NPS will also screen applicants and key project personnel against the SAM.gov Exclusions database prior to award. If an applicant entity or key personnel are listed as ineligible, prohibited/restricted, or otherwise excluded, the NPS cannot make an award to them for this program, consistent with federal assistance restrictions.

Overall, this opportunity funds a focused, standards-driven archeological inventory effort at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument that emphasizes accurate submeter spatial recording, SHPO- and DOI-compliant documentation, NRHP eligibility evaluation, and complete delivery of data and reporting products to the park through a staged review process.

• The National Park Service in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Archeological Inventory Survey of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (FLFO), Phase 2" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.946.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-11-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-01-20. (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 $65,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: County governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for P26AS00028

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