FY25 Bureau of Land Management Threatened and Endangered Species- Bureau wide | L25AS00307

Opportunity Information: Apply for L25AS00307

The FY25 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Threatened and Endangered Species - Bureau wide opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L25AS00307) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity that will be awarded as a cooperative agreement under CFDA 15.246 (Natural Resources). The program is run through BLM's Threatened and Endangered Species (TampE) Program and is designed to support on-the-ground and science-based work that conserves and helps recover endangered species, threatened species, and BLM sensitive species (together described in the notice as "special status species") along with the habitats those species depend on across BLM-managed lands.

A central theme of this opportunity is pairing conservation outcomes with practical land-use management needs. The BLM frames the program as supporting balanced and diverse uses of public lands, including domestic energy and mineral development, timber, recreation, and the long-term maintenance of fish and wildlife habitat. In that context, the TampE Program emphasizes projects that align with Department of the Interior priorities by helping streamline permitting and reduce regulatory burdens tied to authorizations such as minerals, energy, timber, and recreation. The notice explains two main pathways for doing that: first, by conserving and recovering species and their habitats in ways that help species recover and be delisted, or that help prevent additional species from needing Endangered Species Act listing in the first place (which can avoid future restrictions and compliance requirements); and second, by improving the quality and availability of information and data that agencies and applicants can use to support and accelerate authorization decisions.

Because the award instrument is a cooperative agreement, applicants should expect substantial involvement by BLM in the funded work, which often means close coordination on technical approaches, data needs, and deliverables. The opportunity also highlights BLM's interest in leveraging partnerships to increase efficiency and effectiveness, so proposals that clearly show how partner capacity, expertise, and coordination will speed up conservation results or improve decision-ready data are likely to fit the program's stated intent.

Eligibility is limited to a defined set of non-federal entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city/township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), so applications from those applicant types would not be considered.

The NOFO also includes two important limitations and clarifications. First, it does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The notice states that the Public Lands Corps authority is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework, so youth internship or crew-based proposals should instead be routed through the separate funding opportunity identified as 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. Second, for applicants proposing work through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) program, the notice reiterates the CESU purpose (research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services) and sets a specific indirect cost limitation: if a cooperative agreement is awarded to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement consistent with CESU purpose, indirect costs are capped at no more than 17.5 percent of the indirect cost base recognized in the partner's federally approved NICRA. Applicants are instructed to state whether their proposal furthers the CESU mission and, if so, to identify which CESU Network should serve as the host.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of $1,000,000, with an original application closing date of July 23, 2025, and a posting creation date of June 23, 2025. While the notice excerpt does not specify the number of expected awards or total funding available, the ceiling indicates BLM is prepared to fund substantial projects, particularly those that either directly advance species and habitat recovery or generate high-value data and tools that reduce uncertainty and speed environmental review and permitting decisions on BLM lands.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY25 Bureau of Land Management Threatened and Endangered Species- Bureau wide" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.246.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-06-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-07-23. (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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), 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 L25AS00307

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