Department of the Interior – Bureau of Land Management California Forests and Woodlands Resource Management | L21AS00457

Opportunity Information: Apply for L21AS00457

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, issued a discretionary funding opportunity titled "California Forests and Woodlands Resource Management" (Funding Opportunity Number L21AS00457). The program is offered through a cooperative agreement, which generally signals that BLM expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, coordinating on planning, implementation details, or monitoring), rather than simply issuing a grant and remaining hands-off. The funding activity focus is natural resources, and the associated CFDA/Assistance Listing number is 15.233, aligning it with BLM resource management assistance.

This opportunity is aimed at supporting work connected to the management, stewardship, or improvement of forests and woodlands in California on or related to BLM-managed lands and priorities. While the notice text provided is brief and does not list specific project types, the title and program category indicate an emphasis on resource management outcomes such as forest and woodland health, habitat and watershed-related improvements tied to woodland systems, and other conservation or land-management actions that fit within BLM program goals in California. Because this is a cooperative agreement, applicants should expect that BLM may play an active role in shaping deliverables, ensuring compliance with applicable land-management requirements, and coordinating field activities.

Eligibility is broad across public and nonprofit sectors, but there are clear exclusions. Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). 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 Native American tribal governments; other tribal organizations (including those not federally recognized); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in the nonprofit category definitions). In practice, this means the opportunity is designed for government entities, tribes and tribal organizations, universities/colleges, and nonprofit partners that can carry out resource management projects in coordination with BLM.

The NOFO also draws a firm boundary around youth internships and crews. It states that this program does not support entities hiring interns or crews under this particular announcement. The notice explains that the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns, and as a result, Youth Conservation Corps or similar youth-focused entities should not use this NOFO for those kinds of projects. Instead, youth corps proposals must be submitted under a different, specific announcement: NOFO 15.243, "BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands." This distinction matters for organizations that typically structure projects around seasonal crews, internships, or youth employment models, because those approaches are effectively out of scope here and must be routed through the correct youth-focused authority and funding channel.

Key administrative details include an award ceiling of $300,000 per award as listed in the source data. The opportunity was created on April 9, 2021, and the original application closing date was June 8, 2021. The number of expected awards is not specified in the provided record. Overall, this NOFO is best understood as a natural-resources cooperative agreement opportunity for eligible public, tribal, educational, and nonprofit partners to carry out BLM-aligned forest and woodland resource management work in California, while explicitly excluding applications from individuals and for-profit entities and steering youth corps hiring activities to the separate BLM youth conservation funding opportunity.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Department of the Interior – Bureau of Land Management California Forests and Woodlands Resource Management" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.233.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-04-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-08. (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 L21AS00457

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