Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination (15.234)
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination (Assistance Listing 15.234) is run by the Bureau of Land Management, part of the Department of the Interior. It awarded $12.2 million in 174 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $69,900 per award on average. No funding opportunity is open on Grants.gov right now.
The typical award was $53,290. Half of the 174 awards fell between $30,164 and $86,183, and they ranged from $3,864 to $411,690.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$12.2 million
- Grant awards174
- Typical award$53,290
- Awarded in FY 2025$952,728
- Size rank1443 of 1824
- Type of assistanceCooperative agreements (discretionary grants), training
Key findings
- Annual funding fell from $4.6 million in fiscal 2021 to $952,728 in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 1443rd largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 74% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 4 states and territories.
What the program funds
Since its initial passage in 2000, the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) and Community Self-Determination Act (“the SRS Act”) has provided Federal funds to over 700 counties across the U.S. and Puerto Rico for three primary purposes in accordance with its three titles: · Title I – Secure Payments for States and Counties containing Federal Land: To stabilize payments to counties to provide funding for schools and roads that supplements other available funds. · Title II - Special Projects on Federal Land: To make additional investments in, and create additional employment opportunities through, projects that improve the maintenance of existing infrastructure, implement stewardship objectives that enhance forest ecosystems, and restore and improve land health and water quality with Federal lands that have traditionally been supported by timber payments. · Title III – County Funds: To stabilize payments to counties to provide funding for schools and roads that supplements other available funds. This Listing Announcement specifically relates to anticipated SRS Act Title II Special Project funding that is administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to benefit the 2.4 million acres of Federal lands in 18 western Oregon counties that are administered in accordance with the Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act of 1937 (“the O&C Act”) and the Coos Bay Wagon Road Act of 1939. These BLM lands are managed by the BLM Coos Bay, Medford, Northwest Oregon, and Roseburg Districts, as well as the BLM Lakeview District’s Klamath Falls Field Office.
Open opportunities
No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.
Rules from the program listing
Who can apply
Local, State, and Tribal governments, independent school districts, public and private institutions of higher education, public and Indian housing authorities, Native American organizations, and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for SRS Act Title II funding for Special Projects that are located on or will benefit BLM lands in western Oregon that are administered in accordance with the O&C and Coos Bay Wagon Road Acts.
What the money can and cannot pay for
In accordance with the SRS Act, Title II Special Projects must result in at least one of the following benefits to BLM-administered O&C and Coos Bay Wagon Road lands: road, trail, and infrastructure maintenance or obliteration; soil productivity improvement; improvements in forest ecosystem health; watershed restoration and maintenance; restoration, maintenance, and improvement of wildlife and fish habitat; control of noxious and exotic weeds; and/or reestablishment of native species. SRS Act Title II Special Projects must result in at least one of the below benefits to BLM-administered O&C and Coos Bay Wagon Road lands: • Road, trail, and infrastructure maintenance or obliteration, • Soil productivity improvement, • Improvements in forest ecosystem health, • Watershed restoration and maintenance, • Restoration, maintenance, and improvement of wildlife and fish habitat, • Control of noxious and exotic weeds, and/or • Reestablishment of native species.
Matching requirements
This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines The BLM provides SRS Act Title II Special Project funding to external entities on a reimbursable basis through the development of Financial Assistance Agreements. Most of the Financial Assistance Agreements for approved Special Projects are executed within 1 fiscal year of final BLM approval. There are no specific statutory timeframes that approved Special Projects must be completed by, however, most projects are completed within 2 fiscal years of the Financial Assistance Agreement being awarded and all projects supported through these types of agency agreements are typically expected to be completed within 5 years of the award. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: Frequency of recipient payments will be determined for each awarded Financial Assistance Agreement at the time of the award.
Award range and average, in the agency's words
Past SRS Act Title II Special Projects have been awarded between $1,000 to $600,000. The average Special Project award is approximately $80,000.
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal Year2025: Aquatic and riparian restoration projects; the clean-up of dump sites and remediation of hazardous materials; the maintenance and improvement of recreational facilities, trails, and access roads; post-wildland fire restoration efforts; and the reduction of hazardous fuels that contribute to uncharacteristic wildland fires, including forest health projects and the management of non-native and invasive species. In many instances, funded Special Projects support youth employment opportunities with youth conservation corps partners and other entities.Fiscal Year2026: Unknown at this time.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination (15.234) awarded$12.2 million across 174 grant awards, an average of $69,900 per award.
| Recipient | State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers, Inc. | Oregon | 15 | $1.4 million |
| Smith River Watershed Council | Oregon | 9 | $789,654 |
| Applegate Partnership, Inc. | Oregon | 9 | $781,849 |
| Marys River Watershed Council | Oregon | 3 | $533,880 |
| Lane County Oregon | Oregon | 4 | $484,529 |
| Institute for Applied Ecology | Oregon | 5 | $480,639 |
| Northwest Youth Corps | Oregon | 9 | $450,915 |
| Lomakatsi Restoration Project | Oregon | 5 | $435,905 |
| Curry County Soil and Water Conservation District | Oregon | 9 | $405,270 |
| The Understory Initiative | Oregon | 9 | $398,926 |
| Klamath Bird Observatory | Oregon | 4 | $396,227 |
| Phoenix School of Roseburg | Oregon | 2 | $349,832 |
| Coquille Watershed Association | Oregon | 4 | $342,787 |
| Rogue River Watershed Council | Oregon | 2 | $300,695 |
| Southern Oregon Forest Restoration Collaborative | Oregon | 3 | $260,035 |
| Long Tom Watershed Council | Oregon | 2 | $241,464 |
| Siuslaw Watershed Council | Oregon | 3 | $232,623 |
| Trout Unlimited, Inc. | Virginia | 5 | $213,927 |
| State of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife | Oregon | 2 | $202,760 |
| Tillamook Estuaries Partnership | Oregon | 4 | $198,440 |
Who usually wins
Nonprofits received 81% of the money, state and local governments 13% and tribes 0.9%.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonprofits | 135 | $9.8 million | 81% |
| State and local governments | 27 | $1.6 million | 13% |
| Other | 7 | $502,327 | 4.1% |
| Tribal governments and organizations | 3 | $106,333 | 0.9% |
| Colleges and universities | 1 | $86,011 | 0.7% |
| Businesses | 1 | $23,237 | 0.2% |
By state
1 state has a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards. It is Oregon.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 166 | $11.8 million |
| Virginia | 5 | $213,927 |
| Colorado | 2 | $118,032 |
| Washington | 1 | $72,648 |