FY 24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Colorado (CO) Environmental Quality Protection Program | L24AS00219

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00219

The FY 24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Colorado (CO) Environmental Quality Protection Program is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), focused on environmental quality and protection work tied to natural resource priorities in Colorado. The award instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means BLM expects to have substantial involvement during the project (for example, coordinating on scope, technical approaches, deliverables, or field activities), rather than simply issuing a pass-through grant with minimal federal participation. The program is listed under CFDA 15.236 and is categorized under Natural Resources.

Funding is relatively small per award, with an award ceiling of $10,000, indicating this opportunity is geared toward targeted, discrete projects, such as limited-scope assessments, monitoring, technical support tasks, or other narrowly defined environmental quality protection activities that can be completed within a modest budget. The notice shows the original closing date as March 1, 2024, and the opportunity was created on December 29, 2023. The posting does not clearly state the expected number of awards in the provided text, so applicants would typically confirm anticipated award volume and any programmatic priorities in the full NOFO on Grants.gov or in BLM-provided guidance.

Eligibility is broad across public and nonprofit sectors, but it is explicitly not open to individuals or for-profit organizations. Eligible applicant types 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 Tribal governments; Tribal organizations that are not federally recognized governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), as long as they are not institutions of higher education). This makes the opportunity accessible to a wide range of governmental, educational, and nonprofit entities that can support environmental protection outcomes on or related to BLM-managed lands and resources in Colorado.

A key restriction in the notice is that this program NOFO does not support entities that want to hire interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The NOFO explains 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 specific authority, and therefore youth corps style projects must be pursued through a different funding route. In practical terms, if an applicant is aiming to build a proposal around youth conservation corps internships, crews, or similar workforce development activities that rely on Public Lands Corps authority, they are being directed to apply under a different NOFO: 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. This is an important fit check, because proposals centered on youth crews or intern hiring would likely be deemed nonresponsive under this particular Colorado Environmental Quality Protection program notice.

The notice also highlights the role of Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are partnership networks designed to support research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services, which aligns closely with the kind of work many environmental quality protection projects require. If a cooperative agreement is awarded to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement, and the proposed work is consistent with CESU purposes, then indirect costs are capped: they cannot exceed 17.5 percent of the indirect cost base recognized in the partner's federally approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA). Applicants are advised to state whether their proposal furthers the CESU program purpose, and if it does, to identify which CESU Network should serve as the host. This matters for budgeting and compliance, since the CESU indirect cost limitation can affect an organization that otherwise has a higher negotiated indirect rate.

Overall, this opportunity supports Colorado-focused environmental quality and protection work under BLM, using cooperative agreements and small awards (up to $10,000). It is best suited for eligible public entities, Tribes and Tribal organizations, nonprofits, and higher education institutions that can deliver concrete, well-scoped natural resource or environmental protection outputs, while avoiding proposals that depend on Public Lands Corps intern or crew hiring (which must be pursued through the separate BLM youth conservation funding notice).

• 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) Environmental Quality Protection Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.236.
• 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 $10,000.00 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 L24AS00219

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