FY24 Bureau of Land Management Eastern States (ES) Invasive and Noxious Plant Management Program | L24AS00153

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00153

The FY24 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Eastern States (ES) Invasive and Noxious Plant Management Program is a discretionary federal funding opportunity focused on preventing, controlling, and managing invasive and noxious plant species on lands and projects associated with BLM Eastern States. The program is offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior through BLM and is intended to support practical, on-the-ground and programmatic work tied to natural resource stewardship, including activities such as invasive plant control, monitoring, assessments, and related technical assistance or education when aligned with program goals. Awards under this opportunity are issued as cooperative agreements, which generally means recipients should expect substantial involvement by BLM in project coordination, oversight, or shared implementation compared to a standard grant.

Eligibility is limited to public and mission-driven entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments (including cities, townships, and special districts), independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments, tribal organizations that are not federally recognized governments, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, as long as they are not institutions of higher education). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible and cannot apply for or receive awards under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

A key restriction in the announcement is that this NOFO does not support projects that involve entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The notice explains that the Public Lands Corps Act (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II) is the legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that specific mechanism, and because this NOFO is not issued under that authority, proposals built around those intern or crew hiring structures are not allowed here. Organizations that want to pursue youth internship or crew-based conservation work are directed instead to a different funding route: NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In other words, even if a project is invasive-plant focused, if it is primarily structured around Public Lands Corps-style internship/crew hiring, it belongs under the youth conservation NOFO rather than this invasive and noxious plant management program.

The opportunity also addresses participation by Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are described as partnerships designed to promote and provide research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services. If a cooperative agreement is awarded to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement, and the project aligns with CESU purposes, then indirect costs are capped: they may not exceed 17.5 percent of the indirect cost base recognized in the partner's federally approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA). Applicants are instructed to clearly state whether their proposal advances CESU purposes and, if it does, to identify which CESU Network should be considered as the host. This matters because it affects administrative handling and, potentially, the indirect cost treatment.

From the published opportunity details, the funding opportunity title is "FY24 Bureau of Land Management Eastern States (ES) Invasive and Noxious Plant Management Program," with Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00153. It is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the cooperative agreement instrument. The primary activity category is Natural Resources, and it is associated with CFDA number 15.230. The posted award ceiling is $150,000. The original closing date for applications was February 6, 2024, and the opportunity record shows a creation date of November 7, 2023.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 Bureau of Land Management Eastern States (ES) Invasive and Noxious Plant Management Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.230.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-11-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-06. (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, 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 L24AS00153

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