National Landscape Conservation System (15.248)
National Landscape Conservation System (Assistance Listing 15.248) is run by the Bureau of Land Management, part of the Department of the Interior. It awarded $1.7 million in 42 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $39,855 per award on average. No funding opportunity is open on Grants.gov right now.
The typical award was $39,905. Half of the 42 awards fell between $25,000 and $40,000, and they ranged from $3,000 to $168,404.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$1.7 million
- Grant awards42
- Typical award$39,905
- Awarded in FY 2025$187,570
- Size rank1776 of 1824
- Type of assistanceCooperative agreement
Key findings
- Annual funding fell from $338,255 in fiscal 2021 to $187,570 in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 1776th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 88% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 14 states and territories.
What the program funds
This program aims to increase the effectiveness of decision-making for BLMs National Conservation Lands and to advance the purposes for which they were designated. In addition, the assistance listing supports outcomes which promote either participatory science (i.e. citizen science) or tribal co-stewardship. National Conservation Lands are nationally significant landscapes that serve as focal areas for conservation, protection, and restoration. These designations span more than 38 million acres, and are afforded special management by Acts of Congress or Presidential Proclamations. The BLM manages these special areas to protect and restore their outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values while supporting compatible recreation and economic opportunities in accordance with the bureau’s multiple-use and sustained-yield mandate. These designated lands help ensure that the Nation's extraordinary beauty, heritage and biodiversity will be sustained for present and future generations to use and enjoy. These areas include over 2,700 recreation sites and 22 visitor centers and serve over 14 million visitors annually. The National Conservation Lands include the following designations: National Monuments and National Conservation Areas (and similar designations); Wilderness Areas, Wilderness Study Areas; Wild and Scenic Rivers; National Scenic and Historic Trails; and National Conservation Lands of the California Desert.
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
What the money can and cannot pay for
The National Conservation Lands program financially supports studies aimed at increasing our understanding of the resources present on BLM lands, the effectiveness of resource management decisions, and the restoration and conservation needs. Projects are primarily conducted on BLM-managed National Conservation Lands but may also be conducted on other public land adjacent to National Conservation Lands. Projects address themes including Management Driven research (on-the-ground research that provides information that can directly inform a pertinent and pressing management question), citizen supported studies (citizen scientists as assistants in data collection, compilation, or data analysis), and tribal co-stewardship (management studies which explore opportunities for, evaluate, or seek to re-invigorate co-stewardship activities with Tribal entities). The National Conservation Lands program financially supports studies aimed at increasing our understanding of the resources present on BLM lands, the effectiveness of resource management decisions, and the restoration and conservation needs. Projects are primarily conducted on BLM-managed National Conservation Lands, but may also be conducted on other public land adjacent to National Conservation Lands.
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.
Award range and average, in the agency's words
Maximum award in a single year is $40,000.
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal Year2025: The program funded cultural resource and citizen science surveys to inform recreation program management, supported stabilization of paleontological resources, citizen science monitoring of wildlife populations, and compilation of resource information to support Tribal economic activity.Fiscal Year2026: The program anticipates funding projects which support the evidence-based management of BLM’s National Conservation Lands, furthering the purposes established in their Congressional or Presidential Proclamation designating language, including crowdsourcing, citizen science, and Tribal activities.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, National Landscape Conservation System (15.248) awarded$1.7 million across 42 grant awards, an average of $39,855 per award.
| Recipient | State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friends of Cedar Mesa | Utah | 2 | $207,546 |
| Boise State University | Idaho | 3 | $141,403 |
| Archaeology Southwest | Arizona | 3 | $124,884 |
| Florida Atlantic University Research Corporation | Florida | 3 | $119,325 |
| Oregon State University | Oregon | 3 | $109,974 |
| Colorado State University | Colorado | 2 | $108,751 |
| University of Utah | Utah | 1 | $76,409 |
| Board of Regents of Nevada System of Higher Education | Nevada | 2 | $63,786 |
| University of Alaska Fairbanks | Alaska | 2 | $59,881 |
| Nevada System of Higher Education | Nevada | 2 | $45,393 |
| American Indigenous Tourism Association Inc. | New Mexico | 1 | $45,000 |
| The Blackfoot Challenge Inc | Montana | 1 | $44,988 |
| The Colorado Museum of Natural History | Colorado | 1 | $44,763 |
| Klamath Bird Observatory | Oregon | 1 | $39,999 |
| Heritage Lands Collective | Colorado | 1 | $39,996 |
| Mattole Salmon Group | California | 1 | $39,984 |
| University of Wyoming | Wyoming | 1 | $39,961 |
| New Mexico Wilderness Alliance | New Mexico | 1 | $39,929 |
| Trib Research | California | 1 | $39,880 |
| Great Basin Bird Observatory | Nevada | 1 | $39,400 |
Who usually wins
Colleges and universities received 53% of the money, nonprofits 36% and tribes 2.7%.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colleges and universities | 24 | $888,564 | 53% |
| Nonprofits | 16 | $596,695 | 36% |
| Other | 1 | $143,657 | 8.6% |
| Tribal governments and organizations | 1 | $45,000 | 2.7% |
By state
No state received $1 million or 10 awards from this program, so it has no state pages.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | 4 | $320,693 |
| Colorado | 5 | $231,187 |
| Nevada | 6 | $173,579 |
| Oregon | 4 | $149,973 |
| Arizona | 4 | $149,634 |
| Idaho | 3 | $141,403 |
| Florida | 3 | $119,325 |
| California | 3 | $104,623 |
| New Mexico | 2 | $84,929 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 | $62,099 |
| Alaska | 2 | $59,881 |
| Montana | 2 | $47,914 |
| Wyoming | 1 | $39,961 |
| New York | 1 | $13,534 |