OpportunityTitle: FY 2014 Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations
CategoryExplanation: Funding is restricted to activities supporting the purchase of fractional interests in trust or restricted lands. Please see the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations website for additional information: http://www.doi.gov/buybackprogram.
Description: The Secretary of the Interior established the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program) to implement the land consolidation provisions of the Cobell Settlement Agreement, which provided $1.9 billion to consolidate fractional land interests across Indian country. The Buy-Back Program allows interested individual owners to sell their land and transfer ownership of their interests to the tribe of jurisdiction. This effort will strengthen tribal sovereignty and put decision-making in the hands of the tribal government, freeing up resources that have been locked-up as land interests that have fractionated over time. The Buy-Back Program is interested in partnering with tribes to gain their direct participation in land consolidation efforts and intends to enter into cooperative agreements with tribes to capitalize on their abilities to minimize administrative costs and improve the overall effectiveness of the Program. The Buy-Back Program has developed an implementation strategy that focuses its initial efforts on the reservations with approximately 90% of the purchasable fractional interests for the next several years. The Department of the Interior announced on November 8, 2013 that it is currently soliciting cooperative agreement applications from tribes with jurisdiction over the vast majority of highly fractionated trust lands for consolidation under the Program. The Buy-Back Program may make up to 40 cooperative agreement awards as a result of this solicitation; however, not all awards are expected to be made this fiscal year. Most individual cooperative agreement awards are not expected to exceed $500,000. For more information about the implementation strategy and the Program in general, please visit the website at http://www.doi.gov/buybackprogram. PLEASE NOTE: this is a 10-year program. The expiration on this posting reflects this current opportunity, and new opportunities will be posted over the duration of the Program.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: buybackprogram@ios.doi.gov
GrantorContactText: Faride Kraft &lt;br/&gt;Cooperative Agreement Specialist &lt;br/&gt;Phone 202-219-1335