NM FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management New Mexico Rangeland Resource Management | L25AS00198

Opportunity Information: Apply for L25AS00198

The NM FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management New Mexico Rangeland Resource Management opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L25AS00198) is a discretionary Bureau of Land Management grant offered as a cooperative agreement under CFDA 15.237 in the Natural Resources category. It supports work connected to BLM's Rangeland Management program, which is centered on conducting inventories, assessments, and evaluations of soil and vegetation conditions and overall land health. A core expectation is that projects will generate, collect, and analyze monitoring data that helps demonstrate progress toward meeting established land health standards, rather than simply completing one-time activities without measurable outcomes.

Funding is aimed at high-priority rangeland work that has broader, national relevance, including efforts that cross state boundaries. The emphasis is on actions that help maintain or achieve land health and productivity, increase carbon sequestration, and build resilient landscapes that can support ecological function and community benefits over the long term. The notice highlights several example project types, including conservation and restoration actions that help rangelands respond to climate change, soils mapping and the development of ecological site descriptions, and community and stakeholder engagement through mentoring, training, and educational programs. In practice, competitive proposals will typically be those that tie on-the-ground or analytical work directly to improved land condition outcomes and show how monitoring and evaluation will be used to track results and inform management.

Eligibility is limited to public and nonprofit entities and educational institutions. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status. Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible under this notice, so proposals must come from qualifying organizational applicants.

The opportunity also draws a clear boundary around youth and internship hiring. This NOFO does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993, noting that the Act is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns in that way. As a result, Youth Conservation Corps or similar youth-crew concepts must be pursued through the separate NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands, rather than through this rangeland management funding.

For applicants connected to the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) program, the notice explains how CESU partnerships fit within BLM's cooperative agreement approach. CESUs are intended to support research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services. If an award is made to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement consistent with CESU purposes, indirect costs are capped at no more than 17.5 percent of the indirect cost base recognized in the partner's federally approved NICRA. Applicants are expected to state whether their proposal furthers CESU purposes and, if so, identify which CESU Network should be considered as host.

The application deadline listed is February 26, 2025, and the maximum award amount (ceiling) is $1,000,000. The opportunity was created on December 20, 2024, and is administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NM FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management New Mexico Rangeland Resource Management" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.237.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-12-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-26. (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 $1,000,000.00 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 L25AS00198

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