Deadline: 28-Feb-23
The Fish and Wildlife Service is inviting applications for the Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program to assist Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania in conserving land and natural resources in the Highlands Region through Federal grants to support land conservation projects in which a State entity acquires land or an interest in land from a willing seller to permanently protect resources of high conservation value.
The HCA program supports the goals set forth in the Biden-Harris Administration’s America the Beautiful Initiative, including the conservation of 30% of America’s lands and waters by the year 2030. Land conservation in the Highlands Region is increasing climate change resiliency of the landscape and is protecting drinking water resources used by millions of people. The HCA grant program is connecting people with nature and the outdoors by creating new recreation acres in a region where one in nine Americans live or are within a two-hour drive. The HCA grant program is protecting strategically important natural areas that sustain a diversity of fish and wildlife species, including priority at-risk species
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $688,000
- Award Ceiling: $172,000
Expected Results
- As applicable, describe how the grant award will provide benefits to the State Conservation Agency in management of the HCA in the following areas, as applicable:
- Identifying willing landowners and lands that are eligible for HCA land acquisition funds.
- Building or strengthening coordination and support among other stakeholders including land conservation organizations, municipalities, counties, and other state conservation agencies.
- Submitting competitive applications for Base and Competitive funding rounds.
- Closing projects in a timely manner.
- Submitting interim and final reports with all required documentation in a timely fashion.
Eligibility Criteria
- State governments
- Only the traditional Lead State Agency, as determined by the Governor of each Highlands State, may apply for funding under this Notice of Funding Opportunity. If the Governor assigns multiple Lead Agencies, those Agencies must coordinate on funding requests prior to submission and ensure no more than the maximum allowable amount per state of $172,000 is requested through this funding opportunity. The traditional Lead State Agencies are:
- Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
- New York Office of Parks, Preservation, and Historic Preservation
- New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council
- Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
For more information, visit Fish and Wildlife Service.