Paleo Indian Assessment of the Lakes and Prehistoric Wetlands | P17AS00638

Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00638

The grant opportunity titled "Paleo Indian Assessment of the Lakes and Prehistoric Wetlands" (Funding Opportunity Number P17AS00638) is a National Park Service cooperative agreement intended to support a focused cultural resources and landscape archaeology effort at White Sands National Monument (WHSA). The underlying problem the project is trying to address is that Paleoindian cultural sites in and around the monument are known to exist and appear to be tied to major late Pleistocene environmental features, but the overall distribution, integrity, and full range of cultural features have not been adequately documented. Because baseline documentation is incomplete, park staff do not yet have the kind of defensible, up-to-date dataset needed to determine whether a formal nomination (for example, for historic preservation recognition) and a long-term management plan are warranted.

The opportunity centers on Paleoindian site occurrences along the western edge of WHSA overlooking Lake Lucero and the Alkali Flats, within sediments associated with Pleistocene Lake Otero. Additional sites have been identified along the eastern margins of the monument, particularly aligned with prehistoric drainages. A key research thread mentioned in the notice is that many of these cultural localities sit near Pleistocene megafauna trackways, suggesting a potentially important relationship between human activity, water sources or wetland margins, and the movement corridors or habitat use of large Ice Age animals. However, the notice also makes clear that a direct correlation has not yet been confirmed, which is part of why systematic documentation and analysis are needed.

Recent reconnaissance surveys are described as having revealed a strong correlation between site locations and prehistoric lake shores across the basin, implying that paleoshoreline mapping and wetland reconstruction are likely central to the work. The project’s emphasis is not simply on discovery for its own sake, but on correcting and strengthening baseline data: improving spatial coverage, refining site boundaries and distributions, and recognizing cultural features that may have been overlooked or not fully characterized. In practical terms, the intended outcome is a clearer, more complete understanding of the extent and nature of the Paleoindian landscape at White Sands so that the National Park Service can make informed decisions about preservation priorities, research access, interpretation, and potential protective designations.

Administratively, this was a discretionary funding opportunity offered by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, under CFDA 15.945, with a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument. Eligibility was limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, signaling that the Park Service was seeking an academic partner capable of conducting professional archaeological and geoarchaeological fieldwork, analysis, and reporting in close coordination with the agency. The award ceiling was $97,893, and the opportunity anticipated a single award, indicating a relatively targeted, scoped project rather than a large multi-institution program. The opportunity was created on August 9, 2017, with an original closing date of August 18, 2017, reflecting a short application window typical of some project-specific cooperative agreements.

Overall, the grant is best understood as a baseline-assessment and planning effort focused on Paleoindian archaeology tied to Pleistocene lake and wetland systems at White Sands. It aims to move from promising but incomplete reconnaissance observations toward a documented, mapped, and interpretable cultural landscape dataset that can support future nomination actions and a coherent long-term management plan if the findings justify it.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Paleo Indian Assessment of the Lakes and Prehistoric Wetlands" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 09, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 18, 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 $97,893.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for P17AS00638

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