BLM Utah Statewide Watershed Restoration Initiative | L19AS00086

Opportunity Information: Apply for L19AS00086

The BLM Utah Statewide Watershed Restoration Initiative is a Bureau of Land Management funding opportunity designed to support large-scale, partnership-driven restoration work across Utah through the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative (WRI) and the Utah Partners for Conservation and Development. The core purpose is to conserve, restore, and manage ecosystems in priority watershed areas in ways that strengthen overall watershed health and biological diversity, improve water quality and water yield, and sustain responsible uses of natural resources. The opportunity reflects BLMs long-running collaboration with state and federal partners, built over more than a decade of coordinated restoration projects aimed at addressing statewide environmental and land management challenges.

The grant emphasizes on-the-ground restoration actions that deliver practical, measurable outcomes. Priority project themes include controlling and reducing the spread of invasive species, building resilience to wildfire and reducing the risk of catastrophic fires, and enhancing both conservation and recreation values. Projects are expected to be designed with multiple benefits in mind, such as improving water quality and water quantity, protecting soils and watersheds from degradation, improving forage conditions, and enhancing habitat for wildlife and other native species. Another stated objective is to support sustainable agriculture where appropriate, aligning restoration and land stewardship with long-term land productivity.

A notable feature of this initiative is its explicit focus on community and economic benefits alongside ecological outcomes. Restoration work funded under this program is described as a way to support rural communities by creating jobs and contributing to local economic development, which is common for large restoration efforts that involve planning, contracting, implementation, monitoring, and maintenance. The program is grounded in strong interagency coordination, particularly between Utah BLM and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), along with other Utah state divisions and federal partners participating in WRI. This collaborative structure is intended to align priorities, pool expertise, and implement restoration at a scale that single entities often cannot achieve alone.

Administratively, the opportunity is offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, and is classified as a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument. The activity category is Natural Resources, and the CFDA number associated with the program is 15.233. Eligibility is limited to state governments, and the opportunity anticipates a single award with an award ceiling of $15,000,000. The funding opportunity number is L19AS00086, it was created on July 8, 2019, and the original closing date was July 19, 2019.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BLM Utah Statewide Watershed Restoration Initiative" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.233.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 08, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 19, 2019. (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 $15,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for L19AS00086

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