FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Eastern States (ES) Wildlife Program | L24AS00151

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00151

The FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Eastern States (ES) Wildlife Program is a discretionary federal funding opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior through BLM. It supports wildlife-related natural resource work in the BLM Eastern States footprint and is issued as a cooperative agreement, which generally means BLM expects to have substantial involvement during the project (for example, coordinating workplans, providing technical input, or collaborating on implementation) rather than simply issuing a pass-through grant with minimal federal participation. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 15.247 and is associated with IIJA/IRA funding priorities, signaling an emphasis on on-the-ground conservation, habitat outcomes, and related planning, monitoring, or technical efforts consistent with federal wildlife and public land management goals.

Eligibility is broad across public and nonprofit sectors, but explicitly excludes individuals and for-profit organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city/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; 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 (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories). This mix of eligible entities is typical for BLM assistance programs and is designed to allow wildlife agencies, universities, tribes, local governments, and conservation organizations to partner with BLM on shared wildlife and habitat objectives.

Several restrictions and clarifications are central to this NOFO. First, the notice makes clear that applicants should not propose projects centered on hiring interns or field crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The NOFO states that the Public Lands Corps Act (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II) is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that specific framework, and this wildlife program NOFO is not the vehicle for those types of youth or corps hiring arrangements. If an organization is a Youth Conservation Corps or is seeking to implement youth-crew style project models, the notice directs those efforts to a different funding opportunity: NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, applicants to this wildlife program should focus proposals on wildlife program deliverables (such as habitat improvement, assessment, monitoring, technical assistance, or applied research) rather than staffing models that depend on PLC-based internship/crew authorities.

The NOFO also highlights considerations for applicants participating through a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) partnership. CESUs are formal research and technical assistance partnerships intended to promote and deliver research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services aligned with land management needs. If a cooperative agreement is awarded to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement, and the project is consistent with the CESU program purpose, the indirect cost policy is capped: indirect costs are limited to 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 clearly whether their proposal furthers the purpose of the CESU program, and, if it does, to identify which CESU Network should be considered as the host. This matters for budgeting and for ensuring the agreement is structured correctly under CESU rules.

Key administrative details provided include the funding opportunity number (L24AS00151), the activity category (Natural Resources), and the instrument type (Cooperative Agreement). The original application closing date listed is February 6, 2024. The listed award ceiling is $170,000, which indicates the maximum expected federal share per award under this notice (as presented in the source data). The posting/creation date is November 7, 2023. While the excerpt does not spell out specific project types or priority species/habitats, it is clearly positioned as a BLM wildlife program funding stream for Eastern States work, with an emphasis on eligible public and nonprofit partners and with special handling for CESU participation and indirect cost limitations.

In summary, this opportunity is best suited for government agencies, tribes, universities, and nonprofits that want to collaborate with BLM Eastern States on wildlife program objectives through a cooperative agreement, can operate within the eligibility limits (no individuals, no for-profits), will not rely on Public Lands Corps-based internship/crew hiring under this NOFO, and, if applying as a CESU partner, can comply with the 17.5 percent indirect cost cap and properly identify the relevant CESU network in the proposal.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Eastern States (ES) Wildlife Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.247.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-11-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-06. (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 $170,000.00 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 L24AS00151

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