BLM CO-Colorado Dolores River Restoration Partnership. | L16AS00038

Opportunity Information: Apply for L16AS00038

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) grant opportunity titled "BLM CO-Colorado Dolores River Restoration Partnership" (Funding Opportunity Number L16AS00038) is a discretionary funding opportunity intended to support ongoing restoration work along the Dolores River and its tributaries. The geographic focus covers multiple counties in western Colorado (Dolores, San Miguel, Montrose, and Mesa) as well as Grand County in Utah, reflecting a watershed-scale approach that crosses county and state boundaries. The overall purpose is to continue and expand coordinated restoration actions that improve river and riparian health, address key stressors, and deliver tangible benefits for habitat, water resources, and public use.

The work described emphasizes on-the-ground restoration activities, with specific attention to controlling invasive species and improving degraded riparian areas. In practical terms, this typically means projects that remove or suppress non-native plants that displace native vegetation, destabilize streambanks, alter channel form, or reduce habitat quality. It also points to efforts that rebuild or enhance riparian zones (the vegetated areas adjacent to rivers and streams) that are critical for bank stability, water filtration, shading and temperature regulation, and the overall ecological productivity of the corridor. By targeting riparian degradation, the opportunity is designed to improve wildlife habitat conditions, especially for species that depend on healthy cottonwood-willow communities, wetland edges, and connected floodplain features.

Beyond ecological outcomes, the opportunity explicitly ties restoration to improved water resources and better recreational use areas. Water resource improvements can include reduced erosion and sediment inputs, improved floodplain function, better infiltration and groundwater interaction, and more resilient stream systems during drought or high-flow events. Recreational improvements indicate an interest in outcomes that support the public experience along the river corridor, which may include restoring areas impacted by invasive vegetation, improving access and usability of river-adjacent sites, and maintaining the natural character and safety of places used for boating, fishing, camping, and other river-based activities. The framing suggests that BLM is looking for projects that connect habitat and watershed benefits with the realities of human use in a heavily valued river system.

This funding is offered as a cooperative agreement, which generally signals that BLM anticipates substantial involvement in the project rather than simply issuing a grant with minimal federal participation. Cooperative agreements often fit partnership-based restoration where the agency and recipient coordinate planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting, and where federal staff may contribute expertise, oversight, or other collaboration throughout the project period. The opportunity is categorized under Natural Resources and is listed under CFDA number 15.230, aligning it with BLM assistance programs that support stewardship and management of public lands and associated resources.

Eligibility is unrestricted, meaning the opportunity is open to all applicants rather than limited to a narrow set of entity types. That openness typically accommodates a wide range of potential partners such as local governments, tribes, universities, non-profits, watershed groups, conservation organizations, and potentially qualified private entities, depending on federal assistance rules and the specific project design. The notice indicates BLM expected to make one award, with an award ceiling of $1,000,000, suggesting a single, relatively large partnership effort rather than multiple small awards. The original application closing date was April 22, 2016, and the opportunity was created on February 22, 2016, placing it in a defined funding cycle focused on continuing an ongoing restoration partnership rather than launching an entirely new initiative.

In short, this opportunity supports a collaborative, watershed-focused restoration program for the Dolores River system aimed at invasive species control, riparian rehabilitation, and broader improvements that benefit wildlife habitat, water quality and function, and recreation across targeted counties in Colorado and Utah.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BLM CO-Colorado Dolores River Restoration Partnership." and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.230.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-02-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-04-22. (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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for L16AS00038

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: