FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington (ORWA) Forest and Woodlands Resource Management | L25AS00087

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is this funding opportunity?

This is the FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oregon/Washington (ORWA) Forest and Woodlands Resource Management funding opportunity. It is a discretionary federal funding announcement intended to support on-the-ground forest and woodland work and targeted research that strengthens forest health and long-term management on public lands.

2) What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON)?

The Funding Opportunity Number is L25AS00087.

3) Which agency is offering this opportunity?

The offering agency is the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

4) What is the Assistance Listing (CFDA) number for this program?

The Assistance Listing/CFDA number is 15.233.

5) What is the activity category?

The activity category is Natural Resources.

6) What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?

The award ceiling shown is $100,000.

7) When was the original closing date?

The original closing date listed is February 12, 2025.

8) What type of award will be made?

Awards will be made as cooperative agreements.

9) What does it mean that awards are cooperative agreements?

In this announcement, a cooperative agreement generally means BLM expects active involvement and collaboration during project planning, implementation, and reporting (not just a pass-through grant with minimal agency engagement).

10) What kinds of projects is BLM looking to fund?

The opportunity supports on-the-ground forest and woodland work and targeted research tied to high-priority needs such as forest and woodland health, sustainable forest management, wildfire resilience, use of forest biomass (including bioenergy-related utilization), habitat conservation, and recovery actions following insect outbreaks, disease impacts, or wildfire.

11) What are examples of eligible on-the-ground activities?

Examples listed include tree planting and reforestation, pre-commercial and commercial thinning, salvage or sanitation treatments, vegetation management to reduce competition, hazardous fuels reduction, and riparian or upland restoration.

12) Can project budgets include planning and compliance tasks?

Yes. The announcement states the funding can support compliance and planning steps that often determine whether work can move forward, including Endangered Species Act-related needs, cultural resource clearances, and other environmental review tasks.

13) Can proposals include monitoring, data collection, or research?

Yes. Proposals may include data collection, monitoring, and research components, especially where they help improve forest management decisions.

14) What are the priority directions highlighted by BLM?

BLM identifies three priority directions: (1) implementation-focused projects that directly treat forest and woodland areas (including both pre-work and field actions), (2) producing data or conducting research that informs sustainable silviculture and forest management in Oregon with specific emphasis areas, and (3) work that helps achieve BLM Land Management Goals (as defined in the BLM Stewardship Manual) and results in measurable treatment outputs.

15) What counts as "pre-work" under implementation-focused projects?

Examples of preparatory steps include site surveys, project layout, timber cruising, timber marking, boundary designation, and similar pre-work activities.

16) What counts as "field actions" under implementation-focused projects?

Examples include planting, thinning, fuels reduction, riparian restoration, and related treatment activities.

17) What research emphasis areas are specifically named?

The announcement specifically emphasizes density management, climate change adaptation, and understanding how silvicultural treatments affect forest structure and vegetation diversity over time.

18) Does BLM want measurable outputs?

Yes. One of the stated priority directions is work that results in measurable treatment outputs, such as acres treated or units of work completed.

19) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is limited to public, nonprofit, and educational partners. Eligible applicants include: state, county, and city/township governments; special district governments; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; and nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)).

20) Are individuals eligible to apply?

No. Individuals are not eligible under this notice of funding opportunity.

21) Are for-profit or private commercial organizations eligible to apply?

No. For-profit organizations and private commercial applicants are not eligible to apply under this notice of funding opportunity.

22) Are tribal entities eligible?

Yes. Federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations are listed as eligible applicants.

23) Are higher education institutions eligible?

Yes. Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education are listed as eligible.

24) Are nonprofits eligible even if they are not 501(c)(3)?

Yes. The announcement states that both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) nonprofits are eligible.

25) Does this NOFO support hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act?

No. This specific NOFO does not support projects that would involve hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993.

26) If a youth-serving organization wants to do youth crew or intern projects, what should they pursue instead?

The announcement indicates that eligible Youth Conservation Corps entities should pursue projects under CFDA 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands, rather than this ORWA forest and woodlands resource management opportunity.

27) What should CESU-affiliated applicants know about indirect costs?

If a cooperative agreement is awarded to a CESU partner under a formally negotiated Master CESU agreement that aligns with CESU purposes, 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).

28) What should CESU-affiliated applicants include in their proposal?

Applicants are expected to state whether their proposal supports the CESU mission and, if so, identify which CESU Network should serve as the host.

29) What kinds of activities are CESUs designed to support (as described here)?

CESUs are described as being designed to support research, monitoring, technical assistance, and education through partnerships.

30) Is this opportunity focused on Oregon only or Oregon/Washington?

The opportunity is identified as BLM Oregon/Washington (ORWA). The announcement also specifically calls out research that informs sustainable silviculture and forest management in Oregon.