Grants / Department of the Interior / Bureau of Land Management

L26AS00053: FY26 Bureau of Land Management Abandoned Mine Lands and Hazardous Materials - Bureau wide

Closed Closed August 28, 2026 Opportunity L26AS00053 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of Bureau of Land Management notices from 2026.

• Award ceiling$1.5 million
• Award floor$100,000
• Total funding$4.0 million
• Expected awards3
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments and tribes.

Individuals and for-profit organizations are ineligible to apply for awards under this NOFO.This programmatic NOFO does not support entities hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The Public Lands Corps Act of 1993, 16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II-Public Lands Corps, is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under this authority. Therefore, eligible Youth Conservation Corps may only apply for projects developed under NOFO 15.243 – BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands.

More grants for nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Environmental Quality and Protection awards averaged $682,666; this notice allows up to $1.5 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (94% over five years) went to state and local governments.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The BLM and its partners inventory and mitigate abandoned mine hazards to protect public health and safety and the environment, and restore watersheds for recreation, fish, wildlife and domestic animals, manage air quality for the protection of public health and sensitive ecosystems, and return lands to productive uses including, but not limited to, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and preservation of historical/cultural resources. Extractive industry activities of the past, including underground and surface mining have contributed to degradation of natural resources. Unrestored sites pose a threat to the safety and health of public land users, as well as to wildlife, biota, groundwater, surface water, and soil resources. Inventory and mitigation measures are implemented through core programs such as the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) program, which addresses physical safety hazards and contamination posing risks to human health and/or the environment. The BLM estimates there are over 160,000 abandoned mine features located on BLM-administered lands, many of which will need to be addressed further. The AML program identifies and inventories abandoned hardrock mines, prioritizes those mines that pose a risk to public safety, human health, and the environment, and seeks funding to address those high-risk mine features and sites. Specifically, the AML program addresses physical safety hazards through performing NEPA, including cultural and biological surveys, a variety of closure methods including fencing, signing, back-filling, installation of bat-friendly grates, etc., and addresses risks to human health and the environment through a variety of removal and remedial response actions. The AML program also work to restore abandoned hardrock mines sites and restore the Nation's watersheds impacted by abandoned mines through a risk-reduction based watershed approach that uses partnerships to effectively leverage funding and facilitate projects; and reduces environmental degradation caused by abandoned mines to ensure compliance with all applicable soil, water, and air quality standards, and applicable Federal, State, Tribal, and local laws and regulations. For the NRDAR program, and any actions taken pursuant to BLM"s authority under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, potentially responsible parties must be investigated.

Category: Natural Resources.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.