Deadline: 16-May-22
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced the potential availability of funding for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources to encourage collaboration with partners in providing strategic conservation delivery assistance and/or provide tools or data that enhance the ability of the agency to support conservation.
Purpose
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The purpose of these Conservation Agreements is to accomplish the following:
- Improve and increase soil health.
- Improve and increase water quality.
- Improve the environmental and economic performance of working agricultural lands.
- Address air quality concerns and carbon sequestration needs.
- Develop quality conservation plans for effective grazing land practices.
- Develop, plan, and implement effective forestry practices and standards.
Funding Information
- Federal Funding Floor and Ceiling Amounts: The estimated funding floor for this opportunity is $50,000.00, and the estimated funding ceiling is $100,000.00.
- Start Dates and Performance Periods: Projects may be between one (1) and three (3) years in duration. Applicants should plan their projects based on an estimated project start date of September 15, 2022.
- Number of Awards: The agency expects to make eight (8) award(s).
Activities
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The agency will be substantially involved in the work performed under the agreement and will undertake activities such as the following:
- Authority to suspend work if specifications or work statements are not met
- Review and approval of one stage of work before another may begin
- Review and approval of substantive provisions of proposed sub awards or contracts beyond existing Federal policy
- Agency and recipient collaboration or joint participation
- Project monitoring to permit specified kinds of direction or redirection of the work because of interrelationships with and impacts on other projects
- Highly prescriptive agency requirements that limit recipient discretion
- Review and approval of key personnel
- Direct agency operational involvement or participation during the activity
Eligible Projects
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Emphasis will be placed on projects that:
- Build technical capacity to implement Farm Bill conservation programs and provide conservation technical assistance.
- New grants or agreements where applicants do not currently have a grant or agreement with NRCS that ends later than 09/30/2022.
- Demonstrate the benefits of utilizing various types of cover crops across the State (single species, multi-species, etc.).
- Leverage innovative partnerships to expand NRCS’s ability to get conservation on the ground effectively and efficiently.
- Increase assistance for climate-smart agriculture and forestry to support producers in building resiliency across their operations.
- Provide technical and administrative services supporting conservation practices benefiting forestlands, grasslands, and farmlands.
- Use technology such as Geographic Information System (GIS) to increase efficiencies with conservation practice design and implementation.
Eligibility Criteria
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Entity types that may be eligible under these criteria include the following:
- City or township governments
- County governments
- For profit organizations other than small businesses
- Independent school districts
- Nonprofits having a 501(c) (3) status with the IRS (other than institutions of higher education)
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS (other than institutions of higher education)
- Private institutions of higher education
- Public and State-controlled institutions of higher education
- Small businesses
- Special district governments
- State governments
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=339434
