FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Idaho (ID) Recreation and Visitor Services Program | L24AS00094

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00094

The FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Idaho (ID) Recreation and Visitor Services Program (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00094) is a discretionary funding opportunity run by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), focused on recreation and visitor services work on BLM-managed lands in Idaho. Awards are made as cooperative agreements, which generally means BLM expects to have substantial involvement in carrying out the project (for example, coordinating on work plans, deliverables, or technical direction) rather than simply issuing a pass-through grant with minimal federal interaction. The program is listed under CFDA 15.225 and falls within the Natural Resources funding activity category, signaling that the work supported is intended to strengthen public-land recreation management and the visitor experience.

A key eligibility point is that individuals and for-profit organizations cannot apply under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Eligible applicants are a broad set of public and nonprofit entities, including 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 (other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories). In practice, that means typical eligible applicants could include local governments managing recreation gateways, universities conducting visitor-use studies, tribal governments improving culturally sensitive visitor services, and nonprofit partners supporting recreation stewardship, signage, or visitor education.

The NOFO also includes an important restriction related to youth hiring and the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. This particular program does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act authority. The Public Lands Corps Act (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II) is identified as the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework, and as a result, youth conservation corps or similar organizations looking to propose intern or crew-based projects are directed to apply instead under a different opportunity: NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. Put simply, if the core of a proposal relies on staffing through Public Lands Corps-style interns or crews, this Idaho Recreation and Visitor Services NOFO is not the right lane; applicants should align those concepts with the dedicated youth corps funding opportunity.

Another notable feature is the treatment of proposals associated with Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are described as partnership networks designed to promote and provide research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services. If an award is made to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement and the proposed work is consistent with CESU purposes, indirect costs are capped at no more than 17.5 percent of the indirect cost base recognized in the partner's federal Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA). Applicants are also asked to state whether their proposal furthers CESU program purposes and, if it does, to indicate which CESU Network should serve as the host. In practical terms, universities and other CESU members should pay close attention to this indirect-cost limitation and clearly frame how their proposed recreation and visitor services work fits CESU-appropriate activities like applied research, monitoring, evaluation, or technical assistance.

From the available source data, the opportunity was created on October 2, 2023, and had an original closing date of December 11, 2023. The maximum federal award amount (award ceiling) is listed as $100,000. The expected number of awards is not provided in the excerpt, so prospective applicants would typically look to the full announcement for details on anticipated funding levels, project periods, and selection criteria. Overall, the opportunity is aimed at supporting on-the-ground and programmatic efforts that improve recreation management and visitor services on BLM lands in Idaho, while steering youth crew and intern-centered projects toward the separate, purpose-built BLM youth conservation NOFO and setting clear cost and framing expectations for CESU-affiliated applicants.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Idaho (ID) Recreation and Visitor Services Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.225.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-10-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-12-11. (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 $100,000.00 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.

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