FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Wyoming (WY) Wildlife Program | L24AS00172

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00172

The FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Wyoming (WY) Wildlife Program (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00172) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity run by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), focused on wildlife-related work in Wyoming under the Natural Resources funding activity category (CFDA/Assistance Listing 15.247). Awards are made as cooperative agreements, which typically means BLM expects to have substantial involvement in the funded work (for example, collaborating on technical direction, coordination, or oversight) rather than simply issuing a pass-through grant with minimal federal participation. The opportunity was created on December 4, 2023, and had an original application closing date of February 2, 2024. The listed award ceiling is $900,000, indicating that the maximum size of an individual award can be up to that amount.

Eligibility is broad across public and nonprofit sectors but explicitly excludes certain applicant types. Eligible applicants include state, county, city/township, and 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 as governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status. At the same time, the notice makes it clear that individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply, so proposals from private companies or individual consultants would not be accepted under this NOFO.

A key restriction in the notice relates to youth, internship, or crew hiring. This NOFO does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II, Public Lands Corps). The notice emphasizes that this Act is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework. As a result, if an applicant is a Youth Conservation Corps or is proposing a project that is essentially a youth/crew or internship-style engagement, they are directed to pursue that work under a different funding opportunity: NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, this wildlife program NOFO is signaling that it is intended for wildlife programmatic work (such as research, monitoring, assessment, technical assistance, and related project implementation) rather than serving as a vehicle for youth crew placement or internship hiring mechanisms.

The notice also highlights how projects may align with the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) program. CESUs are described as partnerships designed to promote and deliver research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services. If the award is made to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement, and the project is consistent with the CESU purpose, then indirect costs are capped: they may not exceed 17.5 percent of the indirect cost base recognized in the partner's federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA). Applicants are asked to state explicitly whether their proposal advances the CESU program purpose and, if it does, to identify which CESU Network should be considered as the host. This is an important budgeting and administrative point because CESU affiliation can change how indirect costs are handled and may affect overall project budgeting compared to a standard NICRA application outside CESU constraints.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as BLM Wyoming's wildlife program funding for partner-led, BLM-collaborative projects that support wildlife and natural resource priorities, with clear boundaries around who can apply (public entities, tribes, universities, and nonprofits) and what cannot be funded under this specific NOFO (intern/crew hiring under Public Lands Corps authorities). The combination of a relatively high ceiling ($900,000), use of cooperative agreements, and explicit CESU guidance suggests BLM anticipates technically substantive projects with strong coordination, measurable deliverables, and careful compliance with federal partnership and cost policy requirements.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Wyoming (WY) 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 2023-12-04.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-02. (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 $900,000.00 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 L24AS00172

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