FY23 IIJA Bureau of Land Management Montana/Dakota Threatened and Endangered Species Program | L23AS00272

Opportunity Information: Apply for L23AS00272

The FY23 IIJA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Montana/Dakota Threatened and Endangered Species Program is a discretionary federal funding opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. It is focused on natural resource work connected to threatened and endangered species efforts within the BLM Montana/Dakotas area, and it is offered under a cooperative agreement funding instrument. Cooperative agreements are typically used when the federal agency expects to be substantially involved in the project, meaning recipients should anticipate coordination and collaboration with BLM during planning and implementation rather than operating entirely independently.

This opportunity is identified as Funding Opportunity Number L23AS00272 and is associated with CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) 15.246. The program was created on 2023-03-01 and had an original application closing date of 2023-05-01. The listed award ceiling is $500,000 per award, indicating that individual projects could be funded up to that maximum amount, depending on project scope, merit, and available funds. The posting does not specify the expected number of awards in the provided source text.

Eligibility is broad across public-sector, nonprofit, tribal, and educational entities, reflecting the kind of partners BLM often works with on species and habitat conservation. 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; Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in the nonprofit category). At the same time, the NOFO clearly states that individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply, which is an important restriction for consultants, businesses, and sole proprietors who might otherwise look for participation.

A key limitation is that this NOFO does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The notice explains that the Public Lands Corps Act (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II) is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that specific authority. Because of that, youth internship or crew-based project proposals that rely on Public Lands Corps mechanisms are not supported under this particular threatened and endangered species NOFO. Instead, the notice directs eligible Youth Conservation Corps applicants to pursue projects under a different funding opportunity: NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, applicants should avoid building their project budgets and staffing plans around PLC-style intern or crew hiring through this grant and should use the separate youth-focused NOFO if that is central to their approach.

Overall, this funding opportunity is best understood as a BLM Montana/Dakotas cooperative agreement vehicle for partner-driven projects that support threatened and endangered species work in the natural resources arena, with a substantial federal involvement model, a per-award cap of $500,000, broad public/nonprofit/tribal/education eligibility, and clear exclusions for individuals, for-profit applicants, and PLC intern or crew hiring under this NOFO.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY23 IIJA Bureau of Land Management Montana/Dakota Threatened and Endangered Species Program" 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 2023-03-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-05-01. (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 L23AS00272

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