FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Wyoming (WY) Plant Conservation and Restoration Management | L24AS00165

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00165

The FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Wyoming (WY) Plant Conservation and Restoration Management opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00165) is a discretionary federal funding program administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The work supported under this notice of funding opportunity focuses on natural resource efforts tied to plant conservation and restoration management in Wyoming, using a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument. In practice, that means BLM expects to be substantially involved in the project during performance (for example, coordinating technical direction, aligning methods with agency priorities, and collaborating on implementation), rather than simply issuing a pass-through grant with minimal federal engagement.

The program is open to a wide range of public and nonprofit entities and eligible education institutions. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special districts; 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/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status. At the same time, the notice is explicit about who cannot apply: individuals and for-profit organizations are ineligible for awards under this NOFO, so applications must come from eligible governmental, Tribal, nonprofit, or educational entities.

Several restrictions in the description are important for planning a compliant proposal. This NOFO does not support entities that are trying to hire 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 authority, and as a result, youth internship or youth crew concepts that depend on that specific authority are not meant to be proposed under this program. Instead, eligible Youth Conservation Corps entities are directed to pursue those kinds of youth-focused projects through a different funding path: NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In other words, applicants should treat this plant conservation and restoration notice as being about on-the-ground conservation/restoration outcomes and related technical work, not as a vehicle for staffing youth corps crews under the Public Lands Corps framework.

The opportunity also highlights the role of Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are described as partnerships designed to promote and provide research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services. If an applicant is a CESU partner and the resulting award is made under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement that is consistent with CESU purposes, indirect costs are capped. Specifically, indirect costs are limited to no more than 17.5 percent of the indirect cost base that is recognized in the partner's federally approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA). The notice instructs applicants to clearly 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 is essentially a compliance and budgeting flag: CESU-affiliated applicants need to structure budgets with the CESU indirect cost limitation in mind and make the CESU relationship explicit in the application narrative.

Key administrative details from the source data include that the opportunity is categorized under Natural Resources and is associated with CFDA number 15.245. The original application closing date listed is February 2, 2024. The award ceiling is $400,000, meaning proposals should be scoped and budgeted so total federal funding requested does not exceed that maximum. The listing indicates expected awards but does not provide a number in the provided data, so applicants would need to consult the full announcement for any details on anticipated selection volume, project period, cost share requirements (if any), and evaluation criteria.

Overall, this NOFO is best read as a Wyoming-focused BLM cooperative agreement opportunity supporting plant conservation and restoration management activities, with broad eligibility across public agencies, Tribal entities, nonprofits, and higher education, but with clear exclusions for individuals and for-profit applicants. It also draws a bright line between restoration/conservation project funding under this notice and youth internship/crew hiring concepts that must be routed through the separate BLM youth conservation NOFO, and it includes a specific indirect cost limitation for projects awarded through CESU partnership mechanisms.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Wyoming (WY) 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 2023-12-04.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-02. (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 $400,000.00 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 L24AS00165

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