Opportunity Information: Apply for L17AS00203
The BLM-(MT) Geospatial Riparian-Wetland Data Development opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L17AS00203) is a Bureau of Land Management discretionary cooperative agreement focused on turning Montana's existing riparian-wetland mapping work into more decision-ready tools for on-the-ground management. The project builds on a long-running, multi-partner effort (dating back to 2008) led in coordination with the Montana Wetland Coordination Council, which has already produced one of the more comprehensive riparian-wetland inventories in the western United States. With the basic question of "where are the riparian-wetland systems?" largely answered across much of the state, the grant emphasizes the next phase: using the rich attributes already embedded in the mapping and pairing them with related datasets to create new geospatial products, conceptual models, and practical guidance that help agencies and partners prioritize conservation, restoration, and day-to-day management.
At the center of the work is the development of new, statewide GIS layers that translate existing riparian-wetland mapping attributes into themed datasets that are easier for specialists to apply to specific management questions. The opportunity highlights that different projects require different slices of information, so creating individual layers that represent distinct characteristics (rather than forcing users to mine the same master datasets repeatedly) would make the statewide inventory far more usable. The anticipated layers can include vulnerability and risk ratings related to livestock grazing during drought, topographic position indices, landscape context or human disturbance indices, density metrics such as wetlands per watershed, classifications that identify anthropogenically modified riparian-wetland systems, riparian-wetland subsystem breakdowns (for example, lotic versus emergent or scrub-shrub types), and layers that combine wetland information with wildlife or habitat datasets (such as identifying wetland types within priority sage-grouse habitat that may warrant focused management). The solicitation also calls for a public-facing summary document for each new layer that clearly explains methods, assumptions, limitations, and example uses, along with metadata that meets state and federal standards so the products can be confidently used in planning and analysis.
A second major deliverable is running the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT) across Montana and also portions of eastern South Dakota in areas near BLM surface estate. This modeling effort is intended to support a more cohesive, statewide framework for improving riparian-wetland conditions and drought resilience through beaver-informed management and restoration. The grant expects not only the GIS outputs, but also a summary report that includes a validation chapter so users can credibly cite the results in future agency decisions, grant applications, and public processes. The BRAT outputs are expected to be packaged with strong metadata and formatted in a way that is straightforward to interpret, while still presenting the full range of model estimates.
The opportunity also includes completing remaining riparian-wetland mapping in priority quadrangles, using NWI Plus standards so new mapping is compatible with the broader statewide dataset already produced. In addition, it calls for reclassifying the existing LLWW mapping and related attributes into a smaller set of hydrogeomorphic (HGM) classes that better align with BLM management strategies and with the Integrated Riparian Management Framework. This reclassification is meant to simplify how field staff and planners group wetland systems into categories that share similar vegetation, geomorphology, hydrology, functional outputs, and disturbance responses, which in turn supports better stratified monitoring and more tailored management prescriptions.
A key companion product to the HGM reclassification is a practical field guide or guidebook designed to improve the accuracy and consistency of riparian-wetland assessments, including Proper Functioning Condition work. The guide is expected to describe each riparian-wetland category in terms of functional groups, potential natural condition and expected spatial variability, and common degradation pathways. It should include conceptual diagrams or channel evolution style sequences (expanded beyond streams to include wetlands), photos and narrative descriptions of typical condition states along degradation and recovery trajectories, symptoms that indicate degradation or improvement, disturbances that commonly drive negative change, and management considerations for each class. The intent is to give field practitioners a clearer, more standardized reference for diagnosing condition, setting realistic objectives (including acknowledging cases where a site may not return fully to potential natural condition), and choosing appropriate actions and monitoring approaches.
The overarching purpose across all components is to provide the best available, easy-to-access geospatial data and reference materials for riparian-wetland management and conservation strategy development in Montana and parts of the Dakotas. The public benefit is explicit: the resulting layers and documents are expected to be statewide in coverage and made publicly available through the Montana Natural Heritage Program website, improving access for agencies, local partners, and other stakeholders. The BLM frames the work as a way to reduce duplicated effort across jurisdictions by having one capable entity produce standardized, well-documented layers once, allowing end users to spend less time extracting and formatting data and more time analyzing conditions, writing better NEPA (and Montana MEPA) documentation, developing drought and resource management plans, and implementing coordinated, landscape-scale restoration. Programmatically, the opportunity was posted July 10, 2017, closed September 7, 2017, anticipated one award, and listed an award ceiling of $100,000, with eligibility described as unrestricted (open to any entity type, subject to any additional eligibility notes in the full notice).Apply for L17AS00203
- The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BLM-(MT), Geospatial Riparian-Wetland Data Development" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.236.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 10, 2017.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 07, 2017. (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.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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