Threatened and Endangered Species

The BLM, as a federal agency, is required under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to carry out programs to protect and recover threatened and endangered (T&E) species and the ecosystems upon which they depend and implements tasks identified in T&E recovery plans developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service. The BLM also implements conservation actions for sensitive and candidate species to preclude the need for federal listing. The Threatened and Endangered Species Program works to conserve and recover federally-listed animal and plant species and their habitat on public lands and shares cooperative responsibility with other BLM programs and partners for conservation of candidate and sensitive species. The scope of the T&E Species Program spans all taxa that merit designation under the Endangered Species Act or are identified as BLM sensitive species, providing a cross section of the most imperiled species of mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, invertebrates, fish, and plants. As of 2023, there are over 330 federally threatened and endangered species and 2400 federal sensitive species occur within BLM managed lands. Public lands often provide the key habitat for species recovery and conservation. Managing more land than any other federal agency, the BLM plays a pivotal and substantive role in species recovery. Due to the commingling of federal and nonfederal lands, the BLM�s proactive commitment to conserve threatened and endangered species is essential to federal, state, and non-governmental organizations in meeting...

First Level Screening -Basic Eligibility. Applications will be screened by the Grants Management Officer to ensure that applications meet basic eligibility requirements. Must meet the requirements of the Notice of Funding Opportunity posted on www.grants.gov, screening may include, but is not limited to: Program and/or legislative authority requirements are met; Submission is timely; and complete and properly executed SF-424 application package documents. B. Applications must satisfy basic eligibility screening requirements to be considered for further review. Second Level Evaluation -- Merit Review Evaluation is stated in each Notice of Funding Opportunity noticed post on www.grants.gov Third Level Review Pre-Award Clearance and Approvals. The BLM will also complete a business evaluation and determination of responsibility. During these evaluations the Grants Management Officer will evaluate variables such as: Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System, financial stability, quality of management systems, past performance meeting prior award terms and conditions, reports and findings of audits performed, and applicant�s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory or other requirements

Fiscal year 2025: The BLM T&E Program focuses on conservation and recovery of endangered, threatened and BLM sensitive species (cumulatively referred to as special status species) and their habitats to help ensure balanced and diverse uses of BLM-managed lands including the Nation�s need for domestic sources of energy, minerals, timber, recreation, and fish and wildlife habitat for future generations. The T&E Program focuses on implementing the Department of Interior�s priorities by emphasizing actions that help streamline permitting processes and reduce regulatory requirements for authorizations (e.g., minerals, energy, timber, recreation). Overall, this can be achieved by 1) conserving and recovering species and their habitats to help recover and delist or help preclude the need to list new endangered and threatened species thereby reducing future regulations and 2) improving available information and data that can be used to support approval of authorizations. To meet these goals, the T&E Program has an opportunity to work with partner organizations to increase program efficiencies and effectiveness. Fiscal year 2026: Program has not yet selected projects for funding....