FY 2024 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Arizona Cultural and Paleontology Resource Management | L24AS00107

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00107

The FY 2024 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Arizona Cultural and Paleontology Resource Management opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00107) is a discretionary federal grant competition administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. Funding is offered through a cooperative agreement, which typically means BLM expects to be actively involved during the project period (for example, coordinating on work plans, methods, access, compliance, and deliverables). The opportunity falls under the Natural Resources funding activity category and is listed under CFDA 15.224. It is aimed at supporting BLM Arizona programs focused on cultural heritage and paleontological resources, which commonly includes work such as identification, evaluation, documentation, monitoring, protection, research support, and associated technical or educational activities tied to managing public lands.

Eligibility is broad across public and mission-driven entities, but it has clear exclusions. 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; Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), so proposals must come from an eligible organization type rather than an individual principal investigator or a commercial firm.

A major program restriction is that this NOFO is not meant to support hiring interns or field crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The language in 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 particular authority, and as a result, youth corps-style internship or crew proposals should be routed through a different funding pathway. Specifically, eligible Youth Conservation Corps organizations are directed to pursue youth project concepts under NOFO 15.243, titled BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands, rather than through this cultural and paleontology management competition. In practice, this means applicants should design projects around professional services, research, documentation, monitoring, analysis, planning, or education/interpretation work, rather than building a proposal whose central purpose is staffing youth crews or interns.

The NOFO also highlights the role of Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are partnership networks designed to facilitate research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services that align with federal land management needs. If an award is made to a CESU partner under an existing, formally negotiated Master CESU agreement and the work is consistent with CESU purposes, the indirect cost recovery is capped. In that circumstance, indirect costs may not exceed 17.5 percent of the indirect cost base recognized in the partner’s federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA). Applicants are instructed to state whether their proposal advances CESU purposes and, if it does, to identify which CESU Network should be considered the host. This matters for budgeting and compliance because the indirect cost limitation can affect the total amount available for direct project work.

Key administrative details included in the posting are that the opportunity was created on May 13, 2024, and the original application closing date was July 5, 2024. The listed award ceiling is $5,000, indicating this may be structured for small, targeted efforts or narrowly scoped deliverables rather than large, multi-year field programs (though the actual scope would still depend on BLM’s program priorities and the specific project design). The posting does not provide a clear expected number of awards in the excerpt provided, but applicants should generally plan for a competitive process and ensure the proposal is tightly aligned with BLM Arizona cultural heritage and paleontology management needs, compliant with eligibility rules, and budgeted according to applicable indirect cost requirements, especially if applying through a CESU framework.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2024 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Arizona Cultural and Paleontology 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 2024-05-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-05. (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 $5,000.00 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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