Upper San Pedro Grasslands Watershed Restoration Methods | P18AS00158

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is the "Upper San Pedro Grasslands Watershed Restoration Methods" opportunity?

It is a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement funding opportunity focused on developing and applying practical restoration approaches for degraded grassland and savanna landscapes in the Upper San Pedro transboundary watershed along the U.S.-Mexico border.

2) What is the Funding Opportunity Number?

The Funding Opportunity Number is P18AS00158.

3) Which federal agency is offering this grant?

The opportunity is offered under the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

4) What type of funding instrument is being used?

The opportunity uses a cooperative agreement. This typically means the federal agency expects substantial involvement in the project (such as collaboration on planning, implementation, data collection, or evaluation), rather than providing funds with minimal interaction.

5) What is the main purpose of the project?

The main purpose is to identify, develop, and apply restoration methods that can slow or reverse erosion and ecological degradation in a high-value grassland and savanna system, with the goal of protecting watershed stability, ecological function, and long-term resilience.

6) Where will the work take place?

The work centers on two connected protected areas in the Upper San Pedro transboundary watershed: Coronado National Memorial in Arizona and Rancho Los Fresnos in Sonora, Mexico.

7) Who manages Rancho Los Fresnos in Sonora, Mexico?

Rancho Los Fresnos is managed by Naturalia, A.C.

8) Why is this landscape considered important?

The sites sit within the Huachuca Mountains Grassland Valley Complex, a semiarid grassland and savanna system identified through binational conservation analysis as a top priority area in the Apache Highlands ecoregion due to its biological diversity and uniqueness.

9) What problem is this grant trying to address?

The grant targets a long-running shift away from native ecosystem conditions caused by multiple overlapping stressors. These pressures have changed vegetation patterns and how water moves across the landscape, contributing to bare ground, disturbed soils, and erosion that threatens long-term ecosystem integrity.

10) What are the major stressors mentioned in the opportunity?

The opportunity highlights intensive livestock grazing, disrupted fire regimes, altered hydrologic function, invasive plant species, population growth, and climate change as key forces driving change and degradation.

11) What border-related impacts are specifically called out?

The opportunity points to disturbances from illegal border crossings and the security activities intended to counter them. These disturbances are described as a localized but rapidly intensifying source of damage that expands bare ground, disturbs soils, and increases erosion.

12) What happens if erosion is not addressed in this area?

The opportunity warns that failing to address erosion could threaten the integrity of the grassland-savanna bajada (the sloping alluvial apron at the base of the southern Huachuca Mountains). Potential consequences include continued channel incision, loss of topsoil, reduced infiltration, spread of invasive plants, and declining habitat quality.

13) What is a "bajada" in the context of this grant?

A bajada is the sloping alluvial apron at the base of a mountain range. In this opportunity, the focus is on the grassland-savanna bajada at the base of the southern Huachuca Mountains, where erosion and hydrologic changes can trigger broader landscape-scale impacts.

14) Is this project considered binational or transboundary?

Yes. The work is explicitly framed around a transboundary watershed along the U.S.-Mexico border, and it emphasizes that impacts can cross boundaries and that effects in one area can quickly spread into another.

15) Who was eligible to apply?

Eligible applicants were limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. This indicates the project was intended to be led by a university partner with relevant technical expertise.

16) What kinds of expertise does the opportunity imply are relevant?

The opportunity points toward expertise in areas such as watershed processes, rangeland ecology, restoration, and related technical fields needed to develop practical restoration methods for degraded grassland and savanna landscapes.

17) How many awards were expected?

The funding listing indicated a single expected award.

18) What was the maximum award amount?

The award ceiling listed for this opportunity was $39,181.

19) Was this a discretionary funding opportunity?

Yes. It was described as a discretionary funding opportunity under the Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

20) What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity was cataloged under CFDA number 15.945, which aligns it with National Park Service assistance programs.

21) When was the opportunity created and when did it close?

It was created on April 16, 2018, with an original closing date of April 25, 2018.

22) What is the broader conservation goal behind developing restoration methods here?

The broader goal is to protect the ecological function and conservation value of a top-priority grassland complex by improving watershed stability and resilience, especially in areas where disturbance is expanding and could produce long-lasting, landscape-scale impacts.

23) Why does the opportunity emphasize restoration "methods" rather than a single fixed action?

Based on the description, the intent is to figure out what restoration approaches work best under real-world conditions in a sensitive borderland watershed, where multiple stressors and ongoing disturbance mean that practical, adaptable methods are needed to stabilize soils, reduce erosion, and support recovery.

24) What makes this effort different from a purely local restoration project?

The opportunity is framed around a connected landscape spanning two protected areas in different countries within a shared watershed. It also emphasizes that disturbances and ecological effects can propagate across boundaries, making coordination and transboundary awareness central to the work.