Ethnobotany and Traditional Ecological Knowledge for Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota | P17AS00218

Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00218

This discretionary funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number P17AS00218) comes from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, through the Midwest Regional Office. It is offered as a cooperative agreement under the Natural Resources activity category (CFDA 15.945). The project is centered on Wind Cave National Park (WICA) in South Dakota and supports work that documents ethnobotany and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) connected to culturally important plants. The NPS is looking for a single recipient (Expected Awards: 1) to carry out this effort, with an anticipated maximum award amount of up to $98,000. The opportunity was posted May 3, 2017, with an original application deadline of June 9, 2017. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional eligibility details referenced in the full notice.

The main purpose of the project is to build a baseline record of ethnobotanical and ecological information that can directly inform protection and resource management decisions for plant species that have cultural significance. A key driver behind this work is the NPS responsibility to evaluate potential environmental effects of plant gathering when gathering is conducted under the federal regulation that allows members of federally recognized tribes to collect plants in National Park Service units for traditional purposes. In practice, the NPS wants stronger, well-documented information to support analysis of whether gathering can occur sustainably, under what conditions, and what management changes might be needed to prevent harm to plant populations or associated ecosystems.

The project focuses specifically on plant species used for traditional purposes by members of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe that also occur within the boundaries of Wind Cave National Park. A central deliverable is an inventory and documentation of those culturally used plant species, which will then be cross-walked against (and matched with) the botanical inventory already maintained by the NPS. This comparison and synthesis is meant to result in a compiled, park-relevant reference that identifies which traditionally used species are present, clarifies their cultural uses in appropriate ways, and situates that knowledge alongside existing botanical records. The final compiled inventory is intended to be usable for subsequent environmental analysis addressing the applicability and sustainability of gathering particular species at WICA, and to support any recommended updates to park management practices that would help ensure long-term sustainable gathering where permitted.

Methodologically, the opportunity emphasizes a collaborative approach involving the NPS, the selected recipient, and members of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. The work is expected to rely on ethnographic interviews with tribal members, complemented by a review, synthesis, and integration of primary and secondary literature sources. In other words, it is not just a botanical list-building exercise; it is an ethnobotanical and TEK documentation effort that combines community-based knowledge gathering with scholarly and documentary research. Because the project involves TEK and ethnographic engagement, the expectation is that the recipient will apply professional standards for anthropological and ethnobotanical research, including careful attention to credible methods, clear documentation of how information was collected and interpreted, and respectful collaboration with knowledge holders.

A formal written report is required as a key outcome. That report must lay out the purposes of the study, the methods used (including interview and literature review approaches), the findings (such as the documented species and their traditional uses as appropriate), and the conclusions relevant to park resource management and sustainability considerations. The notice also specifies that the writing and presentation should conform to established professional standards: stylistic and bibliographic requirements should follow the current guidelines of the journal American Anthropologist and the current Chicago Manual of Style. This signals that the NPS wants a report that is not only useful for internal decision-making but also meets recognizable academic and professional norms for clarity, sourcing, and rigor.

Overall, the grant is designed to produce actionable baseline ethnobotanical and TEK documentation for Wind Cave National Park, focused on Rosebud Sioux Tribe traditional plant use, and explicitly tied to practical management needs: evaluating impacts, guiding environmental analysis related to tribal plant gathering, and supporting sustainable, culturally informed stewardship of plant resources within the park.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Ethnobotany and Traditional Ecological Knowledge for Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota" 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 May 03, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 09, 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 $98,000.00 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).

Apply for P17AS00218

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