FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Colorado (CO) Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program | L24AS00214

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00214

The FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Colorado (CO) Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) focused on natural resource work tied to fuels management and community fire assistance in Colorado. Funding is offered through cooperative agreements, which typically means BLM expects substantial involvement during project planning and implementation rather than operating as a hands-off pass-through funder. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 15.228 and is intended to support activities that reduce wildfire risk, improve landscape resilience, and strengthen community preparedness and capacity around wildfire and hazardous fuels concerns, consistent with the broader goals of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) investments.

Eligibility is limited to public and nonprofit sectors and certain educational and tribal entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special districts; 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 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible, which is an important screen for applicant teams that might otherwise include private contractors as lead applicants. In practice, for-profit entities may still participate as vendors or contractors if allowed under the agreement and procurement rules, but they cannot be the applicant or direct recipient of the award.

A notable restriction is that this NOFO does not support projects that involve hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The notice emphasizes that the Public Lands Corps Act is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework, and as a result, youth-conservation-style internship or crew proposals need to be submitted under a different funding pathway. Specifically, eligible Youth Conservation Corps applicants are directed to develop and submit those types of projects under NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands, rather than under this fuels and community fire assistance opportunity. This is a practical boundary on project design: proposals should avoid building their core staffing model around PLC interns or PLC crews under this NOFO.

The opportunity also addresses the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) framework. CESUs are partnership networks designed to support research, technical assistance, monitoring, assessments, and education aligned with federal natural resource management needs. If an award is made to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement and the project is consistent with CESU purposes, the indirect cost rate is 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 the CESU program purpose and, if it does, identify which CESU Network should serve as the host. This matters both for compliance and budgeting, since the indirect cost limitation can materially change the total project budget and the way costs must be structured.

Key administrative details include the funding opportunity number L24AS00214, an original application closing date of April 19, 2024, and an award ceiling of $500,000 per award. While the notice lists "ExpectedAwards:" without a number in the provided source, the ceiling communicates the maximum BLM anticipates awarding to a single project under this announcement. The opportunity was created on February 15, 2024, and is categorized as a discretionary natural resources program administered by BLM for Colorado fuels management and community fire assistance activities.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Colorado (CO) Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.228.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-04-19. (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 $500,000.00 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 L24AS00214

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