BLM-WO, Natural Resources Shared Conservation | L18AS00082

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is the name of this funding opportunity?

The opportunity is titled "BLM-WO, Natural Resources Shared Conservation."

2) Who is offering this grant opportunity?

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), within the U.S. Department of the Interior, issued this discretionary funding opportunity.

3) What is the Funding Opportunity Number?

The Funding Opportunity Number (FON) is L18AS00082.

4) What type of award is being offered?

The award was structured as a cooperative agreement, which generally means BLM expects substantial federal involvement and active collaboration with the recipient during the project.

5) What is the main purpose of the opportunity?

The core purpose is to support a cooperative agreement focused on the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) by partnering with an outside organization that can help BLM sustain and strengthen an interagency collaboration around the NVC.

6) What problem is the project trying to solve?

The project aims to reduce fragmentation and incompatibility in vegetation classification systems by promoting a shared, consistent framework. The goal is to make vegetation information usable nationwide, including when projects cross agency boundaries or geographic jurisdictions.

7) What is the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) in the context of this opportunity?

Within this opportunity, the NVC is the shared framework and collaboration used to keep vegetation classification and associated datasets aligned across agencies and jurisdictions so that vegetation information can be compared, maintained, and used consistently across landscapes.

8) What does "interagency collaboration" mean here?

It refers to multiple organizations and agencies working together on a common vegetation classification framework, rather than each organization maintaining separate systems that do not align with one another.

9) Why is data interoperability emphasized?

Interoperability helps ensure that vegetation classifications and datasets can be shared, compared, and used across jurisdictions. This supports operational efficiency and coordinated decision-making when multiple agencies or partners are working on the same landscape-scale issues.

10) What kinds of decisions or activities does this vegetation information support?

The standardized vegetation information is described as supporting both emergency and routine natural resource work, including wildfire response and post-fire rehabilitation, as well as land use planning, resource management, and day-to-day operational needs.

11) How does a shared vegetation framework help during emergencies like wildfires?

When vegetation information is standardized and aligned across agencies, responders and planners can coordinate faster and make decisions using consistent definitions and comparable datasets, including for post-fire rehabilitation.

12) How does the NVC collaboration help with long-term planning?

By enabling consistent vegetation definitions and mapping concepts across regions, the collaboration supports land use planning and resource management that require comparable information over time and across different administrative boundaries.

13) What role is the recipient expected to play?

The partner is expected to support the ongoing lifecycle of NVC-related data infrastructure and collaboration, including development of classification content and datasets, routine updates, long-term maintenance, secure and reliable housing of datasets, and public-facing access portals.

14) What kinds of technical activities are highlighted?

The opportunity highlights research, development, and coordination as key components, noting that this work is technical and coordination-heavy and is carried out with top industry expertise and support from a blend of funding sources.

15) What does "housing" of datasets mean in this opportunity?

It refers to maintaining datasets in a secure and reliable way over time, including the long-term stewardship and operational support needed to keep them available and usable.

16) Is public access to the datasets part of the expectation?

Yes. The opportunity references public-facing access portals that allow users to find and use vegetation information, and it describes the datasets as important national resources used by wildlife managers, researchers, and the public.

17) Who are the intended users or beneficiaries of the outputs?

The outputs are framed as valuable not only for BLM but also for wildlife managers, researchers, and the public, indicating broad usefulness across the natural resources community.

18) At what spatial scales is the work expected to be useful?

The grant is framed as supporting management of national resources at multiple spatial scales: landscape, ecoregional, regional, and national.

19) Does the opportunity focus on a single agency system or a common framework?

It emphasizes creating and sustaining a common framework that multiple organizations can rely on, rather than each agency maintaining separate, incompatible systems.

20) What is the activity category for this funding opportunity?

The activity category is Natural Resources.

21) What is the CFDA number listed for this opportunity?

The CFDA number is 15.237.

22) Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was listed as unrestricted, meaning it was open to any type of entity, subject to any additional eligibility language in the full notice.

23) How many awards did BLM anticipate making?

BLM anticipated making a single award.

24) What was the maximum (ceiling) amount of the award?

The award ceiling was $45,000.

25) When was the opportunity created and when did it close?

The opportunity was created on July 31, 2018, and originally closed on August 31, 2018.

26) Is this opportunity described as discretionary funding?

Yes. It is described as a discretionary funding opportunity issued by BLM.

27) Why does the opportunity stress consistency across geographic boundaries?

Because natural resource issues and vegetation patterns do not follow administrative lines, and many projects span multiple jurisdictions. Consistent classification and datasets make cross-boundary work more coherent and comparable.

28) What does the opportunity suggest about funding and support for the broader NVC work?

It notes that research, development, and coordination are supported through a blend of federal, state, and private sources, indicating a collaborative and multi-source support environment around the NVC effort.

29) What is the overarching value proposition of this project for BLM?

The opportunity frames the value as improved operational efficiency, stronger interagency coordination, and better data interoperability, leading to faster and more consistent decision-making for both emergencies and routine land and resource management.

30) What makes a cooperative agreement relevant for this type of work?

The work is described as coordination-heavy and ongoing (updates, maintenance, shared infrastructure, and access portals). A cooperative agreement aligns with that model by implying substantial involvement and collaboration between BLM and the recipient.