IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Recreation and Visitor Services Program | L24AS00076

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00076

The IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Alaska Recreation and Visitor Services Program (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00076) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. It is offered as a cooperative agreement, meaning BLM expects to have substantial involvement in the project rather than simply issuing a pass-through grant. The program sits in the natural resources funding category (CFDA 15.225) and is intended to support recreation and visitor services work connected to BLM-managed public lands in Alaska, aligning with priorities funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Eligibility is limited to public and nonprofit sectors and certain education and tribal entities. 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 tribal governments; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status. Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), so proposals must come from an eligible organization type and not from a private business or an individual applicant.

A key restriction in this NOFO is that it does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The NOFO explains that the Public Lands Corps Act (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II) is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework. As a result, organizations that want to propose youth or corps-style projects under the Public Lands Corps authority are directed instead to a different funding path: NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, this means applicants to this Alaska Recreation and Visitor Services opportunity should not build their budgets or project designs around PLC-based intern or crew hiring, and youth conservation corps proposals belong under the separate youth-focused NOFO rather than this one.

The NOFO also highlights the potential role of Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are established partnerships designed to support research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services. If an applicant is a CESU partner and the cooperative agreement is awarded under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement that aligns with CESU purposes, 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 state clearly whether their proposal advances CESU program purposes and, if it does, which CESU Network should serve as the host. This matters for both administrative routing and budgeting, particularly because the CESU indirect cost limitation can differ from an organization’s typical negotiated rate depending on their NICRA.

From an applicant planning perspective, the basic funding parameters provided indicate an award ceiling of $375,000, with the original closing date listed as December 1, 2023, and a posting/creation date of October 2, 2023. Because the instrument type is a cooperative agreement, applicants should expect more coordination with BLM during project implementation than is typical for a standard grant, including potential collaboration on scopes of work, deliverables, performance reporting, or other execution details consistent with federal cooperative agreement practices.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Recreation and Visitor Services Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.225.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-10-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-12-01. (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 $375,000.00 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 L24AS00076

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