FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Idaho (ID) Plant Conservation and Restoration Management | L24AS00120

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00120

The FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Idaho (ID) Plant Conservation and Restoration Management opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00120) is a discretionary federal funding program run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to support plant conservation and restoration management work in Idaho. Funding is offered through cooperative agreements, which typically means BLM expects to be meaningfully involved during project implementation (for example through coordination, shared planning, technical input, or joint oversight), rather than issuing a hands-off grant.

The program sits in the natural resources category (CFDA/Assistance Listing 15.245) and is geared toward on-the-ground and programmatic efforts that improve plant conservation outcomes and restore native plant communities. While the notice text provided does not list specific project types, the framing strongly indicates support for activities commonly associated with plant conservation and restoration management, such as assessments and monitoring, restoration planning and implementation, research and applied studies that inform restoration, technical assistance, and related educational services connected to conservation and restoration goals.

Eligibility is broad for public and nonprofit sectors but has clear exclusions. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status. Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible under this notice, so proposals must come from an eligible governmental, tribal, nonprofit, or educational entity.

There is also an important restriction related to youth hiring and internships. This NOFO does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The notice emphasizes that the Public Lands Corps Act is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that authority, and as a result any Youth Conservation Corps-type projects must be pursued through a different funding opportunity: NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, applicants should not structure proposals around internship or crew-hiring models under this plant conservation/restoration NOFO, and organizations whose core approach is youth crews should route those ideas to the youth-specific NOFO instead.

The notice also addresses Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are partnerships intended to promote and deliver research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services, and BLM notes that projects consistent with CESU purposes may be considered under an existing Master CESU agreement. If a cooperative agreement is awarded to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement consistent with CESU purposes, indirect costs are capped at no more than 17.5 percent of the indirect cost base recognized in the partner's federally approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA). Applicants are instructed to state whether their proposal furthers the CESU program purpose and, if it does, to identify which CESU Network should be considered as the host. This matters for budgeting and for how the award is managed, especially for university and research partners that commonly operate within CESU frameworks.

From a funding standpoint, the award ceiling is listed as $1,000,000. The posting indicates expected awards but does not provide a number in the source text provided. The original closing date was April 8, 2024, and the opportunity was created on January 5, 2024. Overall, this is a BLM Idaho-focused plant conservation and restoration management funding opportunity using cooperative agreements, open to a wide range of public, tribal, nonprofit, and higher education applicants, with firm restrictions against individual/for-profit applicants and against using this NOFO to support Public Lands Corps-style intern or crew hiring.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Idaho (ID) Plant Conservation and Restoration Management" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.245.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-01-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-04-08. (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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for L24AS00120

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