Bureau of Land Management Montana/Dakotas Plant Conservation and Restoration Management | L22AS00238

Opportunity Information: Apply for L22AS00238

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Montana/Dakotas Plant Conservation and Restoration Management opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L22AS00238; CFDA 15.245) is a discretionary federal funding program administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior through BLM. It is offered as a cooperative agreement, which generally means BLM expects to be substantially involved in the funded work (for example, coordinating priorities, providing technical input, or collaborating on implementation) rather than simply issuing a hands-off grant. The funding activity category is Natural Resources, and the focus is on plant conservation and restoration management work that supports BLM lands and resource objectives in the Montana/Dakotas region.

Eligible applicants include a wide range of public and nonprofit entities: state, county, and local governments (including cities, townships, and special districts); independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)). The notice makes an important eligibility limitation clear: individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply for awards under this NOFO.

A key restriction in the notice is that this particular NOFO does not support organizations seeking to hire 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 legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework, and that projects involving Youth Conservation Corps participants must be pursued under a different funding opportunity. Specifically, if an applicant is a qualifying youth conservation organization and the project is built around youth crews or interns under that authority, it must be developed and submitted under NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands, rather than under this plant conservation and restoration management NOFO.

From the funding details provided, the award ceiling listed is $200,000. The original closing date for applications was May 6, 2022, and the opportunity record indicates it was created on March 1, 2022. The summary does not specify the exact number of expected awards, but it does indicate an intent to make multiple awards or that awards were anticipated (the field is present but not populated with a number in the provided text).

In practical terms, this opportunity is best suited for eligible public entities, tribes, universities, and nonprofits that can partner with BLM on plant-focused natural resource work in Montana and/or the Dakotas, and that do not require using this award mechanism to staff youth intern/crew positions under the Public Lands Corps Act. Applicants considering youth crew or intern-centered project designs should treat this NOFO as the wrong vehicle and instead align those efforts with the separate BLM youth conservation NOFO referenced in the notice.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bureau of Land Management Montana/Dakotas 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 2022-03-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-05-06. (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 $200,000.00 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 L22AS00238

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