Montana/Dakotas Invasive and Noxious Management | L20AS00073

Opportunity Information: Apply for L20AS00073

The Montana/Dakotas Invasive and Noxious Management grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L20AS00073) is a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cooperative agreement focused on protecting ecosystem health on public lands by slowing, controlling, and preventing the spread of invasive plants and state-designated noxious weeds. The BLM frames invasive weeds as one of the biggest obstacles to sustaining native plant communities because these species can spread quickly, outcompete native vegetation, and cause long-term or even permanent ecological damage. The opportunity emphasizes that unchecked infestations threaten wildlife habitat, watershed function, recreation, rural economies, and working landscapes, while also spilling over onto adjacent private lands and creating broad economic losses, especially for agriculture. It also notes that human movement through trade, travel, and tourism accelerates the introduction and spread of invasive species, and that disturbances such as increasingly frequent wildfires can make sites more vulnerable to weed invasion.

Projects supported under this opportunity are expected to align with the full invasive plant management cycle: prevention, early detection, inventory, treatment, monitoring, and follow-up evaluation. Applicants are expected to inventory and document infestation locations, then apply an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to decide on the most effective combination of tools for a given site. That can include targeted herbicide treatments, grazing strategies, mechanical removal, and other approved methods. A key expectation is careful selection of the most effective and targeted herbicides when chemicals are used, paired with stabilization and rehabilitation of disturbed areas so that treated sites do not immediately re-invade. Implementation is not meant to stop at treatment; the BLM expects post-treatment monitoring to measure effectiveness, inform adjustments, and support adaptive management, including responding to newly detected weed species and incorporating newly approved treatments over time.

The program also stresses prioritization and geography-based strategy. Rather than treating weeds in a scattered way, proposals should show how they will prioritize target undesirable species (or groups of species) and apply treatments intended to control or contain them within a defined area. Monitoring and evaluation are central deliverables, not optional add-ons, and should cover both control actions and rehabilitation outcomes. In addition, the opportunity strongly encourages public education and outreach: developing and sharing materials, running outreach activities, and creating engagement and learning opportunities (events, educational products, and similar efforts) that help prevent new infestations and build community support for invasive plant management.

From BLMs perspective, the main public benefit is improved coordination across boundaries and jurisdictions. The agency is looking to work with partner organizations to plan and carry out inventories, treatments, monitoring, prevention, and outreach in a collaborative way that improves efficiency and reduces duplication. By leveraging partnerships, BLM aims to respond faster to new infestations, reduce the footprint of established weed populations, protect recreational and ecological values on public lands, and reduce impacts on neighboring private property.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity administered by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, using a cooperative agreement instrument under the Natural Resources activity category (CFDA 15.230). Eligibility is listed as unrestricted (open broadly to applicant types, subject to any additional eligibility language in the full notice). The opportunity opened April 8, 2020, and originally closed June 8, 2020, with two submission rounds (Round One due May 7, 2020; Round Two due June 8, 2020, both at 4:30 PM Eastern). The award ceiling is $150,000, with an expected 8 awards.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Montana/Dakotas Invasive and Noxious Management" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.230.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 08, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 08, 2020 Open from April 8, 2020 to June 8, 2020, 430 PM EST Round One Applications Due May 7, 2020, 430 PM EST Round Two Applications Due June 8, 2020, 430 PM EST. (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 $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 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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