FY25 Bureau of Land Management Plant Conservation and Restoration Management- Bureau wide | L25AS00299

Opportunity Information: Apply for L25AS00299

The FY25 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Plant Conservation and Restoration Program (PCRP) is a bureau-wide funding opportunity designed to strengthen the national native seed supply chain so public lands and nearby communities can recover faster and more successfully after major disturbances like wildfires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. The core idea is straightforward: when disasters strike or when reclamation is required for land uses like energy development, having the right native seed and plant materials available at the right time makes stabilization and long-term restoration more effective, reduces erosion and dust that can affect human health and safety, and helps keep overall project costs down. BLM is also linking this work to broader Department of the Interior and administration priorities, including public safety after catastrophic wildfire, supporting rural economic development, enabling multiple-use management on public lands, and improving market stability so native seed is more available and more affordable.

A major emphasis of the program is building practical partnerships that expand both the diversity and the volume of native species available commercially. PCRP aims to increase local seed collections and develop native plant materials that reflect the appropriate species and genetics for specific landscapes, which is especially important for restoration success and for reducing the chance that invasive or noxious weeds take over after disturbance. By improving availability and reliability in the seed market, BLM expects benefits that ripple outward: lower seed costs, less financial risk for growers and producers, more jobs connected to collection, cleaning, farming, and nursery production, and better outcomes on the ground such as stronger long-term vegetation establishment and improved compliance with land health standards. These improvements support a wide range of BLM responsibilities, including livestock grazing, wildlife habitat, recreation, timber-related objectives where applicable, and reclamation needs such as orphaned well and abandoned mine land restoration.

For 2025, PCRP is explicitly aligned with the National Seed Strategy (referenced at www.blm.gov/seedstrategy) and highlights four project directions. First, projects that work with partners to collect local seed to expand the diversity of native species available in the marketplace, while also creating employment opportunities. Second, efforts that help local farmers and nonprofit organizations enter or expand in the native seed market, including establishing native seed production fields that can anchor rural economic activity and long-term stewardship partnerships. Third, projects that build or expand nursery capacity for species that are difficult or impossible to establish through direct seeding, which can be critical for rapid post-disaster recovery and for creating steady, local jobs in propagation and plant production. Fourth, applied research and other practical science that reduces production costs, lowers risk for growers, improves the success rate of post-fire stabilization and rehabilitation, and supports better decision-making across the native seed supply chain.

The opportunity also lays out example activities BLM is interested in supporting through partner organizations. These include working with state agriculture departments, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and related groups to reduce barriers for small farmers trying to enter the commercial native seed market. It also includes collaborating with state wildlife agencies and others on post-fire stabilization and recovery projects that restore habitat and movement corridors for big game and priority species such as sage-grouse, as well as wetlands and riparian areas. Additional priorities include developing the specialized technology and capacity needed to collect, clean, cultivate, and bank native species that are hard for industry to produce; collecting seed from species or genotypes that are difficult to find or harvest; and carrying out applied science and on-the-ground actions that maintain populations of special status plants, potentially preventing state or federal listing actions that could complicate mineral and energy development. The program further encourages strategies that improve the use of native seed and plant materials across many BLM program areas, including Wildlife, Oil and Gas, Minerals, Fuels, Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation, Range, and Renewable Energy.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity offered by the Bureau of Land Management using cooperative agreements as the funding instrument, indicating BLM expects substantial involvement or collaboration during project execution. The opportunity is listed under CFDA (Assistance Listing) 15.245, with an opportunity number of L25AS00299. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; federally recognized tribes and other eligible tribal organizations; public and private institutions of higher education; and nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly not eligible to apply under this notice of funding opportunity. The posted award ceiling is up to $3,000,000, and the original closing date is July 23, 2025.

There are also two important constraints to note. First, this particular notice does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993; organizations looking to do Youth Conservation Corps-style projects are directed instead to a separate BLM youth-focused funding opportunity (NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands). Second, for projects routed through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) network, indirect costs are capped: if a CESU partner receives a cooperative agreement under a negotiated Master CESU agreement consistent with CESU purposes, indirect costs are limited to no more than 17.5 percent of the applicable indirect cost base recognized in the organization’s federally approved NICRA. Applicants are expected to state whether their proposal advances CESU purposes and, if so, which CESU Network should serve as the host.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY25 Bureau of Land Management Plant Conservation and Restoration Management- Bureau wide" 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 2025-06-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-07-23. (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 $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), 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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