IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Plant Conservation and Restoration Management | L24AS00083

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00083

The grant opportunity titled "IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Plant Conservation and Restoration Management" (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00083) is a discretionary funding program offered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It will be awarded as a cooperative agreement, which typically means BLM expects to have substantial involvement in the project during performance rather than simply issuing funds and stepping back. The program sits in the Natural Resources funding activity category and is associated with CFDA/Assistance Listing 15.245. The opportunity was created on October 2, 2023, and the original application closing date was January 19, 2024. The listed award ceiling is $150,000 per award; the notice also references expected awards but does not provide a clear number in the provided text.

The focus of this NOFO is plant conservation and restoration management in Alaska under BLM Headquarters program direction, aligning with the broader investments associated with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). In practical terms, projects under this umbrella generally relate to conserving native plant communities, restoring degraded habitats, improving the resilience of ecosystems, and supporting management actions tied to plant species or vegetation communities on or affecting BLM-managed lands in Alaska. Because the instrument is a cooperative agreement, applicants should expect coordination with BLM staff on planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting, with BLM playing an active partner role.

Eligibility is limited to public and mission-driven entities rather than private commercial applicants. 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 nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), as long as they are not institutions of higher education when applying under the nonprofit category). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible for awards under this NOFO, so proposals must come from one of the eligible organization types listed.

A key restriction in the notice is that this NOFO does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The notice explains that the Public Lands Corps Act (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II) is the only legislative authority BLM can use to "hire" interns under that framework. As a result, organizations such as eligible Youth Conservation Corps that want to propose projects involving youth crews or intern hiring under that specific authority are directed to a different funding opportunity instead: NOFO 15.243, "BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands." In other words, applicants should not structure this plant conservation and restoration proposal around Public Lands Corps intern/crew hiring, because it is outside what this NOFO will fund.

The opportunity also highlights the potential relevance of Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are partnership networks designed to support research, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services that align with federal land management needs. If an award is made to a CESU partner under an established Master CESU agreement and the work is consistent with CESU purposes, then a specific indirect cost limitation applies: 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 purpose of the CESU program and, if it does, to identify which CESU Network should be considered as the host. This matters for administrative routing and for ensuring the proposal is reviewed and managed under the appropriate CESU framework when applicable.

Overall, this NOFO is best suited for government agencies, tribes and tribal organizations, universities, and nonprofits that can carry out Alaska-focused plant conservation or restoration management work in coordination with BLM, without relying on Public Lands Corps intern or crew hiring authorities, and with an awareness of the indirect cost cap if applying as a CESU partner under a Master CESU agreement.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Alaska 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 2023-10-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-01-19. (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 $150,000.00 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.

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