FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Headquarters (HQ) Wildlife Program | L25AS00168

Opportunity Information: Apply for L25AS00168

The FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Headquarters (HQ) Wildlife Program grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L25AS00168; CFDA 15.247) provides discretionary funding through cooperative agreements to support wildlife conservation work tied to BLM-managed public lands at a national or regional scale. The program is positioned to advance Department of the Interior priorities around addressing the climate crisis, restoring balance on public lands and waters, advancing environmental justice, and supporting a clean energy future in ways that also protect and sustain wildlife and habitat.

At its core, the HQ Wildlife Program is looking for projects that protect and improve wildlife habitat, migration pathways, and habitat connectivity in order to support biodiversity. Proposals are expected to help increase resilience to climate change and, where appropriate, leverage natural climate solutions. The program also aligns with the national conservation goal of conserving at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 (often referred to as the "America the Beautiful" 30x30 goal). Another major emphasis is supporting State wildlife agencies as they work to meet wildlife population objectives, while ensuring that BLM decisions are guided by the best available science and data.

The types of activities supported by this opportunity are broad but clearly centered on on-the-ground habitat outcomes and the information needed to manage wildlife effectively. Fundable work includes maintaining or restoring habitats for upland game, waterfowl, big game, pollinators, sensitive species, and watchable wildlife. Projects may focus on conserving priority habitats such as key vegetation communities, water resources, and landscape connectivity corridors, or on reducing threats that degrade habitat or harm species. The NOFO also supports robust monitoring and inventory efforts to generate complete, current, and accurate information on wildlife distribution, abundance, and habitat conditions on BLM lands, as well as habitat assessments that measure progress toward resource management goals and objectives.

A notable theme in this NOFO is improving how wildlife monitoring data are coordinated and used. Applicants can propose work that strengthens BLM integration of large-scale monitoring programs such as Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) and the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NaBat). The program also invites new research that evaluates success in meeting wildlife habitat and land use plan objectives, particularly at ecosystem and watershed scales, which signals interest in projects that link field results back to planning and decision-making. Education and outreach are also eligible, including citizen science and student-based science that build stewardship for species dependent on BLM lands. In addition, the program explicitly encourages efforts that increase public awareness of wildlife resources and conservation challenges and successes, with targeted attention to communities of color, low-income families, and rural and Indigenous communities, including through opportunities that enhance economic benefits connected to wildlife.

Eligibility is limited to public and nonprofit partners and certain educational institutions. Eligible applicants include State, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and State-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Tribal governments; Tribal organizations; and nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education). Individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply under this NOFO, which is an important screening criterion for prospective applicants.

There are also specific restrictions related to youth hiring. This NOFO does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The BLM notes that Public Lands Corps is the only authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework, so Youth Conservation Corps and similar applicants should pursue projects under the separate funding opportunity 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands, rather than under this HQ Wildlife Program NOFO.

For applicants working through Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs), the NOFO highlights an indirect cost limitation: for cooperative agreements with CESU partners, indirect costs may not exceed 17.5 percent. Applicants should clearly state whether they intend to participate in the CESU program and identify which CESU Network would serve as the host, which affects agreement structure and budgeting.

Key administrative details include the agency (Bureau of Land Management), the funding instrument (cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial federal involvement compared to a standard grant), the activity category (Natural Resources), and an award ceiling of up to $2,000,000 per award. The original application closing date is February 14, 2025, and the opportunity was created on December 11, 2024.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Headquarters (HQ) Wildlife Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.247.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-12-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-14. (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 $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district 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.

Apply for L25AS00168

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