BLM-Idaho, North-Central Idaho Archeological Site Data Modeling | L17AS00033

Opportunity Information: Apply for L17AS00033

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) grant opportunity titled "BLM-Idaho, North-Central Idaho Archeological Site Data Modeling" (Funding Opportunity Number L17AS00033) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity focused on improving cultural resource planning and protection on public lands in north-central Idaho. The core purpose is to develop an archeological predictive model that maps and classifies areas into high, moderate, and low probability (or sensitivity) zones for the presence of archaeological sites. A key emphasis of the work is identifying locations where sites may be eligible, or potentially eligible, for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), which is important because NRHP-eligible properties often require heightened consideration in land management decisions and compliance reviews.

This opportunity is offered by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management under the Natural Resources funding activity category (CFDA 15.224) and is structured as a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant. A cooperative agreement typically means BLM expects to be substantially involved during the project, such as coordinating on technical approach, data standards, review of interim products, or integration of results into BLM planning and cultural resource management workflows. The funding instrument choice signals that the project is meant to produce practical, decision-ready outputs aligned with agency needs rather than purely academic research.

Applicants are listed as "unrestricted," meaning the competition is open to a wide range of potential partners, which can include universities, nonprofits, tribal entities, state or local governments, and potentially other qualified organizations, depending on standard federal eligibility rules. The expected award count is one, suggesting the agency intended to select a single project team to complete the modeling work. The award ceiling is $80,000, which sets the maximum amount BLM anticipated providing under this opportunity and implies a relatively focused scope of work, likely centered on data compilation, GIS-based analysis, model construction, and delivery of mapped outputs and documentation rather than extensive field excavation.

From a deliverables standpoint, the project would be expected to use existing archaeological and environmental datasets to build a spatial model that predicts where archaeological sites are most likely to occur across the targeted BLM-managed landscapes in north-central Idaho. In practice, this kind of effort often involves compiling known site location data (while protecting sensitive information), aligning it with environmental variables such as landforms, slope, aspect, elevation, proximity to water, soil types, vegetation communities, and other factors correlated with past human land use. The end product is usually a set of GIS layers and accompanying technical documentation that explain data sources, assumptions, modeling methods, validation results, and recommended uses and limitations of the model. Because the description highlights NRHP eligibility, the model would likely be tuned not only to predict site presence in general, but also to help prioritize areas where significant, potentially eligible sites may be more likely, supporting better targeting of inventories and more informed avoidance or mitigation planning.

The opportunity was created on February 23, 2017, with an original application closing date of April 24, 2017. Overall, the funding supports a practical cultural resource management tool: a probability or sensitivity zoning framework that can guide survey strategies, focus limited inventory funds on higher-yield areas, and help BLM anticipate and reduce impacts to important archaeological resources during land use planning, project permitting, and other on-the-ground management actions.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BLM-Idaho, North-Central Idaho Archeological Site Data Modeling" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.224.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-02-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-04-24. (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 $80,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for L17AS00033

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