IIJA Bureau of Land Management ORWA Plant Conservation and Restoration Management | L23AS00447

Opportunity Information: Apply for L23AS00447

The "IIJA Bureau of Land Management OR/WA Plant Conservation and Restoration Management" opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L23AS00447) is a discretionary funding announcement from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), focused on plant conservation and restoration management work in the Oregon/Washington (OR/WA) BLM context. Funding is provided through a cooperative agreement, which generally means BLM expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, coordination on priorities, methods, deliverables, reporting, and alignment with BLM land management objectives). The funding activity category is Natural Resources, and the listing is associated with CFDA/Assistance Listing 15.245.

Eligibility is limited to public and nonprofit or educational entities rather than private commercial applicants. Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible. Eligible applicant types 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; other tribal organizations; public/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding institutions of higher education where that distinction is relevant). In practical terms, the program is structured to support partnerships with governmental, tribal, educational, and nonprofit entities that can carry out plant-focused conservation and restoration work consistent with BLM priorities in OR/WA.

A key restriction in the notice is that the program does not support recipients using these funds 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. Because of that, youth and intern/crew-based project concepts that would otherwise be associated with Public Lands Corps should not be proposed under this funding opportunity. Instead, eligible Youth Conservation Corps applicants are directed to pursue those kinds of projects under a different BLM funding notice: NOFO 15.243, "BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands." This is an important compliance point for applicants because proposing intern or crew hiring under this NOFO could make an application nonresponsive or ineligible.

The opportunity was created on January 6, 2023, with an original closing date of April 14, 2023. The listed award ceiling is $500,000, indicating the maximum anticipated federal amount per award under this announcement. The source excerpt does not specify the expected number of awards, but the ceiling provides a sense of scale and suggests the program is aimed at substantial, implementable conservation and restoration efforts rather than small planning-only grants.

In short, this is a BLM OR/WA cooperative agreement opportunity designed to fund plant conservation and restoration management projects carried out by qualified public, tribal, nonprofit, and educational partners, with clear exclusions for individuals and for-profit entities and a specific prohibition on using this NOFO to support Public Lands Corps-style intern or crew hiring, which must instead be pursued under the separate youth-focused NOFO (15.243).

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "IIJA Bureau of Land Management ORWA 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 2023-01-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-04-14. (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.

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