FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington (ORWA) Threatened and Endangered Species Program | L24AS00041

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00041

The FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington (ORWA) Threatened and Endangered Species Program (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00041; CFDA 15.246) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It uses cooperative agreements as the funding instrument, which typically means BLM expects to have substantial involvement in the work as it is carried out (for example, collaboration on technical approach, coordination, and project oversight). The overall focus falls under natural resources, with an emphasis on projects that support BLM Oregon/Washington priorities related to threatened and endangered species work.

Eligibility is broad for public and nonprofit sectors but clearly excludes certain applicant types. Eligible applicants include state, county, city/township, and 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; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply under this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), so proposals must come from an eligible governmental, tribal, educational, or nonprofit entity.

The NOFO also draws a hard boundary around youth hiring and internship arrangements. It 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 that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework. Because of that, organizations that want to propose youth conservation corps-style work are directed to a different funding pathway: projects for eligible Youth Conservation Corps must be developed and submitted under NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands, rather than under this threatened and endangered species program NOFO. In practical terms, applicants to this opportunity should avoid building their proposal around internship hiring mechanisms or PLC-style crew programs and instead focus on eligible conservation, monitoring, assessment, technical assistance, research, or related project work that aligns with ORWA threatened and endangered species needs.

A key administrative element is the connection to Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are partnerships designed to promote and provide research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services. If an award is made to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement and the work is consistent with CESU purposes, 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 whether their proposal furthers CESU program purposes and, if it does, to identify which CESU Network should be considered as the host. This matters because it can affect both how the award is structured and what indirect cost limitations apply.

In terms of funding scale and timing, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of $1,500,000. The original closing date is April 1, 2024, and the opportunity was created on September 27, 2023. While the posting indicates "ExpectedAwards:" without a number provided in the excerpt, the ceiling suggests BLM is prepared to fund potentially substantial projects, assuming they meet technical merit, eligibility rules, and program priorities.

Taken together, this NOFO is essentially a cooperative agreement funding route for eligible public, tribal, educational, and nonprofit partners to carry out threatened and endangered species-related natural resource work in the BLM Oregon/Washington footprint, with clear exclusions for individuals and for-profits, a clear warning not to structure proposals around PLC intern/crew hiring, and special indirect cost rules and identification requirements for proposals that fall under the CESU partnership framework.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington (ORWA) Threatened and Endangered Species Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.246.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-09-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-04-01. (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 $1,500,000.00 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 L24AS00041

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