FY26 Bureau of Land Management Wildlife Resource Management Program - Bureau wide

The Bureau of Land Management, within the U.S. Department of the Interior, is offering the Bureau of Land Management Wildlife Resource Management Program - Bureau wide under Funding Opportunity Number L26AS00045 and Assistance Listing Number 15.247. The program supports the BLM Wildlife Program, including the Sage-Grouse Conservation Program, in carrying out statutory responsibilities for managing wildlife resources and habitats on public lands. Program priorities include protecting, maintaining, and developing wildlife habitat; wildlife reintroduction and propagation; wildlife field studies; law enforcement; educational programs; toxicity and mortality investigations and monitoring; wildlife damage management; and management activities affecting wildlife and habitat. The program particularly seeks projects that enhance priority wildlife habitats, maintain or improve migration and habitat connectivity, fill wildlife data gaps through coordinated monitoring, and use existing assessments or data to improve short- and long-term management objectives. Supported activities may operate at national, regional, or state scales and can include grassland, shrubland, forest, riparian, and other plant community treatments; conservation and restoration of priority winter ranges and migration corridors; monitoring and inventory of priority species and habitats; coordinated wildlife and habitat data collection and sharing; species recovery and augmentation activities; fish and wildlife conservation and habitat improvement projects; Habitat Management Plans and other activity plans; and wildlife habitat management training. State-specific priorities are identified for Alaska and Arizona, while other participating BLM jurisdictions generally follow the bureau-wide Wildlife Program priorities. Idaho, the National Interagency Fire Center, and the National Operating Center are not accepting applications under this opportunity. Infrastructure projects funded through the program are subject to applicable Buy America preferences. Costs must be reasonable, allowable, allocable, necessary, and compliant with applicable Federal cost principles. The program does not require cost sharing, although voluntary cost sharing and leveraging of resources may be a significant merit review consideration. Eligible applicants are state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, public and state controlled institutions of higher education, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments, nonprofits with or without IRS 501(c)(3) status other than institutions of higher education, and private institutions of higher education. Individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible. The opportunity also does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act; eligible Youth Conservation Corps seeking such projects are directed to the separate BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands program. Applicants must maintain the required SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity Identifier and register with Grants.gov. The notice advises allowing approximately 30 days to register and establish a Grants.gov Workspace. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by an Authorized Organization Representative. Applicants must include the state name in the Grants.gov application title. Required materials include the SF-424, a Project Abstract Summary, a Project Narrative, and a Budget Narrative. Non-construction projects also require SF-424A. SF-LLL is conditionally required for certain applicants requesting more than $100,000, and research projects require the DOI Research and Development Current and Pending Other Support and Biographical Sketch forms. The Project Narrative may not exceed 15 pages, must use a typeface of at least 11 points and margins of at least one inch, and should address the statement of need, goals and objectives, public benefit and BLM program interest, technical approach, milestones, environmental compliance, stakeholder involvement, monitoring and evaluation, key personnel, future funding needs, and project location. Applicants must also provide budget justification, applicable indirect cost information, conflict of interest disclosures, and an overlap or duplication of effort statement. Applications first undergo eligibility screening for applicant eligibility, timely submission, completeness, mandatory requirements, responsiveness to program objectives, and compliance with applicable executive and secretary orders. Eligible applications then receive merit review. Proposals are rated Exceeds, Meets, or Does not meet expectations, with the highest importance placed on Public Benefit and Leveraging of Resources. Review criteria address the applicant statement of need, technical approach and monitoring, public benefit and BLM program interest, applicant qualifications and past performance, and leveraging of resources. Budgets are separately reviewed for correctness, necessity, reasonableness, allowability, allocation, justification, indirect cost treatment, and applicable cost sharing. Final management review determines whether selected projects align with current DOI and BLM priorities, and applicants are also subject to a pre-award risk review under applicable Federal requirements. The opportunity opened August 11, 2026, and applications are due September 11, 2026, no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Extensions to the NOFO closing date will not be allowed. There is no required LOI, concept paper, pre-proposal, notice of intent, or other pre-application gating stage identified in the notice. Applications are submitted through a Grants.gov Workspace, where applicants complete the required forms, check for errors, and have the Authorized Organization Representative use Sign and Submit. Successful submissions receive a Grants.gov tracking number and date and time stamp. Grants.gov technical assistance is available at 1-800-518-4726 or Support@grants.gov. Program questions may be directed to Grants Management Officer Chanda Brown at chanda_brown@ios.doi.gov or National Wildlife Resource Management Lead Bradley Jost at bjost@blm.gov. The BLM anticipates approximately 70 awards from estimated total program funding of $8,000,000. Individual awards have a stated floor of $10,000 and ceiling of $2,000,000 and will be issued as cooperative agreements, with substantial Federal involvement expected during project implementation. The notice lists an anticipated project start date of December 31, 2026 and anticipated project end date of December 30, 2031, while also stating that proposals will have a start date in FY2026 and a maximum end date of September 30, 2031. Final review may take a few months, and no separate definitive award notification date is provided. Award notices are issued electronically through GrantSolutions or email. The source does not state that this opportunity recurs annually or on another regular schedule, so no recurrence is inferred.

Emphasize direct public benefit and leveraging of resources because these receive the highest importance in merit review. Clearly connect project goals to Wildlife Resource Management and DOI priorities. Provide a technically specific approach with measurable milestones, expected outcomes, environmental compliance, monitoring, evaluation methods, and clearly defined partner roles. Demonstrate relevant qualifications, Federal award experience, and successful similar projects. Ensure every budget item is allowable, allocable, reasonable, necessary, justified, and clearly linked to the project narrative. If voluntary cost share is offered, identify its amount, source, and cash or in-kind type and ensure it complies with Federal requirements. Include the state name in the Grants.gov application title and submit before the fixed deadline because extensions will not be allowed.