BLM-National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) Primary Announcement (Four Task Statements) | FA NOFO0023 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for FA NOFO0023 002

The BLM-National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) Primary Announcement is a federal discretionary funding opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It supports applied research and science delivery aimed at solving real-world problems tied to wildland fuels, wildfire, and ecosystems affected by fire. The opportunity is framed around four task statements (as referenced in the title), meaning applicants are expected to align their proposed work to one of several defined research or science-support needs identified by the program.

JFSP itself is described as an interagency partnership built around shared wildland fire science needs. The program brings together seven federal wildland fire management and research organizations, specifically the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service and multiple DOI entities: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey, with DOI also represented through the Office of Wildland Fire. The core idea behind the program is that wildfire and fuels management challenges cut across jurisdictional boundaries, so the science used to guide decisions should be coordinated and broadly usable across agencies and landscapes. Funding for JFSP is provided jointly by DOI and the Forest Service, reinforcing that it is meant to serve interagency operational and management priorities, not just a single bureau or mission area.

Awards under this notice are made as cooperative agreements, which typically indicates there may be substantial federal involvement during the project period (for example, coordination with program staff, data sharing expectations, or collaboration with agency scientists and managers). The funding activity category is Natural Resources, and the assistance listing is CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) 15.232. The announcement lists an award ceiling of $500,000 and anticipates making about 20 awards, which signals a moderately competitive program with projects likely scoped to deliver tangible products, findings, or decision-support within that approximate budget range.

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning the opportunity is open to any applicant type (such as universities, nonprofits, for-profits, state and local governments, tribes, and others), subject to any clarifications that may be provided in the full notice under the section labeled Additional Information on Eligibility. In practice, applicants still need to pay close attention to the notice requirements because the agency is explicit that proposals must meet all requirements described in the NOFO, with special emphasis on the rules in Section V. Proposals that fail to meet those requirements will not move forward for funding consideration, so compliance and formatting are treated as screening criteria, not minor issues that can be corrected later.

The submission process is a key detail in this announcement. Applications must be submitted electronically through the JFSP website submission system at https://www.firescience.gov, and proposals are not accepted through Grants.gov. The deadline provided is December 20, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time, and the notice states that no exceptions will be granted for late submissions. That combination (a hard deadline, a specific time zone, and a non-Grants.gov submission portal) is important for planning, since applicants need to build in time for account setup, uploading, and any validation steps within the JFSP system rather than relying on the more common federal grants portal.

For applicants who want to better understand the program purpose, priorities, and expectations, the notice directs prospective proposers to the JFSP website for background and context. The announcement also provides two points of contact to route questions efficiently: administrative questions go to Becky Jenison, Program Analyst (208-387-5958, bjenison@blm.gov), while questions about the task statements and programmatic fit go to Ed Brunson, Program Manager (208-387-5975, ebrunson@blm.gov). This split suggests the program distinguishes between compliance or submission mechanics and the substantive alignment of proposed work to the task statements and JFSP mission.

Overall, this opportunity is structured to fund practical, management-relevant wildland fire science that can be used by multiple federal agencies dealing with fuels treatment, fire behavior and effects, and post-fire ecological outcomes. The combination of an interagency mission, cooperative agreement mechanism, and emphasis on strict submission requirements points to a program that values both scientific quality and clear, usable outputs that can support decisions across federal land and fire management contexts.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BLM-National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) Primary Announcement (Four Task Statements)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.232.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 21, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 20, 2022. (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 $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 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.

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