FY25 Bureau of Land Management Wildlife Resource Management Program- Bureau wide | L25AS00308

Opportunity Information: Apply for L25AS00308

The FY25 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wildlife Resource Management Program - Bureau wide (Funding Opportunity Number L25AS00308; CFDA 15.247) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity offered by the BLM to support wildlife conservation and management work on BLM-managed public lands. Awards are made as cooperative agreements, which typically means BLM expects substantial involvement and coordination during project planning and implementation. The program is grounded in BLM statutory authorities and is framed around managing wildlife resources in ways that support the social and economic well-being of the public, while also sustaining healthy ecosystems and wildlife populations across landscapes where BLM has responsibility.

The core purpose of the program is to partner with eligible organizations to carry out practical, on-the-ground and science-informed activities that protect, maintain, and improve wildlife and wildlife habitat on public lands. The opportunity highlights a broad set of wildlife program priorities, including habitat protection, maintenance, and development; wildlife reintroduction and propagation; field studies involving wildlife; law enforcement as it relates to wildlife resources; education and outreach; toxicity and mortality investigations and monitoring; animal damage management; and other management actions that affect wildlife and their habitats. In other words, projects can range from habitat restoration and monitoring to applied research, education, and targeted management actions, as long as they align with BLM wildlife goals and are relevant to BLM-administered lands.

BLM emphasizes collaborative projects that operate at national, regional, or state scales and that deliver measurable benefits to priority wildlife species and their habitats. Priority species and groups specifically mentioned include upland game, waterfowl, big game, pollinators, sensitive species, and "watchable" wildlife (species of interest for wildlife viewing and recreation). Competitive projects may involve maintaining or enhancing habitat for these species, conserving important vegetation communities and water resources, improving habitat connectivity, and reducing threats to priority species or key habitats. This includes actions that address limiting factors such as habitat fragmentation, degraded riparian areas, loss of native plant communities, or other stressors that reduce wildlife carrying capacity and resilience.

A major emphasis of the program is improving the quality and usefulness of wildlife information used for management decisions on BLM lands. The NOFO specifically calls out monitoring and inventory of wildlife populations and habitats to ensure information is complete, current, and accurate regarding condition, distribution, and abundance. Related priorities include assessing wildlife habitat and tracking progress toward resource management goals and objectives, integrating coordinated monitoring data to improve efficiency and streamline implementation of management actions, and evaluating whether wildlife habitat management and land use plan objectives are being met. Projects that strengthen monitoring frameworks, improve data integration across partners, or produce actionable findings that directly support BLM decision-making align closely with these stated goals.

The opportunity also supports education and public awareness efforts when they are tied to wildlife stewardship and conservation on BLM-managed lands. This can include education opportunities that facilitate responsible wildlife use and conservation, as well as efforts to increase public understanding of wildlife resources, associated social and economic opportunities (such as hunting, wildlife viewing, and outdoor recreation), conservation challenges, the role of partnerships, and management successes. The intent is to build public support and informed engagement around wildlife management on public lands, not simply general environmental education disconnected from BLM wildlife priorities.

Eligibility is limited to certain non-federal entity types. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other Native American tribal organizations; 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 NOFO, which is an important screening criterion for interested parties. Additionally, the NOFO states that it does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 through this funding stream; organizations interested in youth crews or similar workforce models are directed instead to the separate BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands notice (NOFO 15.243).

For applicants connected to the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) network, the NOFO provides a specific indirect cost limitation. CESUs are purpose-built partnerships that support research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and education services. If an award is made to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement and the project is consistent with the CESU purpose, indirect costs are 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 expected to state whether their proposal furthers the CESU mission and, if so, identify which CESU Network should be considered as the host.

Key administrative details provided include an original closing date of July 23, 2025, and an award ceiling of $1,500,000 per award. The opportunity is categorized under Natural Resources and uses the cooperative agreement funding instrument. The number of expected awards is not listed in the provided source data, which generally means applicants should focus on proposing strong, high-alignment projects rather than assuming a fixed volume of awards will be made. Overall, the program is designed to fund partner-driven work that measurably improves wildlife habitat and management outcomes on BLM lands, strengthens monitoring and data-driven decision-making, and supports education and public awareness that directly advances wildlife stewardship and conservation.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY25 Bureau of Land Management Wildlife Resource Management Program- Bureau wide" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.247.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-06-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-07-23. (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 $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), 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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