FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington (ORWA) Aquatic Resource Management | L25AS00088

Opportunity Information: Apply for L25AS00088

The FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington (ORWA) Aquatic Resource Management opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L25AS00088) is a discretionary federal funding program run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that supports cooperative agreements focused on protecting and restoring aquatic resources on BLM-managed lands in Oregon and Washington. The program sits within BLM's OR/WA Aquatic Resources Program, which is aimed at keeping riparian areas, wetlands, streams, rivers, and associated groundwater and surface-water systems functioning in ways that support fish and wildlife, multiple-use public land management, and long-term watershed health for future generations. Projects supported under this notice are tied specifically to major federal investments from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), including Section 40804(b) Ecosystem Restoration, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including Sections 50221 (Resilience), 50222 (Ecosystems Restoration), and 50303 (DOI-related investments).

At its core, the opportunity is designed to fund on-the-ground restoration and protection work, along with the technical and scientific backbone needed to do that work well. BLM highlights a wide set of issues driving the need for projects, including aquatic habitat fragmentation and degradation, drought resiliency and water availability challenges, and the prevention and management of aquatic invasive species. The intent is not only to repair damaged systems, but also to strengthen watershed and habitat resilience so these areas can better handle climate-driven stressors like prolonged drought, larger and more frequent wildfires, and flood events. In practice, this can include activities that restore natural processes (such as flow regimes and floodplain connectivity), stabilize or improve riparian and wetland function, and reduce impacts to water resources through best management practices implemented in coordination with BLM and partners.

BLM frames the program around several core functions that proposals should align with. These include (1) ecosystem structure and function, meaning protecting and restoring the physical and ecological processes that keep riparian, wetland, and aquatic systems working; (2) water quality, with emphasis on maintaining or improving the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of surface water and groundwater; (3) water availability, ensuring water is both legally and physically available for beneficial uses, including restoration and protection needs; and (4) riparian, wetland, and aquatic habitat protection and restoration, with a strong focus on ensuring healthy, self-sustaining native species assemblages, including special status species and other plants and wildlife that depend on these habitats. Additional program functions include decision support through inventory, assessment, and monitoring to understand condition and trends and to guide management; environmental compliance with applicable federal laws, regulations, executive orders, and relevant state laws where consistent with federal law; and sustained internal and external coordination, meaning close consultation and collaboration with federal, state, tribal, and local governments, along with NGOs, communities, and other partners.

The notice also emphasizes alignment with Department of the Interior priorities, especially addressing the climate crisis, restoring balance on public lands and waters, advancing environmental justice, and investing in a clean energy future. In that spirit, BLM signals interest in projects that combat climate change and habitat loss impacts to aquatic resources, reconnect and restore degraded aquatic habitats, and increase ecosystem resistance, resilience, and adaptability to drought, wildfire, and flooding. It also calls out work that helps determine acceptable levels of hydrologic and ecological change in the context of BLM management objectives, which points to applied science, modeling, and monitoring approaches that directly inform land and water management decisions. Another highlighted category is advancing inventory, assessment, and monitoring tools and activities, as well as preventing the establishment and spread of invasive species. Finally, BLM explicitly encourages education and outreach that increases public knowledge of aquatic habitats on BLM lands, with a targeted focus on communities of color, low-income families, and rural and indigenous communities, reflecting the program's environmental justice goals.

Funding is provided through cooperative agreements, which generally means BLM expects substantial federal involvement during project implementation (for example, coordination on planning, technical standards, monitoring approaches, data sharing, permitting/compliance pathways, or adaptive management decisions). The listed award ceiling is $200,000. The opportunity is associated with CFDA (Assistance Listing) 15.244 (Natural Resources). The original closing date shown is February 4, 2025, and the opportunity was created on November 20, 2024.

Eligibility is broad across public and nonprofit sectors, including state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status. The notice is explicit that individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible. It is also explicit about a common misunderstanding around youth and internship hiring: this NOFO does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. If an organization is seeking to do youth crew or intern hiring under that authority, BLM directs those applicants to a different opportunity (NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands), because that is the specific legislative authority BLM uses for those arrangements.

The notice includes an important cost rule for applicants connected to Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs). CESUs are partnerships intended to support research, studies, assessments, monitoring, technical assistance, and education services. If a cooperative agreement is awarded to a CESU partner under an established Master CESU agreement and the work is consistent with the CESU purpose, 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). Applicants are asked to state whether their proposal furthers the CESU purpose and, if so, which CESU Network should be considered as the host.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as targeted support for aquatic ecosystem restoration, protection, and climate resilience work on BLM lands in Oregon and Washington, paired with the monitoring, assessment, and collaborative planning needed to demonstrate outcomes and guide future management. Strong proposals will clearly map their activities to the program's core functions, show how the work improves aquatic habitat and watershed condition in measurable ways, and demonstrate credible coordination with BLM and relevant partners, especially where projects touch water rights/availability, invasive species risks, community outreach goals, or compliance requirements.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington (ORWA) Aquatic Resource Management" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.244.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-11-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-04. (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 $200,000.00 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), 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.

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