FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington (ORWA) Recreation and Visitor Services Program | L24AS00049

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00049

The FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington (ORWA) Recreation and Visitor Services Program is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) focused on supporting recreation and visitor services work on BLM-managed public lands in Oregon and Washington. Funding is offered through cooperative agreements, which generally means BLM expects substantial involvement in the project (for example, coordination, joint planning, oversight, or other collaboration during implementation) rather than simply issuing a grant with minimal agency interaction. The program is tied to BLM recreation and visitor service priorities and is positioned within the Natural Resources funding activity area under CFDA 15.225.

The opportunity is open to a broad range of public and nonprofit entities, as well as eligible higher education institutions and tribal entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city/township governments; 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 (not federally recognized as governments); public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (so long as they are not institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible, which is an important screening factor for potential applicants and partners.

A key limitation in this notice is that it 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 (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II) is the legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework, and this particular NOFO is not the vehicle for those activities. As a result, Youth Conservation Corps or similar youth-focused applicants looking to place interns or crews should not apply under this opportunity; instead, they are directed to apply under NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands, which is the appropriate pathway for those kinds of youth/intern crew projects.

The notice also includes specific guidance for applicants that are part of the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) network. CESUs are 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 the CESU purpose, the indirect cost rate is capped. In that case, indirect costs are limited to no more than 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 whether their proposal furthers the CESU program purpose and, if it does, to indicate which CESU Network should be considered as the host.

From a funding and timing standpoint, the opportunity is identified as Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00049, created on October 11, 2023, with an original closing date of February 29, 2024. The listed award ceiling is $300,000, indicating that individual awards are not expected to exceed that amount. The opportunity record also references expected awards, but the number is not provided in the source data you shared, so applicants would need to consult the full NOFO text in the official posting for any additional details on the number of anticipated awards, total program funding, cost share expectations (if any), required project elements, evaluation criteria, and reporting 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 Oregon/Washington (ORWA) 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 2023-10-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-29. (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 $300,000.00 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 L24AS00049

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: