FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Colorado (CO) Wildlife Program | L24AS00218

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00218

The FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Colorado (CO) Wildlife Program (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00218) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), focused on natural resources work tied to BLMs wildlife program efforts in Colorado. The assistance listing is under CFDA 15.247, and awards are issued as cooperative agreements, which typically means BLM expects substantial involvement during the project (for example, coordination on work plans, methods, deliverables, or reporting) rather than a hands-off grant.

Eligibility is fairly broad across public and nonprofit sectors, but there are important exclusions. Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply under this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO). Eligible applicant types 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; other Tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education when applying under the nonprofit category). In practical terms, this makes the program accessible to a wide range of government partners, universities, Tribes, and nonprofit conservation organizations, but it shuts out private companies and individual applicants.

A key constraint in this NOFO is that it does not support projects that involve hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The notice emphasizes that the Public Lands Corps Act (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II) is the only authority BLM can use to "hire" interns under that framework, and as a result, Youth Conservation Corps-style proposals need to be routed through a different funding vehicle. Specifically, eligible Youth Conservation Corps applicants are directed to apply under NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands, for projects that are developed under that youth corps authority. In other words, if the core of the proposal is staffing a field crew or intern cohort through Public Lands Corps mechanisms, this Colorado Wildlife Program NOFO is not the right lane.

The opportunity also highlights considerations for applicants that are part of a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). CESUs are partnerships intended to promote and provide research, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services, and BLM is signaling that proposals aligned with CESU purposes may be appropriate for cooperative agreements. However, if a CESU partner receives a cooperative agreement under an existing, formally negotiated Master CESU agreement, indirect costs are capped. The cap is no more than 17.5 percent of the indirect cost base recognized in the partners federally approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA). Applicants are expected to state whether their proposal furthers CESU purposes and, if so, identify which CESU Network should serve as the host. This matters for budgeting because a university or other CESU partner with a higher negotiated indirect rate may still be limited by the CESU cap for awards made under that structure.

From a funding perspective, the listed award ceiling is $150,000. The source information does not specify the number of expected awards (it is left blank), so applicants should not assume the program will make many awards or only a single award. The opportunity was created on December 29, 2023, and the original application closing date was February 28, 2024. Applicants looking at this now should treat that date as controlling unless BLM issued an amendment, extension, or re-posting.

Taken together, this NOFO is best read as a Colorado-focused BLM wildlife assistance opportunity meant for public agencies, Tribes, universities, and nonprofits to carry out wildlife-related natural resource work under a cooperative agreement model, with clear boundaries around who can apply and what kinds of workforce models are allowed. It is not designed for private-sector applicants, and it is not intended to be used as a pathway to fund Public Lands Corps internship or crew hiring; those youth corps projects are expected to go through the separate BLM youth conservation funding opportunity instead.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Colorado (CO) 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 2023-12-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-28. (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.

Apply for L24AS00218

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