Challenge Cost Share

The Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management funds habitat improvement, comprehensive travel management, recreation and cultural projects through cooperative partnerships under the Challenge Cost Share Program (CFDA 15.238), with the most recent grant award dated September 19, 2019.

Program activity has declined sharply in recent years. The portfolio spans 447 awards from 2003 through 2019, but annual award volume collapsed from 30–31 awards per year in 2014–2015 to just 3 awards in 2017 and 1 award in 2019. No grant opportunities have been posted since 2017. The program is predominantly structured as Cooperative Agreements, representing 97 percent of awards (435 of 447), with small shares of Project Grants (2 percent) and Formula Grants (1 percent). The Bureau of Land Management proper dominates as the funder, accounting for 401 awards totaling $19.5 million in federal dollars obligated of the $21.9 million combined federal total; regional BLM offices (Oregon-Washington, Montana-Dakotas, Idaho, New Mexico, and Nevada) collectively account for the remaining $1.8 million across 30 awards.

Funded activities center on wildlife and habitat monitoring, invasive species control, riparian and ecosystem restoration, rare plant conservation, cultural resource documentation and interpretation, recreation infrastructure development and maintenance, and environmental education. Recent awards illustrate this scope: aerial sage-grouse lek surveys ($118 thousand), cave and karst conservation assistance in the Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area ($59 thousand), native seed resource research ($24 thousand), pollinator systems research in Eastern Washington ($29 thousand), invasive plant control for sage grouse habitat ($196 thousand), off-highway vehicle stewardship and trail maintenance (ranging from $11 thousand to $337 thousand), and archaeological education and cultural site documentation projects (ranging from $14 thousand to $90 thousand).

Combined federal and non-federal dollars obligated total $41.8 million, indicating a statutory requirement for matching funds or in-kind contributions at approximately 1:1 ratio. Typical award magnitudes range from $10 thousand to $200 thousand; the highest-value recent award was $1.26 million for Wyoming State Historic Preservation cooperative partnership (2014).

Recent grant opportunities posted through mid-2017 solicited partnerships for cave and karst conservation in New Mexico (due August 25, 2017), pollinator systems research in Eastern Washington (due July 2, 2017), native seed experimentation restricted to higher education institutions (due August 14, 2017), and a Nevada 2017 statewide call for projects spanning resource inventory, habitat restoration, cultural site protection, and recreation management (due April 28, 2017). Eligibility typically included unrestricted applicant types, though some opportunities limited awards to higher education institutions or specified matching requirements at 1:1 or 50:50 ratios. No current solicitations are open.