FY24 Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Resource Management- On Range | L24AS00090

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00090

The FY24 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Resource Management - On Range funding opportunity (Opportunity Number L24AS00090) is a discretionary federal grant program offered through cooperative agreements to support natural resource work focused on wild horses and burros while they remain on public lands. The program is tied to CFDA 15.229 and is aimed at on-range management activities, which typically means projects that help BLM monitor, assess, and manage herds and habitat conditions in herd management areas rather than activities centered on off-range holding or adoption. The structure as a cooperative agreement signals that BLM expects substantial involvement in the work, such as collaboration on planning, methods, coordination, and oversight during project implementation.

Eligibility is limited to public and nonprofit sectors and certain education and tribal entities, and it explicitly excludes individuals and for-profit organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, city/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; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status. This makes the opportunity broadly accessible across public agencies, academic institutions, and mission-driven organizations that can contribute technical capacity, field implementation, research support, monitoring, or education related to on-range wild horse and burro management.

Two restrictions are highlighted clearly in the notice. First, individuals and for-profit organizations cannot apply. Second, this specific NOFO does not support projects that involve hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The notice emphasizes that the Public Lands Corps Act is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework, and that youth or conservation corps style projects must instead be pursued through a different funding path. In practical terms, if an applicant is planning a proposal built around youth crews, interns, or a corps-based workforce, the BLM is directing them to the separate opportunity identified as NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands, rather than trying to fit that approach under this wild horse and burro on-range program.

The opportunity also addresses how proposals may align with the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) program. CESUs are partnership networks designed to promote and provide research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and educational services that support public land management. If an award is made to a CESU partner under an established Master CESU agreement, and the proposed work is consistent with CESU purposes, then the indirect cost rate is capped at no more than 17.5 percent of the indirect cost base recognized in the partner's federally approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA). Applicants are instructed to state explicitly whether their proposal furthers CESU purposes and, if it does, to identify which CESU Network should serve as the host. This matters both for administrative routing and for budgeting, because the CESU indirect cost limitation can affect the total amount available for direct project work.

Key administrative details included in the posting are the original closing date of March 1, 2024, an award ceiling of $7,500,000, and the use of cooperative agreements as the funding instrument. While the notice does not list the expected number of awards in the provided text, the large ceiling suggests BLM is willing to consider sizable, potentially multi-faceted projects when they are well justified and aligned with program goals. Overall, the opportunity is best suited for government agencies, tribes, universities, and nonprofits with demonstrated capability in rangeland and wildlife monitoring, ecological assessment, data collection and analysis, habitat evaluation, and applied management support tied specifically to on-range wild horse and burro resource management, while avoiding proposals built around Public Lands Corps intern/crew hiring under this particular NOFO.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Resource Management- On Range" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.229.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-12-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-03-01. (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 $7,500,000.00 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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