IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management California Recreation and Visitor Services Program | L24AS00154

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00154

The IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) California Recreation and Visitor Services Program (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00154, CFDA 15.225) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. Funding is offered through cooperative agreements, which typically means BLM expects to have substantial involvement during the project (for example, collaborating on planning, coordinating implementation, or providing technical direction) rather than simply issuing a grant with minimal federal participation. The program sits in the Natural Resources funding activity area and is intended to support recreation and visitor services work connected to BLM-managed public lands in California, consistent with priorities under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Eligibility is limited to public and nonprofit sectors and certain educational entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; 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; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), as long as they are not institutions of higher education). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible for awards under this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), so proposals must come from an eligible public entity, tribe, nonprofit, or qualifying educational institution.

A key restriction in this NOFO 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 only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework, and as a result, youth internship or crew-based projects that rely on that authority are not supposed to be proposed under this opportunity. Instead, the NOFO directs eligible Youth Conservation Corps applicants to the separate funding opportunity tied to youth conservation work: NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, applicants to this California Recreation and Visitor Services NOFO should shape project designs around recreation and visitor service outcomes without framing them as Public Lands Corps internship or crew hiring efforts.

The NOFO also highlights the role of Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are partnership networks designed to facilitate research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services that support public land management. If an award is made to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement, and the proposed work aligns with the CESU purpose, the NOFO places a cap on indirect costs: 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 advances CESU purposes and, if it does, to identify which CESU Network should be considered as the host. This matters because it affects both how the agreement may be administered and the indirect cost limitations that apply.

From an administrative standpoint, the NOFO lists an original application closing date of February 2, 2024, and an award ceiling of $100,000. The posting (creation) date is December 4, 2023. While the expected number of awards is not specified in the provided text, the relatively modest per-award ceiling suggests BLM may be aiming to fund multiple targeted projects rather than one large statewide effort, depending on available appropriations and program priorities. Overall, the opportunity is best suited for government agencies, tribes, nonprofits, and higher-education partners proposing California-based recreation and visitor services work on or connected to BLM lands, while carefully avoiding any project structure that would be interpreted as Public Lands Corps intern or crew hiring under the 1993 Act, unless applying under the separate youth-focused NOFO.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management California 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 2023-12-04.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-02. (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 $100,000.00 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 L24AS00154

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