BLM-Alaska, Arctic Long-Term Aquatic Monitoring | L17AS00103

Opportunity Information: Apply for L17AS00103

The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is offering a discretionary funding opportunity titled "BLM-Alaska, Arctic Long-Term Aquatic Monitoring" (Funding Opportunity Number L17AS00103) to support long-term monitoring of Arctic freshwater ecosystems in Alaska. The award will be made as a cooperative agreement, which generally means the BLM expects to be actively involved with the recipient during the project rather than simply providing funds with minimal federal participation. The opportunity falls under the Natural Resources funding activity category (CFDA 15.231) and is intended to generate field data and analyses that help the BLM evaluate how oil and gas activities could affect Arctic streams and lakes.

The core purpose of the project is to share in the collection of on-the-ground monitoring data and the scientific analysis of that information to better understand potential impacts on the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of aquatic habitats. Practically, this suggests work such as sampling and measuring stream and lake conditions over time, tracking water quality and related chemical indicators, and evaluating biological communities or ecosystem responses that may be sensitive to development pressures. The emphasis on "long-term monitoring" indicates the BLM is looking for consistent, repeatable observations that can reveal trends, detect changes, and support comparisons across years, which is particularly important in Arctic environments where natural variability and climate-driven changes can complicate impact assessment.

BLM frames this effort as a partnership model and references successful collaboration over the previous five years with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Water and Environmental Research Center (WERC). That history signals that the agency values continuity, standardized methods, and data products that directly improve public land management. In other words, the expected outputs are not just academic findings, but monitoring results and analyses that can be used in decision-making about land use, permitting, mitigation, and resource protection on BLM-managed lands, especially in areas where oil and gas activity could influence freshwater systems.

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning the competition is broadly open to a wide range of applicant types, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full notice. The BLM anticipates making one award with an award ceiling of $525,000. The opportunity was created on May 11, 2017, and originally closed on July 11, 2017. Overall, this grant opportunity is designed to strengthen the evidence base for understanding and managing the condition of Arctic aquatic habitats by supporting collaborative field monitoring and applied analysis focused on potential oil and gas-related impacts.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BLM-Alaska, Arctic Long-Term Aquatic Monitoring" 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 May 11, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 11, 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 $525,000.00 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.

Apply for L17AS00103

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