IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Threatened and Endangered Species Program | L24AS00398

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00398

The IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Alaska Threatened and Endangered Species Program is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the Department of the Interior aimed at supporting natural resource work tied to threatened and endangered species in Alaska. Funding is offered through cooperative agreements, which typically means BLM expects to have substantial involvement during the project (for example, coordinating on methods, deliverables, or field activities) rather than simply issuing a hands-off grant. The opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00398 and is associated with CFDA (Assistance Listing) 15.246. The posted application deadline is August 19, 2024, and the maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $140,000.

Eligibility is limited to government entities, education institutions, tribal entities, and nonprofit organizations. Specifically, eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; 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. Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible, so proposals submitted by private individuals, consultants applying on their own behalf, or commercial businesses would not be considered under this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).

A key restriction in this NOFO is that it does not support projects that involve hiring 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 authority that allows BLM to hire interns under that framework, and this particular funding opportunity is not the vehicle for that type of youth internship or crew-based work. If an applicant is a youth-focused conservation organization and the project concept depends on youth crews or intern hiring under that statute, the NOFO directs those applicants to a different BLM funding route: NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, this program is focused on threatened and endangered species-related outcomes rather than serving as a workforce development or youth corps hiring mechanism.

The opportunity also highlights how it interfaces with the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) program. CESUs are partnership networks intended to support research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services that help manage public lands and resources. Applicants are asked to state whether their proposal advances the purpose of the CESU program and, if it does, to identify which CESU Network should serve as the host. This matters because when a cooperative agreement is awarded 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 more tightly than many other federal assistance arrangements. Under the terms described here, 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). For applicants who are part of a CESU and plan to apply through that mechanism, this cap can significantly affect budgeting and should be accounted for early when building cost proposals.

In summary, this BLM Alaska program provides up to $140,000 per award (as posted) for projects supporting threatened and endangered species work, administered as cooperative agreements with BLM involvement. It is open to a wide range of public agencies, tribes, nonprofits, and higher education institutions, but it excludes individuals and for-profit organizations. It also draws a bright line between threatened and endangered species project funding and youth internship/crew hiring authorities, steering youth corps-style proposals to a separate BLM youth conservation NOFO. For CESU-affiliated applicants, the opportunity encourages alignment with CESU purposes and requires attention to the 17.5 percent indirect cost limitation 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 Alaska 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 2024-06-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-19. (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 $140,000.00 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 L24AS00398

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