BLM Utah Wildlife Vegetation Trend Studies | L17AS00132

Opportunity Information: Apply for L17AS00132

The BLM Utah Wildlife Vegetation Trend Studies opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L17AS00132) is a discretionary Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management funding call to support on-the-ground monitoring and reporting of rangeland conditions in Utah. The core purpose is to enter into a cooperative agreement with a partner who can help the BLM track overall rangeland health and vegetation trends in areas that are especially important for wildlife, with a strong emphasis on big game priority landscapes, greater sage-grouse habitat, and sagebrush-steppe restoration sites tied to the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative. In practice, the work is about building a clearer, defensible picture of whether key public-land rangelands are improving, declining, or holding steady over time, and whether restoration investments are actually producing the habitat outcomes they were designed to deliver.

A major theme of the grant is coordination and efficiency. The BLM wants monitoring that aligns with its Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring (AIM) Strategy and HAF, with the explicit goal of integrating monitoring activities so multiple programs and partners are not collecting overlapping data in the same places. By standardizing methods and coordinating sample designs and reporting, the project is intended to strengthen broader, national-scale data layers while also meeting local Utah management needs. The emphasis is not just on collecting field data, but on producing usable information products that help agencies make decisions, spot trends, and target future work without duplicating effort.

The objectives spell out the expected outcomes. First, the partner will help promote healthy rangelands by generating legacy monitoring data that the BLM can use to assess condition and trend on public lands statewide. Second, the partner will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of sagebrush-steppe restoration treatments, checking progress against the goals and objectives described in individual project proposals. That includes documenting results, identifying what is and is not working, and actively sharing information about knowledge gaps so future treatment strategies can be improved. Third, the monitoring results are expected to inform adaptive management, meaning the project should help determine when a restoration approach needs adjustment to better meet habitat objectives, and ensure lessons learned are carried forward into future maintenance, enhancement, and restoration efforts. Finally, the BLM highlights open data and practical usability: collected data and resulting information should be publicly available and useful not only to federal land managers, but also to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and private landowners who may rely on these findings for coordinated habitat planning.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity was issued as a cooperative agreement (not a standard procurement contract), which typically implies substantial involvement and collaboration with the BLM during the project. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted (open to any type of applicant, subject to any additional eligibility language in the full notice). The opportunity was created June 1, 2017, with an original closing date of July 31, 2017. The expected number of awards was one, with an award ceiling of $50,000. The activity category is Natural Resources and the CFDA number associated with the program is 15.231. Overall, the grant is best understood as targeted support for coordinated, standardized rangeland and habitat monitoring in Utah, designed to produce credible trend data, evaluate restoration performance, and make results broadly accessible for decision-making across agencies and stakeholders.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BLM Utah Wildlife Vegetation Trend Studies" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.231.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 01, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 31, 2017. (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 $50,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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