FY 24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Colorado (CO) Good Neighbor Authority | L24AS00217

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00217

The FY 24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Colorado (CO) Good Neighbor Authority funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00217) is a discretionary program run by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), focused on natural resource work in Colorado under the Good Neighbor Authority framework. Awards are issued as cooperative agreements, which generally means BLM expects to have substantial involvement in the project during implementation (for example, coordination on planning, priorities, compliance, and oversight), rather than simply providing a pass-through grant with minimal federal engagement.

Eligibility is tightly restricted. Only state governments, county governments, and tribal governments or eligible tribal organizations can apply. The notice is explicit that all other applicant types are ineligible for projects under this program, so nonprofits, universities (unless fitting under a specific allowable category through another mechanism), private entities, and other organizations should assume they cannot apply under this NOFO unless they qualify as one of the listed government/tribal applicant types.

A key restriction is that this NOFO does not support hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The notice points out 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 authority, and as a result youth conservation corps-type internship or crew proposals are directed elsewhere. If an organization is specifically looking to do youth corps or intern-based work, the notice indicates those projects belong under NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands, rather than under this Good Neighbor Authority opportunity.

The opportunity also addresses Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs), which are partnership networks intended to support research, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and education tied to public land management needs. If a cooperative agreement is awarded to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement and the project is consistent with CESU purposes, the indirect cost recovery is capped: 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 expected to state whether their proposal advances CESU purposes and, if so, identify which CESU Network should be considered as the host.

From a funding standpoint, the award ceiling listed is $750,000. The posting shows an original closing date of March 1, 2024, and the opportunity was created December 29, 2023. The record does not clearly state the number of expected awards (the field appears incomplete), so applicants would need to rely on the full announcement for details on anticipated award quantity, typical award sizes, or project period expectations. Overall, the practical takeaway is that this is a Colorado BLM Good Neighbor Authority cooperative agreement opportunity reserved for governmental and tribal applicants doing natural resource work, with explicit limits on youth intern/crew hiring under Public Lands Corps, and with special indirect cost rules if the award is made through a CESU framework.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Colorado (CO) Good Neighbor Authority" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.015.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-12-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-03-01. (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 $750,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments).

Apply for L24AS00217

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