Department of the Interior – Bureau of Land Management Idaho Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program Activities | L21AS00456

Opportunity Information: Apply for L21AS00456

The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is offering a discretionary funding opportunity for Idaho-focused fuels management and community fire assistance work under Funding Opportunity Number L21AS00456. The assistance instrument is a cooperative agreement, which usually means BLM expects substantial involvement during the project period (for example, coordination on planning, implementation, reporting, or technical oversight), rather than simply issuing a grant and stepping back. The activity area is Natural Resources, and the program is associated with CFDA 15.228. The opportunity was created on April 23, 2021, and the original application deadline was May 24, 2021. The stated award ceiling is $350,000, indicating awards may be made up to that amount per project, depending on proposal scope, available funds, and agency priorities.

The core purpose of the opportunity is to support projects that reduce hazardous fuels and strengthen community wildfire preparedness and resilience in Idaho, aligning with BLM fuels management objectives and community fire assistance needs. While the brief description does not list specific project types, this kind of BLM program commonly funds work such as planning and implementing fuels reduction treatments, cross-boundary coordination with local partners, improving defensible space and community readiness, and other actions that lower wildfire risk to communities and natural resources. Because it is framed as both fuels management and community fire assistance, strong proposals would typically connect on-the-ground fuels work with measurable benefits to nearby communities, public safety, and landscape resilience, often in coordination with local, tribal, or state wildfire organizations.

Eligibility is broad across public and nonprofit sectors but explicitly excludes individuals and for-profit organizations. 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; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (so long as they are not institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories). In practical terms, the program is designed for governmental entities, tribes, schools, universities, housing authorities, and nonprofit organizations that have the capacity to manage a cooperative agreement and carry out fuels and fire assistance activities in partnership with BLM.

A key limitation in the notice is that this NOFO does not support entities hiring interns or crews under this particular program. The notice emphasizes that the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns, and as a result, youth corps-style projects that involve interns or crew hiring must be pursued under a separate funding opportunity: NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. This distinction matters for project design and budgeting. Applicants should not structure proposals around internship hiring, youth crews, or similar staffing models under this NOFO, and organizations whose main value proposition is providing crews or interns would need to shift to the youth conservation NOFO or propose a different approach that fits this program’s constraints.

Overall, this opportunity is aimed at supporting collaborative, Idaho-based fuels management and community wildfire assistance efforts carried out by public agencies, tribes, educational institutions, housing authorities, and nonprofits, with funding available up to $350,000 per award. The most important compliance takeaways from the notice are the ineligibility of individuals and for-profit entities and the explicit prohibition on using this NOFO to hire interns or crews, with youth corps/intern efforts directed instead to the separate Public Lands Corps-related funding authority.

• 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 Idaho Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program Activities" 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 2021-04-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-24. (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 $350,000.00 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 L21AS00456

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