IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Plant Conservation and Restoration Management | L25AS00154

Opportunity Information: Apply for L25AS00154

The IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Plant Conservation and Restoration Management opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L25AS00154, CFDA 15.245) is a discretionary grant offered by the Bureau of Land Management through cooperative agreements to support plant conservation, native seed development, and ecological restoration work in Alaska. The program is positioned as part of the Department of the Interior's broader priorities around responding to the climate crisis, restoring balance on public lands and waters, advancing environmental justice, and supporting a clean energy future. For 2025, BLM Alaska is explicitly aligning project priorities with the National Seed Strategy, emphasizing the idea that native plants and intact native plant communities function as essential "green infrastructure" that underpins biodiversity, ecosystem health, and long-term resilience, especially after disturbance events like wildfire, flooding, and other natural disasters.

The core focus is on projects that protect biodiversity, increase resilience to climate change, and leverage natural climate solutions by restoring and maintaining functioning ecosystems. The opportunity also ties into the national conservation goal of conserving at least 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030, and it places strong value on efforts that engage communities of color, low-income families, and rural and Indigenous communities in ways that expand local economic opportunities connected to native seed production and restoration work. Across all projects, BLM emphasizes using the best available science and data to guide decision-making, which points applicants toward proposals that are evidence-based, measurable, and designed to produce usable management outcomes rather than purely academic results.

BLM Alaska is seeking partners to carry out a wide range of activities spanning on-the-ground habitat work, applied research, and capacity-building. Priority project types include reducing threats to sage grouse, rare plants, and other sensitive species by restoring high-priority habitats, including habitats important for keystone wildlife and pollinators. The program is also interested in partnerships with growers and producers to develop genetically appropriate native plant materials for restoration and rehabilitation, reflecting a strong emphasis on seed sourcing, local adaptation, and maintaining genetic integrity in restored plant communities. In addition, the funding supports studies aimed at improving restoration effectiveness, such as research in plant ecology, plant genetics, ecophysiology, seed bank persistence, propagation methods, agronomic production practices, and evaluations of traits, seed sources, seeding treatments, and restoration tools. Pollinator-focused projects are specifically called out as well, especially work that clarifies how native plant communities support pollinators and how pollinators, in turn, improve restoration durability and ecological function over time.

Another major pillar of the opportunity is rare plant conservation. BLM is looking for projects that implement conservation actions for high-priority rare plant species, increase understanding of rare plant biology and threats, and monitor, protect, and restore rare-plant habitat. The scale of this issue is underscored in the notice: habitat on BLM lands supports more than 1,800 rare plant species, with more than 300 species found exclusively on BLM-managed lands, meaning Alaska BLM decisions and restoration investments can be decisive for preventing extirpation or extinction in some cases. Applicants can also propose strategies that increase adoption of genetically appropriate native plant materials across the full range of BLM programs that disturb or reclaim land, including Wildlife, Oil and Gas, Minerals, Fuels, Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation, Range, and Renewable Energy. That cross-program emphasis suggests BLM wants proposals that build systems and guidance that can be reused broadly, not just a single site-specific restoration effort.

The opportunity also includes a public engagement and education component through support for citizen science and outreach. BLM encourages projects that expand public education on native plants and native plant communities by developing technical guidance, videos, plant guides and floras, workshops, webinars, and apps. This indicates the program is open to proposals that strengthen public participation in monitoring, improve plant identification and reporting, and build a wider base of support and knowledge for native plant restoration in Alaska, as long as those efforts tie back to practical conservation outcomes.

Eligibility is limited to non-federal entities such as state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Tribal governments; other Tribal organizations; and nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status. Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible under this notice of funding opportunity. The program also makes clear that it does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 through this NOFO; organizations seeking to do Youth Conservation Corps-style or PLC hiring activities are directed instead to the separate BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands funding track (NOFO 15.243). For applicants working through Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs), the notice highlights an important budgeting constraint: indirect costs on cooperative agreements with CESU partners are capped at 17.5 percent, and applicants should state whether they will participate in CESU and identify the host CESU Network.

From a logistics standpoint, applications are due March 17, 2025. Awards are issued as cooperative agreements, which typically implies substantial involvement by BLM staff in the project (for example, coordination on methods, sites, data standards, and deliverables). The listed award ceiling is $100,000. Overall, this opportunity is best suited for proposals that combine practical restoration and conservation outcomes with strong science, genetically appropriate native plant material development, and meaningful community engagement, particularly where projects can improve BLM's long-term ability to restore Alaska ecosystems and protect rare and sensitive species under accelerating climate and disturbance pressures.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Alaska Plant Conservation and Restoration Management" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.245.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-11-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-03-17. (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 $100,000.00 in funding.
• 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 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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