FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington (ORWA) Plant Conservation and Restoration Management | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The FY25 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington (ORWA) Plant Conservation and Restoration Management opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L25AS00145) is a discretionary federal funding program that will be awarded through cooperative agreements to support native plant conservation, native seed development, and on-the-ground restoration work in Oregon and Washington. The program is run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is framed around Department of the Interior priorities, including addressing the climate crisis, restoring healthy public lands and waters, advancing environmental justice, and supporting a clean energy future. A central theme for 2025 is alignment with the National Seed Strategy (www.blm.gov/seedstrategy), reflecting an emphasis on having the right native plant materials available at the scale needed to respond to wildfire, drought, invasive species pressure, and other disturbances that are increasing with climate change.

At its core, the grant is designed to strengthen the native plant communities that function as the region's "green infrastructure." BLM is looking for projects that protect biodiversity, increase resilience to climate change, and leverage natural climate solutions through restoration and improved land stewardship. The opportunity also explicitly ties to the national conservation goal of conserving at least 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030, and it encourages applicants to engage communities that have often been left out of restoration funding and related economic benefits. That includes communities of color, low-income families, and rural and Indigenous communities, particularly where projects can expand economic opportunities connected to native seed collection, production, and restoration implementation. Another consistent expectation is that proposals use the best available science and data to guide decisions, which points to strong interest in evidence-based methods, monitoring, and adaptive management.

BLM ORWA highlights several types of activities that fit the program well. One major focus is reducing threats to sage-grouse, rare plants, and other sensitive species by restoring high-priority habitats, including habitat that supports keystone wildlife and pollinators. Another major emphasis is strengthening the native seed supply chain by working with growers and partners to develop genetically appropriate native plant materials for restoration and rehabilitation. That can include developing or scaling seed sources that match local genetics and ecological conditions so that revegetation efforts are more successful and durable over time, especially under changing climate conditions.

The opportunity also supports research and technical studies that improve restoration effectiveness. Examples called out in the notice include work in plant ecology, plant genetics, and ecophysiology; studies on seed bank persistence; improvements in plant propagation; development of agronomic production practices; and evaluations of traits and seed sources. It also includes development or testing of seeding treatments and tools, which can mean practical innovations that improve establishment rates and reduce costs or failure risk in challenging restoration settings. Pollinator-related projects are another eligible and encouraged area, particularly studies and applied work that show how native plant communities and pollinators contribute to restoration longevity and ecosystem function.

Rare plant conservation is a particularly prominent component. BLM notes that the lands it manages support more than 1,800 rare plant species, with more than 300 found only on BLM lands. Projects can include direct conservation actions for high-priority rare plants, improved understanding of rare plant biology and threats, and monitoring, protection, and habitat restoration actions that sustain or recover populations. In addition to field and research work, the program is also interested in strategies that increase the use of genetically appropriate native plant materials across BLM programs, not just within one discipline. The notice specifically references integration with programs like Wildlife, Oil and Gas, Minerals, Fuels, Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation, Range, and Renewable Energy, which signals that proposals that build cross-program standards, guidance, or implementation pathways may be especially relevant.

Public engagement and education are also part of the opportunity through a "Citizen Science" and outreach emphasis. BLM encourages projects that expand public education on native plants and plant communities via technical guidance, videos, native plant guides and floras, workshops, webinars, and apps. This suggests that strong proposals may include components that help land managers, partners, and the public correctly identify native plants, understand seed sourcing, and participate in monitoring or stewardship, provided those activities are tied to measurable conservation or restoration outcomes.

Eligibility is limited to non-federal entities such as state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Tribal governments; other Tribal organizations; and nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) nonprofits). Individuals and for-profit organizations are explicitly ineligible under this notice. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally indicates that BLM expects to have substantial involvement during the project (for example, in planning, technical coordination, data standards, or oversight) rather than simply issuing a hands-off grant.

The notice also includes important restrictions related to youth crews and internships. This NOFO does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993; youth or conservation corps-style projects must be pursued under a different BLM funding opportunity (NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands) if that is the primary mechanism for staffing the work. Additionally, for projects implemented through Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs), indirect costs are capped at no more than 17.5 percent, and applicants should disclose whether they are participating through a CESU and identify the host CESU network.

Key administrative details include an award ceiling of $300,000 per award, with the opportunity posted on 2024-11-21 and an original closing date of 2025-02-19. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) listing associated with this program is 15.245, and the funding activity category is Natural Resources. Overall, this opportunity is geared toward partners who can deliver practical restoration outcomes, strengthen the native seed and plant materials pipeline, protect rare and sensitive species, and build durable ecological resilience in Oregon and Washington using science-driven approaches with meaningful community engagement.

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