Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management Headquarters Threatened and Endangered Species | L21AS00445

Opportunity Information: Apply for L21AS00445

The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is offering a discretionary funding opportunity focused on threatened and endangered species work through a cooperative agreement. The official opportunity title is "Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management Headquarters Threatened and Endangered Species" and the funding opportunity number is L21AS00445. It falls under the Natural Resources funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 15.246. The opportunity was created on April 20, 2021, and originally closed on May 20, 2021. The stated maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $30,000, with the number of expected awards not specified in the source information.

This opportunity is structured to support eligible organizations and public entities that can carry out work aligned with BLM's threatened and endangered species priorities. Because the instrument type is a cooperative agreement, applicants should expect BLM to have a more substantial level of involvement than with a standard grant, such as collaboration on project design, coordination during implementation, or shared oversight and reporting expectations. While the short description provided does not list specific project tasks, the program title and category indicate the intent is to support conservation-related activities connected to threatened and endangered species on lands managed by BLM or in ways that directly support BLM's mission and responsibilities for species conservation.

Eligibility is broad across public-sector, education, tribal, and nonprofit categories, but it has clear restrictions. 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 Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in the nonprofit category listing). At the same time, the notice explicitly states that individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply for awards under this particular Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). In practical terms, that means a private business, consultant, or individual researcher cannot be the applicant of record, though an eligible applicant could potentially partner with or procure services from others if allowable under the agreement terms and federal rules.

A major program limitation is that this NOFO does not support entities hiring interns or crews. The notice explains the reason: the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II - Public Lands Corps) is described as the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns. Because of that legal constraint, youth internship or crew-based work is not funded under this threatened and endangered species NOFO. Instead, youth-focused conservation groups that want to propose projects involving youth crews or internship-style roles are directed to a different BLM funding opportunity: NOFO 15.243, "BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands." In other words, even if an organization is otherwise eligible here, proposals that rely on intern hiring or youth crew staffing are not considered a fit for this specific program and should be routed through the designated youth conservation NOFO.

Overall, this funding opportunity is best understood as a targeted, relatively small-dollar cooperative agreement (up to $30,000) intended for eligible governmental, tribal, educational, housing authority, and nonprofit entities to carry out BLM-related threatened and endangered species conservation work, with explicit exclusions for individuals and for-profit applicants and a clear prohibition on using the award to hire interns or crews under this particular announcement.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management Headquarters Threatened and Endangered Species" 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 2021-04-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-20. (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 $30,000.00 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 L21AS00445

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