IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management California Wildlife Program | L24AS00127

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00127

The IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) California Wildlife Program (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00127) is a discretionary federal grant opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, focused on natural resources work that supports wildlife-related priorities on BLM-managed lands in California. Awards are made as cooperative agreements, which generally means BLM expects to have substantial involvement in the project during planning and implementation (for example, coordination on methods, shared decision-making on deliverables, or collaboration on monitoring and reporting), rather than operating as a hands-off pass-through grant.

Eligibility is limited to public and nonprofit sectors and certain education and tribal 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; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (so long as they are not institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply under this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), which is an important screening point for partnerships that may otherwise include private-sector participants.

A key restriction in this NOFO is that it does not support applicants proposing 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 legislative authority BLM uses to "hire" interns under that framework, and that projects intended for eligible Youth Conservation Corps participation must be pursued under a separate funding opportunity: NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. Practically, that means if your concept relies on youth crews, interns, or a corps-style workforce approach tied to Public Lands Corps authorities, this particular California Wildlife Program NOFO is not the correct vehicle, and you would need to realign your application to the youth-focused NOFO instead.

The opportunity also highlights the role of Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are partnership networks designed to support research, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and education aligned with federal land management needs. If an applicant is a CESU partner and the cooperative agreement is awarded under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement consistent with CESU purposes, the indirect cost policy is capped: 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). Applicants are asked to clearly 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 is important because it can affect both the administrative pathway for the award and the indirect cost recovery rules that apply.

From an administrative standpoint, this NOFO was created on January 8, 2024, and had an original closing date of March 8, 2024. The listed award ceiling is $5,000,000, indicating BLM may fund projects up to that amount, depending on available appropriations and program priorities. The CFDA/Assistance Listing number associated with this opportunity is 15.247, and the funding activity category is Natural Resources, which helps applicants and partners map the program to internal compliance, grants management, and reporting systems.

In short, this funding opportunity supports substantial wildlife and natural resource work in California through cooperative agreements with eligible governmental, tribal, educational, and nonprofit entities, while specifically excluding individuals and for-profit applicants and steering youth internship/crew concepts to a separate Public Lands Corps-related NOFO. It also signals a strong preference for (or at least an established pathway through) CESU-aligned projects, with a notable indirect cost limitation for awards made under the CESU master framework.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management California Wildlife Program" 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 2024-01-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-03-08. (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 $5,000,000.00 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 L24AS00127

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