FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Wildlife Program | L25AS00153

Opportunity Information: Apply for L25AS00153

The FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Alaska Wildlife Program grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L25AS00153, CFDA 15.247) is a discretionary funding announcement that will award cooperative agreements for wildlife and habitat work tied to BLM-managed public lands in Alaska. The program is framed around Department of the Interior priorities, with an emphasis on responding to the climate crisis, restoring balance on public lands and waters, advancing environmental justice, and supporting a clean energy future. In practical terms, the funding is meant to help partners carry out on-the-ground and science-driven efforts that conserve wildlife populations and the habitats and movement corridors they depend on, while also improving the information BLM uses to make land and wildlife management decisions.

The core program priorities are broad but clear. Projects should help protect wildlife habitat, migration routes, and habitat connectivity that sustains biodiversity across landscapes. A strong fit also includes work that improves resilience to climate change and leverages natural climate solutions, such as conservation actions that help ecosystems store carbon while supporting wildlife. The opportunity is also explicitly aligned with the national goal of conserving at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030, so proposals that contribute to long-term conservation outcomes and durable habitat protection are relevant. In addition, BLM is looking to support State agencies as they work toward State wildlife population objectives, and it places real importance on engaging communities of color, low-income families, and rural and Indigenous communities in ways that improve access, participation, and economic opportunity connected to wildlife stewardship. Across all of this, applicants are expected to rely on strong science and solid data, rather than anecdotal or purely qualitative claims.

The types of activities BLM is looking to fund fall into several main buckets. One major category is habitat maintenance and restoration benefiting upland game, waterfowl, big game, pollinators, sensitive species, and other watchable wildlife. This can include restoring or maintaining key vegetation communities, protecting or improving water resources, and improving connectivity so animals can move between seasonal ranges, breeding areas, or climate refugia. Related projects may focus on reducing threats to habitat or species, which can include addressing fragmentation, degradation, or other stressors that limit wildlife productivity and survival on BLM lands.

Another major category involves building and improving the wildlife information base through monitoring and inventory. This includes efforts to document where species occur, how abundant they are, and what habitats they rely on, with the goal of producing complete, current, and accurate information for species that depend on BLM-managed lands. BLM also highlights assessment work that measures progress toward resource management goals and objectives, along with projects that improve understanding of conservation opportunities for wildlife tied to BLM lands. A specific emphasis is placed on improving how BLM uses and integrates coordinated monitoring datasets and frameworks, including programs like Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) and the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NaBat). Proposals that connect local field data to these broader monitoring systems, or that strengthen data integration and decision-support, are especially aligned with what BLM describes.

The notice also supports new research that evaluates whether wildlife habitat and land use plan objectives are actually being met at ecosystem and watershed scales. That means BLM is not only interested in collecting data, but also in analysis that can show outcomes, effectiveness, and lessons learned, particularly when linked to land use plans and habitat objectives. Education and outreach are another eligible area, including citizen science and student-based science projects that encourage stewardship for wildlife dependent on BLM lands. Public awareness work is encouraged as well, especially if it is designed to reach and benefit communities of color, low-income families, and rural and Indigenous communities, and if it clearly communicates conservation challenges, opportunities, and successes on BLM-managed lands.

Eligibility is limited to public and nonprofit or academic entities, not individuals or for-profit organizations. Eligible applicants include State, county, city or township, and special district governments; public and State-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; Federally recognized Tribal governments; other Tribal organizations; and nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means BLM expects substantial involvement in the project (for example, coordination on planning, data standards, reporting, or implementation), rather than a simple pass-through grant with minimal Federal engagement.

There are also important restrictions to plan around. This NOFO does not support hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993, because that Act is the specific authority used for that kind of internship hiring. Youth Conservation Corps entities that want to pursue that type of project are directed instead to apply under a separate opportunity (NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands). Additionally, if an applicant will participate through a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) partnership structure, indirect costs are capped at 17.5 percent for cooperative agreements with CESU partners. Applicants are expected to state whether they will participate in the CESU program and identify which CESU Network would serve as the host.

Key administrative details include a posted opportunity date (creation date) of November 22, 2024, and an original application closing date of March 17, 2025. The listed award ceiling is $150,000. Overall, the opportunity is best suited for proposals that combine tangible habitat or connectivity benefits with strong monitoring, assessment, or research components, and that can clearly show how the work supports BLM Alaska priorities on climate resilience, biodiversity, data-driven management, and equitable community engagement tied to wildlife conservation on public lands.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Alaska 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 2024-11-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-03-17. (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 $150,000.00 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 L25AS00153

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