Department of the Interior – Bureau of Land Management NV Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program Activities | L21AS00483

Opportunity Information: Apply for L21AS00483

The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is offering a Nevada-focused funding opportunity titled "NV Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program Activities" (Funding Opportunity Number L21AS00483). It is a discretionary program that will be awarded through cooperative agreements, meaning recipients should expect substantial involvement or coordination with BLM during project planning and implementation rather than a simple pass-through grant arrangement. The work falls under the natural resources category and is tied to CFDA/Assistance Listing 15.228, which generally covers BLM assistance activities. Applications were due June 30, 2021, and the maximum award amount listed is $400,000.

The core purpose of the opportunity is to support fuels management and community fire assistance activities in Nevada, which typically refers to efforts that reduce wildfire risk and improve community and landscape resilience to fire. While the short description provided does not list specific project types, programs under this umbrella commonly include work like hazardous fuels reduction, planning and implementation support for wildfire mitigation around communities, and related coordination, education, or capacity-building activities that align with BLM fire and fuels priorities. Because the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, proposed work is likely expected to integrate closely with BLM management objectives, schedules, standards, and reporting requirements.

Eligibility is broad across public and nonprofit sectors, but with clear exclusions. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city/town governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status. Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible to apply under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), so any private-sector participation would need to be structured as subcontracting or partnerships under an eligible lead applicant, consistent with federal rules and the NOFO terms.

A major restriction is that this NOFO does not support entities that want to hire interns or crews under this program. BLM points to the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 as the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns, and as a result youth internship or youth crew-type projects are not intended to be funded through this particular announcement. Organizations that are eligible youth conservation corps or that want to develop youth-focused conservation or crew projects are directed instead to a different opportunity: NOFO 15.243, "BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands." In practical terms, that means applicants should avoid building proposals around staffing models that look like internship hiring or conservation corps crew deployment under this NOFO and should keep the project scope centered on fuels management and community fire assistance activities that fit within the permitted program structure.

In short, this opportunity is aimed at government entities, tribes, educational institutions, housing authorities, and nonprofits that can partner with BLM Nevada on wildfire risk reduction and related community fire assistance work, with awards up to $400,000 and cooperative agreement oversight. The announcement is not designed for individual applicants, for-profit applicants, or proposals primarily built around employing interns or crews, and youth-focused work is expected to be pursued under the separate BLM youth conservation funding pathway.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Department of the Interior – Bureau of Land Management NV Fuels Management and Community Fire Assistance Program Activities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.228.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-04-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-30. (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 $400,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, 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.

Apply for L21AS00483

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