IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management National Operations Center (NOC) Threatened and Endangered Species Program | L24AS00438

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00438

The IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Operations Center (NOC) Threatened and Endangered Species Program is a discretionary federal funding opportunity that supports natural resource work tied to threatened and endangered species. It is administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior through the BLM, and awards are made as cooperative agreements, which generally means BLM expects to have substantial involvement in the funded project (for example, coordinating technical direction, review, or collaboration during implementation rather than simply issuing funds and stepping back).

This opportunity is identified as Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00438 under CFDA 15.246, and it is open to a broad set of public and nonprofit partners. 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 Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); 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). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply under this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), so proposals must come from qualifying governmental, tribal, educational, or nonprofit entities.

A key limitation in the announcement is that this NOFO does not support projects that involve 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 specific authority. As a result, if an organization is trying to pursue youth or internship-style conservation crew projects, the announcement directs them to a different funding pathway: NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, applicants to this threatened and endangered species program should avoid building proposals around Public Lands Corps internship/crew hiring models and instead focus on deliverables that fit the threatened and endangered species program purpose under this funding line.

The opportunity also highlights the role of Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are described as partnership networks 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 project is consistent with the CESU purpose, the indirect cost recovery 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 the purpose of the CESU program and, if it does, to indicate which CESU Network should serve as the host. This is important for budgeting and compliance, because CESU-based proposals have a distinct indirect cost limitation compared to non-CESU applicants.

From a funding perspective, the award ceiling is listed at $500,000. The posting does not provide a specific number of expected awards in the provided text, but it does indicate the opportunity was created on 2024-08-23 and carries an original closing date of 2024-09-30. Overall, this NOFO is best understood as a cooperative agreement funding source for eligible governmental, tribal, nonprofit, and educational partners to carry out threatened and endangered species-related work aligned with BLM priorities, with special attention to eligibility restrictions (no individuals or for-profits), youth-intern limitations under Public Lands Corps, and CESU-specific indirect cost rules when applicable.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management National Operations Center (NOC) 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 2024-08-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-09-30. (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 $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 L24AS00438

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