Bureau of Land Management New Mexico Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program | L23AS00210

Opportunity Information: Apply for L23AS00210

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New Mexico Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program is a discretionary federal grant opportunity issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior through BLM. It is set up to support projects in New Mexico that reduce wildfire risk and improve community and landscape resilience by focusing on fuels management and related community fire assistance activities. Funding is provided through cooperative agreements, which typically means BLM expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, coordination on project design, implementation standards, reporting, or monitoring), rather than a hands-off pass-through award.

The opportunity is identified as Funding Opportunity Number L23AS00210 under CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) 15.228, and it falls under the Natural Resources funding activity category. The posted information lists an award ceiling of up to $10,000,000, signaling that very large projects or multi-partner efforts may be eligible depending on BLM priorities and available appropriations. The original closing date for applications was April 3, 2023, and the notice was created on February 2, 2023.

Eligibility is broad across public and nonprofit sectors, which reflects the community-facing nature of wildfire mitigation and fuels work. 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 Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education when applying under the nonprofit categories). This structure allows local governments, tribes, universities, and community-based organizations to lead or partner on fuels reduction and community wildfire preparedness efforts that align with BLM and New Mexico priorities.

There are two major restrictions highlighted in the notice. First, individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply, so private companies cannot serve as the applicant entity even if they might participate later as contractors or partners under an eligible applicant (subject to federal procurement and subaward rules). Second, the NOFO specifically does not support applicants who want to hire interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 through this particular funding opportunity. 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 therefore youth-focused conservation corps or intern/crew hiring proposals must be pursued through a different BLM funding opportunity: NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, that means this fuels and community fire assistance program is intended for on-the-ground fuels and wildfire mitigation outcomes, but not as a pathway for staffing youth corps internships under the Public Lands Corps authority.

Overall, the grant is designed to fund cooperative, natural-resource-focused wildfire mitigation work tied to fuels management and community fire assistance in New Mexico, led by governmental, tribal, educational, housing, or nonprofit entities, with clear guardrails around who can apply and which youth/intern hiring mechanisms are not supported under this specific notice.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bureau of Land Management New Mexico Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program" 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 2023-02-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-04-03. (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 $10,000,000.00 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 L23AS00210

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