NOTICE OF INTENT: Implementation of the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area Management Plan | P20AS00022

Opportunity Information: Apply for P20AS00022

The funding opportunity titled "NOTICE OF INTENT: Implementation of the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area Management Plan" is a National Park Service (NPS) discretionary grant that supports carrying out the approved management plan for the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area (CALA) in Colorado. CALA was formally established by Congress through the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11), specifically Title VIII, Subtitle A, Section 8002, and it is described as the successor effort to the earlier Cache la Poudre River Corridor initiative. The basic purpose of the opportunity is to move from planning into implementation by funding work that advances the heritage area goals laid out in the Department of the Interior-approved plan.

A central feature of the opportunity is that the designated local coordinating entity for CALA is the Poudre Heritage Alliance (PHA), a Colorado nonprofit organization that has operated since 1999. The notice emphasizes that PHA developed the heritage area management plan with cooperation from local partners and support from the National Park Service, and that the plan has already been approved at the federal level. In practical terms, that means the grant is focused less on creating new planning documents and more on executing established priorities, coordinating partners, and delivering projects or programs that align with the approved roadmap for the heritage area.

The opportunity is structured as a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant, which typically signals a higher level of federal involvement during the project period. Under a cooperative agreement, NPS generally expects to collaborate with the recipient on implementation, provide technical assistance, and remain engaged in major aspects of the work, especially when projects touch on interpretation, education, resource stewardship, partnerships, and other core heritage area functions. The funding activity category is listed as Natural Resources, reflecting the landscape-based nature of heritage areas, although the description makes clear that cultural, historic, scenic, and community traditions are equally central to the story being supported.

The notice also explains the broader context of National Heritage Areas. These are congressionally recognized places where natural, cultural, historic, and scenic resources combine into a cohesive landscape that has national significance because of how people and geography have shaped it over time. In other words, the program is meant to protect and communicate living landscapes, not just isolated historic sites. Heritage areas are valued because they help tell nationally important stories about the American experience through remaining physical features, working landscapes, waterways, historic infrastructure, and the traditions and community identity that developed around them. This opportunity is therefore geared toward initiatives that help interpret and sustain that combined resource story along the Cache la Poudre River corridor and surrounding communities.

From the published opportunity data, the award was offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, under Funding Opportunity Number P20AS00022 and CFDA 15.939. It was released on December 16, 2019, with an original closing date of December 26, 2019. The award ceiling was listed as $1, and the listing anticipated one award, which strongly suggests this notice functioned as a targeted or administrative funding action tied to the designated management entity rather than a broad, open competition. Eligibility is listed as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," but the narrative makes it clear that PHA is the congressionally identified management entity responsible for implementing the CALA management plan, and thus the primary intended recipient for implementation support.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as federal support for the on-the-ground rollout of the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area management plan through the Poudre Heritage Alliance, with the National Park Service playing an active partnership role. The ultimate aim is to advance coordinated stewardship and interpretation of the area’s nationally significant blend of natural and cultural resources, strengthening the ability of local communities and partners to preserve, interpret, and share the stories embedded in the Cache la Poudre River landscape.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NOTICE OF INTENT: Implementation of the Cache la Poudre River 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 Dec 16, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 26, 2019. (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).

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