BLM-CO: Forests and Woodlands Resource Management Program | L19AS00040

Opportunity Information: Apply for L19AS00040

The BLM-CO: Forests and Woodlands Resource Management Program is a discretionary federal grant opportunity from the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), offered as a cooperative agreement (CFDA 15.233). It is designed to support on-the-ground forest and woodland work in Colorado, where BLM manages roughly 3.5 to 4 million acres of forested land. A major portion of that acreage is woodland (over 2.5 million acres), largely made up of pinyon, juniper, and oak, while the rest includes commercially valuable species such as ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and Douglas-fir. The broader program footprint reflects BLM stewardship of about 58 million acres of forests and woodlands across 12 western states and Alaska, emphasizing the public benefits these landscapes provide, including wildlife habitat, water and watershed function, and sustainable forest products.

The central purpose of the opportunity is to improve the health and resilience of BLM-managed forests and woodlands, especially in the face of increasing threats from wildfire, insect outbreaks, disease, and drought. BLM highlights density management as a core strategy, carried out through tools like timber sales, Stewardship agreements, and Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) agreements. The program is also explicitly partnership-driven: BLM Colorado is looking to collaborate with non-federal partners that can bring added capacity and leverage additional resources beyond federal funding. The intent is to work across jurisdictional lines to streamline planning and implementation, increase public and private participation, and achieve efficiencies that lower costs and improve outcomes, while aligning with shared goals such as local economic improvement, environmental enhancement, and long-term resource sustainability.

Funded projects are expected to concentrate on high-priority actions that advance one or more of the program focus areas: (1) forest and woodland health, (2) sustainable forest management, (3) fire resiliency, (4) infrastructure development that supports future sustainable timber harvest, (5) biomass utilization, (6) habitat conservation needs, and (7) recovery efforts related to insects, disease, and fire. In practical terms, BLM is seeking work that either directly treats landscapes or builds the planning, data, and implementation foundation necessary to carry out restoration and management at scale.

Examples of eligible activities are broad and include both implementation and support functions. On-the-ground work may include tree planting, pre-commercial and commercial thinning, salvage and sanitation treatments, vegetation management to reduce competition, fuels reduction, and riparian or upland restoration. The program also supports project development tasks such as layout and planning, analysis and documentation needed to implement land use planning decisions, and compliance-related work tied to Endangered Species Act requirements and cultural resource clearances. Data collection and monitoring are also eligible, reflecting the program need to track conditions, document results, and guide adaptive management over time.

Eligible applicants include a wide range of government and quasi-government entities and organizations, including state, county, city or township, and special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; and nonprofits that do not have 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education). The opportunity listed an award ceiling of $500,000 and anticipated making about four awards. The original posting indicates it was created May 8, 2019, with an original closing date of July 9, 2019. Applications were to be submitted through Grants.gov, using the application package, instructions, and templates provided on that site under Funding Opportunity Number L19AS00040.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BLM-CO: Forests and Woodlands Resource Management Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.233.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 08, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 09, 2019. (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 $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district 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 that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for L19AS00040

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