IIJA Bureau of Land Management California Wildlife Program | L23AS00262

Opportunity Information: Apply for L23AS00262

The IIJA Bureau of Land Management California Wildlife Program (Funding Opportunity Number L23AS00262) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It is offered as a cooperative agreement, which typically means the BLM expects to have substantial involvement during the project rather than simply issuing a grant and stepping back. The program falls under the Natural Resources funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 15.247, indicating its alignment with BLM assistance programs that support conservation and resource stewardship outcomes.

The core purpose of the opportunity is to support wildlife-related work connected to BLM priorities in California. While the short description provided does not list specific project types, a BLM state wildlife program NOFO generally supports on-the-ground conservation actions and related planning, monitoring, habitat improvement, and other activities that benefit wildlife and their habitats on or connected to public lands managed by BLM. Because it is tied to IIJA (the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), the intent is commonly to advance practical, implementation-focused natural resource outcomes consistent with the law's emphasis on improving ecosystem resilience and conservation capacity.

Eligibility is limited to public and mission-driven organizations rather than private commercial applicants. Eligible applicants include 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 Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofit organizations (both those with and without 501(c)(3) status). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply under this NOFO, which is an important screening rule for prospective applicants.

A notable restriction concerns youth hiring and the use of interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. This NOFO does not support entities hiring interns or crews under that authority, and it clarifies that the Public Lands Corps Act is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns in that way. As a result, even eligible Youth Conservation Corps or similar youth-focused entities are directed away from this opportunity and toward a different solicitation: NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, applicants should not structure proposals around Public Lands Corps-style internship or crew hiring under this NOFO, and youth corps-oriented project concepts should be pursued under the dedicated youth conservation funding opportunity instead.

The award ceiling listed for this opportunity is $25,000, indicating that projects are expected to be relatively small in budget scope. The original closing date was April 14, 2023, and the opportunity was created on February 13, 2023. The number of expected awards is not provided in the source information, so applicants would normally rely on the full NOFO text or agency communications for clarity on funding availability, selection volume, and any matching or cost-share expectations (if applicable).

In summary, this BLM California Wildlife Program opportunity provides small-dollar cooperative agreement funding for eligible public, tribal, educational, and nonprofit entities to carry out wildlife and habitat-related work aligned with BLM priorities in California, with clear exclusions for individuals and for-profit organizations and a specific prohibition on using the award to support Public Lands Corps Act intern/crew hiring, which must instead be pursued under the separate BLM youth conservation NOFO.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "IIJA Bureau of Land Management California 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 2023-02-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-04-14. (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 $25,000.00 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 L23AS00262

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