Department of the Interior – Bureau of Land Management Idaho Plant Conservation and Restoration Management | L21AS00341

Opportunity Information: Apply for L21AS00341

The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is offering a discretionary funding opportunity titled "BLM Idaho Plant Conservation and Restoration Management" (Funding Opportunity Number L21AS00341) to support natural resource work connected to plant conservation and restoration management efforts in Idaho. The award instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means the BLM expects to have substantial involvement in the project during performance (for example, coordination, technical input, or joint planning), rather than simply issuing a grant and stepping back. The program is listed under CFDA 15.245, and the funding opportunity was created on March 19, 2021, with an original application closing date of May 18, 2021. The maximum award amount (ceiling) is $50,000, indicating this is geared toward relatively focused projects or defined scopes of work rather than large multi-year restorations.

Eligibility is limited to a range of public and nonprofit entities, including 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 Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in the nonprofit categories, since colleges and universities are listed separately). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), so proposals must come from an eligible organization type.

A key restriction in this NOFO is that it does not support entities hiring interns or crews as part of the project. The notice highlights that, under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II), the BLM has specific legislative authority related to "hiring" interns, and that authority is tied to the Public Lands Corps framework. Because of that, any eligible Youth Conservation Corps or similar youth internship/crew-based proposals must be pursued under a different BLM funding announcement: NOFO 15.243, "BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands," and not under this plant conservation and restoration management opportunity. In practical terms, applicants should design proposals around conservation and restoration outcomes without relying on intern hiring or youth crew staffing as the primary delivery mechanism, and should keep workforce/participant components aligned with what the BLM can support under this particular NOFO.

Overall, this opportunity is a small-to-midsize cooperative agreement option intended for eligible governmental, educational, tribal, housing authority, and nonprofit partners to carry out plant-focused conservation and restoration management work associated with BLM Idaho priorities, while clearly separating that work from youth corps or intern hiring models that must be funded through the separate youth conservation opportunity.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Department of the Interior – Bureau of Land Management Idaho 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 2021-03-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-18. (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 $50,000.00 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 L21AS00341

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