Grant for Long-term Curation Betwen the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region and the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

This grant opportunity, titled "Grant for Long-term Curation Between the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region and the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory," is a discretionary funding program from the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation. The purpose is to support long-term curatorial care of a federally owned archeological (and potentially paleontological) collection housed at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL). The work is governed by federal curation standards under 36 CFR Part 79, which lays out requirements for how federal collections must be preserved, documented, secured, and made available for appropriate use over time. The opportunity was created on August 15, 2016, with an original closing date of August 29, 2016. It anticipated a single award with a funding ceiling of $36,430. Eligible applicants were limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, aligning with TARL's status within an academic setting. The funding activity category is listed under Arts (Cultural Affairs), and the CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 15.511.

The core of the grant centers on TARL acting as the long-term repository and caretaker for "the Collection" owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, while meeting specific oversight, reporting, and stewardship requirements. Under the agreement, TARL is expected to provide long-term curatorial services in line with 36 CFR Part 79 and its own museum policies, meaning it must maintain appropriate storage conditions, handling procedures, security, documentation practices, and conservation measures consistent with recognized federal museum standards. A major ongoing requirement is an annual inventory following the Department of the Interior's 411 Department Manual standards. TARL must report inventory results to Reclamation each year and must also promptly inform Reclamation of any loss, theft, destruction, or damage. Those annual updates are not limited to counting items; they also include a status snapshot of how the collection is being used and what progress is being made in accessioning, cataloging, conserving, or otherwise improving care and control of the materials.

The opportunity also includes compliance and accountability steps that occur at the outset and continue throughout the agreement. At the beginning of the agreement period (identified as FY2016), TARL must complete a facility checklist and submit it to Reclamation, which functions as a baseline confirmation that the repository meets required physical, environmental, and security conditions for federal collections. In addition, TARL must share documentation back to the federal owner by providing Reclamation with copies of accession and catalog records. This helps ensure Reclamation retains adequate administrative control and visibility into what is held on its behalf, how it is described, and how its records align with federal property and collections management expectations.

A notable operational component involves how research requests are handled, especially when they involve destructive analysis. TARL is authorized to review and approve requests for destructive testing of common objects under its museum policies without needing to notify Reclamation each time, which streamlines routine research. However, for any proposal that would destructively analyze rare, significant, or controversial objects, TARL must seek Reclamation's approval. This distinction is designed to protect high-value or sensitive materials while still allowing research access and scientific work to proceed efficiently for more typical items. The grant also addresses public-facing attribution: whenever the collection is used for exhibits or other public display or use, TARL must credit Reclamation's ownership using the required credit line, "Collections of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation," ensuring clear federal ownership recognition and consistent public acknowledgment.

The agreement places strict limits on TARL's ability to transfer or encumber the collection in any way, emphasizing that the materials are U.S. Government-owned property and must remain under federally authorized control. TARL is explicitly prohibited from repatriating, mortgaging, pledging, assigning, exchanging, giving, subletting, discarding, or otherwise parting with the collection (or any other government-owned property) to any third party without prior written or verbal permission from Reclamation. The restrictions extend beyond intentional transfers: TARL also cannot take actions that might allow the collection to become encumbered or exposed to seizure, execution, sale, attachment, or other legal or financial risks, and must prevent circumstances that could lead to the collection being lost, stolen, destroyed, or damaged without Reclamation's approval. In practical terms, this frames TARL as a custodian with clear boundaries: it can manage and facilitate access under policy, but it cannot change ownership status, disposition, or risk profile without federal authorization.

Finally, the annual reporting expectations include a specific requirement to document collection size as part of the yearly progress report. TARL must report the total number of cataloged archeological (and/or paleontological) objects, the overall volume of the collection measured in cubic feet, and the total linear feet of archival materials. This size-and-scope reporting helps Reclamation track growth, processing progress, storage needs, and overall stewardship workload over time. Taken together, the opportunity funds and formalizes a long-term curation relationship where TARL provides day-to-day museum-standard care, documentation, and access management, while Reclamation retains ownership, oversight rights for sensitive decisions, and structured annual visibility into the condition, extent, and management of its collection.

Browse more opportunities from the same agency: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation

Browse more opportunities from the same category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA)

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