BLM IIJA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Cultural and Paleontological Resource Management | L23AS00202

Opportunity Information: Apply for L23AS00202

The "BLM IIJA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Cultural and Paleontological Resource Management" opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L23AS00202) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), focused on cultural and paleontological resource management work in Alaska. The award mechanism is a cooperative agreement, which typically means the BLM expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, coordinating work planning, providing technical direction, or participating in oversight and review), rather than simply issuing a grant with minimal federal participation. The funding aligns with the natural resources activity area and is associated with CFDA/Assistance Listing 15.224.

The program is designed to support efforts that protect, manage, and improve the stewardship of cultural resources (such as archaeological sites, historic properties, and related heritage resources) and paleontological resources (fossils and related scientific materials) on lands administered by BLM in Alaska. While the notice text provided does not list specific project types, the title and program area indicate projects are intended to strengthen inventory, documentation, assessment, monitoring, planning, or other on-the-ground and programmatic actions that help BLM meet its cultural and paleontological resource management responsibilities in Alaska, particularly in the context of increased investment associated with the IIJA.

Eligibility is limited to a defined set of public and nonprofit entities and certain education institutions. 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 Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible, so applications from private persons, consultants applying as individuals, or commercial firms applying as the applicant organization would not be accepted under this notice.

A key restriction in the notice is that this NOFO does not support hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The notice explains that the Public Lands Corps Act is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework, and that any Youth Conservation Corps participation must be pursued under a different funding opportunity: NOFO 15.243, "BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands." Practically, this means applicants should not propose project approaches that rely on Public Lands Corps intern hiring or crews under this particular opportunity, and youth corps-style proposals should be redirected to the separate youth-focused NOFO instead.

The opportunity lists an award ceiling of $1,300,000, indicating the maximum possible federal amount for an individual award under this notice. The posting shows the original closing date as March 27, 2023, and the opportunity was created on January 25, 2023. While the expected number of awards is not specified in the provided text, the ceiling suggests BLM anticipated potentially funding sizeable projects, depending on available appropriations, project scope, and competitiveness.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a BLM Alaska cooperative agreement funding stream aimed at partnering with eligible governmental, tribal, nonprofit, and higher-education organizations to carry out cultural and paleontological resource management work on BLM-managed lands in Alaska, with clear boundaries around who can apply and an explicit prohibition on using this particular NOFO to support Public Lands Corps-style intern or crew hiring.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BLM IIJA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Cultural and Paleontological Resource Management" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.224.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-01-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-03-27. (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 $1,300,000.00 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 L23AS00202

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