Bureau of Land Management Headquarters (HQ) Wildlife Resource Management | L22AS00185

Opportunity Information: Apply for L22AS00185

The Bureau of Land Management Headquarters (HQ) Wildlife Resource Management grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L22AS00185; CFDA 15.247) is a discretionary funding program run by the U.S. Department of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It is designed to support wildlife resource management work tied to BLM-managed public lands and is issued as a cooperative agreement, meaning the BLM expects to have substantial involvement in the project during performance (for example, coordination, technical input, or joint planning), rather than simply providing a pass-through award with minimal federal engagement. The funding activity area is categorized under Natural Resources, which aligns the opportunity with conservation, habitat management, monitoring, and other wildlife-related stewardship activities that advance BLM resource objectives.

Eligibility is limited to non-federal public and nonprofit/education entities. 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/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education under the nonprofit categories where specified). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), so proposals must come from an eligible public entity, tribe/tribal organization, nonprofit, or qualifying academic institution rather than a private company or individual researcher acting independently.

A key restriction in this NOFO concerns youth internship and crew hiring. The announcement states that projects under this NOFO are not intended to support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. BLM notes that the Public Lands Corps Act (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II) is the specific legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework. As a result, youth conservation corps or similar organizations that want to propose projects centered on youth internships, crews, or similar hiring arrangements are directed to use a different funding route: NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, applicants should shape project designs around wildlife resource management outcomes rather than building the proposal around intern/crew staffing models tied to the Public Lands Corps authority, and should seek the separate youth-focused NOFO if that is their primary program model.

The posting indicates an award ceiling of $1,500,000. While the number of expected awards is not specified in the provided data, the ceiling signals that BLM may support either one or multiple sizable projects depending on funding availability and proposal quality. The opportunity was created on February 1, 2022, with an original closing date of April 4, 2022. As written, this places the solicitation in a defined application window, and anyone looking to pursue similar funding would typically need to check whether the opportunity has been reissued, extended, or replaced by a newer cycle.

Overall, this NOFO is best understood as a vehicle for eligible governmental, tribal, nonprofit, and educational partners to collaborate with BLM on wildlife resource management work under a cooperative agreement structure, with clear exclusions for for-profit applicants and a clear boundary separating general wildlife management projects from youth internship/crew programs that must be pursued under the separate BLM youth conservation funding opportunity.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bureau of Land Management Headquarters (HQ) Wildlife Resource Management" 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 2022-02-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-04-04. (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 L22AS00185

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