NM Youth Conservation on Public Lands | L20AS00066

Opportunity Information: Apply for L20AS00066

The NM Youth Conservation on Public Lands grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L20AS00066) is a discretionary funding program offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It is designed to support hands-on conservation and public lands stewardship projects by engaging young people and eligible veterans in practical, on-the-ground work that benefits public lands across New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. The central goal is to recruit participants from local and nearby communities and place them in projects that protect resources while also promoting the BLM concept of multiple-use management, meaning public lands are cared for in ways that balance conservation with appropriate public use.

The program focuses on engaging individuals ages 16 through 30, including tribal youth, along with veterans up to age 35. This age and participant focus signals that the opportunity is not just about completing conservation tasks, but also about workforce development, community engagement, and building pathways into natural resource and public lands careers. By prioritizing recruitment from surrounding communities, the program also aims to strengthen local connections to public lands and ensure that the benefits of these projects, such as skills training and paid work experiences, are accessible to the people who live closest to the landscapes being improved.

Funding is offered through a cooperative agreement, which typically means the BLM expects to have substantial involvement in the project beyond simply providing funds. In practice, this often implies coordination with agency staff on project planning, implementation, and reporting, as well as alignment with agency priorities for conservation and land stewardship. The funding activity category is Natural Resources, and the CFDA (assistance listing) number associated with the opportunity is 15.243.

Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations, including those with 501(c)(3) status and those without 501(c)(3) status, as long as they are not institutions of higher education. The structure suggests the program is geared toward organizations that can recruit, train, supervise, and support youth and veteran crews while delivering tangible conservation outcomes on public lands. The grant’s award ceiling is $100,000, and the agency anticipated making about two awards under this opportunity, indicating a relatively competitive program with a limited number of funded projects.

This opportunity was created on April 23, 2020, with an original closing date of June 22, 2020. Overall, the grant supports conservation work on BLM-managed public lands (and potentially in coordination with broader public lands efforts) while intentionally investing in youth and veterans through meaningful service, skill-building, and stewardship experiences tied to real land management needs in the region.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NM Youth Conservation on Public Lands" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.243.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 23, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 22, 2020. (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 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: 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.

Apply for L20AS00066

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