Bureau of Land Management Alaska IIJA/IRA Good Neighbor Authority | L24AS00188

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00188

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Alaska IIJA/IRA Good Neighbor Authority grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00188) is a discretionary federal funding program run by the U.S. Department of the Interior through BLM. It is offered as a cooperative agreement, meaning BLM expects to have substantial involvement in the project as it is carried out, rather than simply issuing a grant and stepping back. The program sits in the natural resources funding category and is associated with CFDA 15.015. Applications were originally due by May 31, 2024, and the maximum federal award amount listed is $800,000.

Eligibility is narrow and is one of the most important features of this notice. Only state governments, county governments, and tribal governments or tribal organizations are eligible to apply. The notice is explicit that all other applicant types are ineligible, which excludes nonprofits (unless they are eligible tribal organizations), universities applying on their own, for-profit entities, and other non-governmental groups. In practical terms, this opportunity is meant to support projects where government partners and BLM can work together under the Good Neighbor Authority framework to accomplish land and resource objectives in Alaska.

The notice also includes a clear restriction related to youth hiring and crew programs. This NOFO does not support applicants hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The explanation provided is 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 this particular Good Neighbor Authority NOFO is not the mechanism for doing so. As a result, Youth Conservation Corps or similar youth-focused entities should not use this opportunity for intern/crew hiring projects and are instead directed to apply under a separate BLM funding announcement: NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. This is essentially a guardrail to prevent applicants from proposing youth internship or corps-style staffing approaches that the program cannot fund under its legal authority.

Another notable element is how the opportunity treats participation through Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are described as partnerships designed to support research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and education services. If an award is made to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement that aligns with the CESU purpose, the indirect cost recovery is capped. Specifically, 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 also asked to state whether their proposal furthers the purpose of the CESU program and, if it does, to identify which CESU Network should be considered as the host. In other words, if a proposal is being advanced through a CESU structure, it must be framed to fit CESU purposes and must follow the CESU indirect cost limitation.

Overall, this funding opportunity is best understood as a BLM Alaska cooperative agreement tool for state, county, and tribal partners to implement Good Neighbor Authority projects connected to natural resource priorities, with clear boundaries around who can apply, what kinds of workforce/youth programming are not supported under this NOFO, and how indirect costs are handled when the award is made through a CESU partnership structure.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bureau of Land Management Alaska IIJA/IRA 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 2023-11-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-31. (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 $800,000.00 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 L24AS00188

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