FY 2024 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Arizona Plant Conservation and Restoration Management | L24AS00100

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00100

The FY 2024 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Arizona Plant Conservation and Restoration Management opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00100; CFDA 15.245) is a discretionary federal funding announcement focused on natural resource work that supports plant conservation and restoration priorities on BLM-managed lands in Arizona. Awards are made as cooperative agreements, which typically means the BLM expects to be actively involved during the project period (for example, coordinating on workplans, methods, monitoring, or deliverables), rather than simply providing a grant with minimal agency interaction. The opportunity is tied to FY 2024 funding associated with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and/or the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which commonly emphasize resilience, restoration, and stewardship outcomes.

Eligibility is limited to public and nonprofit entities and higher education institutions. Specifically, 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 tribal governments; tribal organizations other than federally recognized governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), so proposals must come from an eligible organizational applicant.

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 through this particular funding stream. The Public Lands Corps Act is described as the only authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework, and this NOFO is not the vehicle for that kind of youth internship/crew engagement. Organizations that are eligible Youth Conservation Corps (or similar youth-focused conservation entities) are directed to pursue youth internship and crew-based projects under a separate BLM opportunity: NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, applicants should not structure their budgets or workplans around internship hiring under the Public Lands Corps authority for this solicitation, and youth-crew concepts should be redirected to the separate youth NOFO.

The announcement also addresses applicants that participate in Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are described as partnerships designed to promote and provide research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services. If the award is made to a CESU partner under an established Master CESU agreement, and the proposed work aligns with the CESU purpose, then indirect costs are capped: the indirect cost rate may not exceed 17.5 percent of the indirect cost base as recognized in the partner’s federally approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA). Applicants are expected to clearly state whether their proposal advances the CESU program purpose and, if it does, identify which CESU Network should serve as the host. This matters for budgeting and compliance, because CESU-related proposals may face a lower indirect cost recovery limit than an organization might otherwise claim.

From a funding standpoint, the listed award ceiling is $500,000. The original closing date shown is June 28, 2024, and the posting indicates it was created on April 2, 2024. While the notice text provided does not spell out specific project types or deliverables beyond the program title and CESU framing, the scope implied by "Plant Conservation and Restoration Management" generally covers applied work such as conserving sensitive plant species, restoring native plant communities, improving habitat condition, addressing invasive species impacts where they affect native plant integrity, and conducting monitoring, assessments, and related technical activities that support land management decisions. Because the instrument is a cooperative agreement, applicants should expect that BLM may coordinate on implementation details and that proposals should be written with collaboration and shared project oversight in mind.

In summary, this opportunity is designed for eligible governmental, tribal, nonprofit, and higher-education partners to work with the BLM Arizona State Office on plant-focused conservation and restoration management projects, with awards potentially up to $500,000. It excludes individuals and for-profit entities, and it is not the correct solicitation for projects centered on hiring interns or conservation crews under the Public Lands Corps Act, which must instead be pursued under the separate BLM youth opportunity. CESU-affiliated applicants can apply, but should explicitly connect their work to CESU purposes, identify the appropriate CESU Network host, and plan for the 17.5 percent indirect cost cap when operating under a Master CESU agreement.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2024 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Arizona 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 2024-04-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-28. (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.

Apply for L24AS00100

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: