Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington Threatened and Endangered Species | L21AS00273

Opportunity Information: Apply for L21AS00273

The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oregon/Washington Threatened and Endangered Species funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L21AS00273; CFDA 15.246) is a discretionary grant program offered through a cooperative agreement to support natural resource work focused on threatened and endangered species in BLM-managed lands and programs within Oregon and Washington. As a cooperative agreement, applicants should expect substantial federal involvement during project implementation, such as coordination, technical input, or joint planning with BLM staff, rather than a simple pass-through grant with minimal agency engagement.

A key point in this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is eligibility. Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply. Eligible applicants include a broad range of public and nonprofit entities, such as 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; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education when using those nonprofit categories). This structure signals that BLM is aiming to partner with governmental, educational, tribal, and nonprofit organizations that can carry out conservation, monitoring, restoration, or related work tied to species protected under the Endangered Species Act and associated management priorities on public lands in the Oregon/Washington BLM jurisdiction.

The NOFO also draws a clear boundary around youth and internship-style staffing models. It states that the program does not support entities hiring interns or crews under this funding stream. The notice explains the reason in statutory terms: the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II) is identified as the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns. Because of that, youth-conservation or corps-style projects must be pursued through a different, specific BLM funding opportunity, identified here as NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, that means applicants to this threatened and endangered species NOFO should propose projects using their own staff, partner staff, contractors (as allowable under the award and applicable regulations), or other non-intern/non-corps approaches, and should not frame the project primarily around developing or employing intern crews.

In terms of funding scale and timing, the listed award ceiling is $500,000, indicating the maximum anticipated federal share per award under this opportunity. The original closing date is May 28, 2021, and the opportunity was created on January 28, 2021. The notice as provided does not specify the expected number of awards (the field is blank), so applicants would typically treat this as a competitive process where funding availability, project merit, and alignment with BLM priorities will determine how many projects are supported.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a partnership mechanism for organizations capable of delivering on-the-ground or programmatic threatened and endangered species conservation outcomes in Oregon and Washington BLM contexts, while avoiding proposals that rely on intern hiring or youth crews, which BLM directs to a separate youth-focused NOFO under a different statutory authority.

• 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 Oregon/Washington 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 2021-01-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-28. (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 L21AS00273

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