Western National Parks — Fiscal Year 2027 Research Grants
Western National Parks (WNP) is accepting competitive 2027 Research Grant proposals for scientific, cultural, historical and social-science research conducted with eligible National Park Service partner parks. The grant is administered as financial assistance to the benefiting park, and is not a vendor procurement or a sponsored-research contract with the principal investigator’s university. Qualified researchers may collaborate, but the application must be submitted and approved by the benefiting park’s superintendent.
Actual applicant-level limits and deadline
The grant has a maximum of $20,000 for a one-year research project, $40,000 for two-year projects and $60,000 for three-year projects. These are total per-project funding caps by duration, not annual amounts or a statewide funding pool. Applications opened September 10, 2026 and close December 11, 2026, end of day; the official funder page and 2027 RFP do not give a more exact cutoff hour or time zone. There is no published universal required matching rate, but clearly documented cash or in-kind contributions may improve consideration.
Who is eligible and where projects may be conducted
Eligible proposed research must originate at a WNP-partner NPS park in Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah or Wyoming. Two Arizona locations, Sabino Canyon National Recreation Area and Palisades Visitor Center, are excluded. Research may be proposed by a qualified investigator in cooperation with NPS, but only the host park superintendent or acting superintendent may approve and formally submit the application. A park is limited to two proposals per grant cycle; if it submits two, they must be ranked. Additional participating park superintendents must provide signed approval letters. Graduate students may assist but cannot serve as primary principal investigator.
Eligible expenses and important restrictions
Eligible research includes ecology, archaeology, anthropology, botany, citizen science, geology, natural and cultural history, zoology, social sciences, and other projects that help manage, conserve or interpret park resources. Fundable, adequately justified costs may include research travel, supplies, required equipment, trainee or project stipends, certain consultant services, and honoraria for knowledge holders or specialists. Ordinary salaries, wages and fringe benefits, faculty salary supplements, publication fees, institutional overhead and tuition are not allowable. Equipment over $500 requires itemization. Purchases generally become park property under the grant terms. A project must start between April 1 and September 30, 2027; multiyear projects face additional reporting and budget-allocation requirements.
Application and award administration
The host park superintendent must electronically submit the proposal through the official WNP Research Grants application page after coordinating with the principal investigator, any participating parks and resource-management staff. Applicants should review the controlling FY2027 nine-page Research Grant RFP (PDF), its applicant toolkit and the sample application, and itemize eligible costs and any matching contributions. Decisions are expected the week of February 15, 2027. The award agreement is signed by the benefiting park superintendent, park resource-management representative and primary PI; payments normally go directly to the host park or an approved designated payee, not automatically to a PI’s home institution. Research verified October 26, 2026.