Visitor Use Study | P17AS00074

Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00074

The Visitor Use Study grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number P17AS00074) is a National Park Service cooperative agreement under the Department of the Interior focused on improving the understanding of who visits the Flagstaff Area National Monuments and how they use these parks. The Flagstaff Area National Monuments (often referred to as FLAG) include Walnut Canyon National Monument, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, and Wupatki National Monument. Together, these sites protect more than 40,000 acres of high-desert landscapes that range from canyons and mesas to mountains and volcanic terrain, and they also contain over 3,000 documented archaeological sites, including pueblos and cliff dwellings. The need for better visitor information is partly driven by rising visitation, with the notice highlighting an increase in 2015 compared to 2014 and citing Walnut Canyon’s growth from 135,230 to 153,322 recreation visits (a 13.4% increase).

The core purpose of the funding is to support visitor use studies (VUS) at two of the three FLAG units, specifically Sunset Crater (SUCR) and Wupatki (WUPA). The National Park Service notes that very little social science research has been conducted across these monuments, leaving major gaps in knowledge about visitor characteristics and patterns of use. By collecting survey data from representative visitor groups during a defined sampling window, the project is intended to produce findings that can be generalized to the broader visiting public at SUCR and WUPA for that period. The practical outcome is research-based insight into visitor demographics, experiences, expectations, needs, and use patterns, which the park can then use to inform planning efforts and management decisions.

A major feature of the opportunity is its educational and workforce-development angle. The National Park Service explicitly frames the work as a way to give undergraduate and graduate students real-world experience designing and carrying out visitor use studies, while simultaneously delivering actionable information to park managers. In other words, the project is meant to function both as applied research for the monuments and as hands-on training in field-based social science methods relevant to public lands management.

Administratively, this opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses a cooperative agreement instrument, signaling an expectation of substantial involvement or collaboration between the National Park Service and the selected recipient during the project. The eligible applicants are limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, aligning with the emphasis on student participation and university-based research capacity. The funding activity category is Natural Resources, the CFDA number listed is 15.945, and the announcement anticipated a single award with an award ceiling of $45,369. The posting indicates it was created on February 6, 2017, with an original closing date of February 15, 2017, reflecting a short application window and a targeted, project-specific scope.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Visitor Use Study" 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 Feb 06, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 15, 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 $45,369.00 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 P17AS00074

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