Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management Idaho Cultural and Paleontological Resource Management | L21AS00397

Opportunity Information: Apply for L21AS00397

The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is offering a discretionary funding opportunity for cultural and paleontological resource management work in Idaho under Funding Opportunity Number L21AS00397 (CFDA 15.224). Awards are issued as cooperative agreements, which typically means BLM expects to have substantial involvement in the project as it is carried out, rather than simply providing a pass-through grant with minimal federal participation. The overall activity area is natural resources, but the focus is specifically on managing and protecting cultural resources (such as archaeological sites, historic properties, and related heritage resources) and paleontological resources (fossils and fossil-bearing localities) on public lands administered by BLM in Idaho.

Eligibility is limited to public and mission-driven entities rather than private commercial applicants. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township, and 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/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofit organizations, including both 501(c)(3) nonprofits and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (in both cases, other than institutions of higher education). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply for awards under this notice of funding opportunity, so proposals must come from one of the eligible organization types.

A key restriction in this announcement is that it does not support entities hiring interns or crews under this particular program. The notice explains that the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns is the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II). Because of that, youth internship or crew-based projects must be routed through a different BLM funding opportunity: NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands. In practical terms, applicants should design proposals around partner-delivered resource management work (for example, professional services, research, documentation, planning, monitoring, inventory, evaluation, or similar deliverables), rather than building the project budget and work plan around an intern program, youth crew, or comparable staffing model.

The listed award ceiling is $25,000, which indicates a small-grants scale suitable for targeted, well-scoped efforts. While the expected number of awards is not provided in the source data, the relatively low ceiling suggests BLM may be seeking discrete projects that can be completed efficiently, potentially across multiple sites or field offices, with clear outputs tied to cultural and paleontological stewardship on Idaho BLM lands. The original application closing date shown for this particular posting was May 18, 2021, and the record indicates a creation date of March 19, 2021, which helps place the opportunity in time for anyone reviewing it historically or tracking similar BLM programs year to year.

In summary, this opportunity is a cooperative-agreement funding stream from BLM aimed at improving the identification, documentation, management, and protection of cultural and fossil resources on BLM-managed lands in Idaho. It is open to governmental entities, tribes and tribal organizations, eligible housing authorities, higher education institutions, and nonprofits, but it excludes individuals and for-profit businesses. It also draws a bright line against using these funds to hire interns or crews, directing youth-focused workforce projects instead to BLMs separate youth conservation funding authority and notice.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management Idaho Cultural and Paleontological 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 2021-03-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-18. (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 $25,000.00 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 L21AS00397

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