IIJA Bureau of Land Management California Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program | L23AS00286

Opportunity Information: Apply for L23AS00286

The "IIJA Bureau of Land Management California Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program" (Funding Opportunity Number L23AS00286) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) through cooperative agreements, with an overall focus in the natural resources area (CFDA/Assistance Listing 15.228). The program is aimed at supporting fuels management and community fire assistance efforts in California, generally tied to reducing wildfire risk and improving community and landscape resilience. While the title signals alignment with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), applicants should treat funding as competitive and not assume an award is automatic or recurring.

A key point in the notice is that funding is not guaranteed and depends entirely on the availability of federal funds. Proposals are reviewed and scored according to the evaluation criteria laid out in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). BLM also makes clear that it can choose to partially fund a proposal, meaning it may support only certain portions, phases, or discrete components of a project rather than the full scope requested. If BLM does this, it states it will structure partial funding decisions in a way that preserves fairness across applicants and maintains the integrity of the competitive review process.

Selection for funding under this NOFO should not be viewed as a commitment for future years. However, the notice explains that if additional funding becomes available later, BLM may issue additional awards under the same NOFO through the next fiscal year without opening a new competition. Any such additional awards would still follow the original NOFO terms and BLM policy, and would be based on the existing competition results and selection framework.

The opportunity is limited to eligible non-federal entities. Eligible applicants include 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; non-federally recognized tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly not eligible to apply. The notice also underscores a standard federal grants rule: only a BLM Grants Management Officer has the authority to legally obligate the federal government to spend funds, meaning informal discussions or other communications cannot be treated as funding commitments.

There is also an important restriction related to youth internships and crews. This NOFO does not support projects where an entity is attempting to hire interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. BLM notes that the Public Lands Corps Act is the sole authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework, and as a result, Youth Conservation Corps or similar entities that want to pursue that kind of youth internship/crew model must apply under a different funding opportunity: NOFO 15.243, "BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands," rather than through this fuels management and community fire assistance NOFO.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity was created on March 7, 2023, and the original closing date listed is May 6, 2023. The award ceiling is shown as $10,000,000, indicating BLM may consider large-scale projects or agreements up to that amount, though the number of expected awards is not specified in the provided data. Overall, the notice emphasizes competitive review, the possibility of phased or partial awards, and clear eligibility and program-use boundaries, particularly around excluding individuals, for-profit entities, and Public Lands Corps-style intern/crew hiring under this specific NOFO.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "IIJA Bureau of Land Management California Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.228.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-03-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-05-06. (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 $10,000,000.00 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 L23AS00286

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