FY23 IIJA Bureau of Land Management Youth and Conservation Corps. for Montana/Dakota | L23AS00269

Opportunity Information: Apply for L23AS00269

The FY23 IIJA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Youth and Conservation Corps opportunity for the Montana/Dakota BLM is a discretionary federal funding announcement (NOFO) that supports youth-focused conservation and public lands work through cooperative agreements. It is tied to CFDA/Assistance Listing 15.243 and sits within the natural resources funding category. In practical terms, this opportunity is meant to help BLM partner with eligible organizations to carry out conservation projects while providing structured work experiences for youth and young adults, often through conservation corps-style crews or internship placements that align with BLM land stewardship priorities in the Montana/Dakotas area.

A central point in the notice is eligibility. Individuals cannot apply, and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible as applicants. Instead, the program is open to 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 Tribal governments; other Tribal organizations; public or Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (so long as they are not institutions of higher education in the non-501(c)(3) category). This structure is designed to ensure the award goes to organizations with the capacity to administer federal assistance funds, manage crews or participants, and coordinate closely with BLM staff under a cooperative agreement framework, where substantial federal involvement in planning, oversight, or implementation is common.

The notice also emphasizes that the program supports entities that recruit interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 USC Chapter 37, Subchapter II). That matters because, according to the announcement, this statute is the only legislative authority BLM can use to "recruit" interns under this specific mechanism. As a result, projects proposed under this opportunity must be developed under, and aligned with, the BLM youth programming authority referenced in the related NOFO language: "15.243 - BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands." In other words, the work funded here is not a generic youth employment program; it is specifically conservation and public lands work conducted through eligible youth corps or similar partners operating within the Public Lands Corps framework.

From a funding perspective, the opportunity is offered as a cooperative agreement with an award ceiling of $975,000. The listing does not specify the exact number of expected awards in the provided excerpt, but the ceiling indicates BLM anticipates potentially substantial project scopes, such as multi-crew field seasons, multi-site restoration efforts, or longer-duration internship programs that require robust administration, safety compliance, training, and partnership coordination. Because it is a cooperative agreement rather than a grant, applicants should expect BLM to play an active role during the period of performance, which often affects how projects are designed, reported, and carried out on the ground (for example, coordination on work plans, sites, scheduling, technical standards, and monitoring).

Key administrative details from the opportunity record include the funding opportunity number L23AS00269, with an original closing date of April 20, 2023, and a creation date of March 1, 2023. The issuing agency is the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. Taken together, the opportunity is essentially a BLM Montana/Dakotas region funding pathway to support youth conservation corps and related eligible partners in delivering on-the-ground public lands projects while providing youth with meaningful work, training, and pathways into natural resource careers, all within the boundaries of the Public Lands Corps Act authority and the BLM youth conservation program under Assistance Listing 15.243.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY23 IIJA Bureau of Land Management Youth and Conservation Corps. for Montana/Dakota" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.243.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-03-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-04-20. (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 $975,000.00 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 L23AS00269

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