Kentucky Easement Programs Restoration

Federal Awarding Agency Name: U.S. Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

Notice of Funding Opportunity Title: Kentucky NRCS Easement Restoration and Management Assistance

Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NRCS-KY-EASE-24NOFO0001320

Assistance Listing: This program is listed in the Assistance Listings (previously referred to as the Catalog of Federal Financial Assistance) on Sam.gov under 10.072 Wetlands Reserve

Program and 10.931 Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, which can be found at: https://sam.gov/content/home.

SAM is a web-based, government-wide application that collects, validates, stores, and disseminates business information about the federal government's trading partners in support of the contract awards, grants, and electronic payment processes.

Notice of Funding Opportunity Summary

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is seeking support from natural resource conservation partners to work together to help enhance conservation delivery in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The overall intent of this announcement is to solicit partnerships to help enhance the implementation of key conservation objectives and priorities outlined further in this document.

Proposals will be accepted from eligible entities as identified in Section C.1. of this announcement for competitive consideration of awards for projects between one (1) and (5) years in duration to deliver conservation programs and services in Kentucky. NRCS anticipates the amount of funding available for this announcement will be approximately $2,000,000 annually over a five year period (up to $10,000,000), which will be awarded to multiple recipients. All applicants must be capable of providing support throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Entities may use this opportunity to request additional funding for existing Kentucky cooperative agreements.

This notice identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and application instructions for projects. Proposals will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete and/or noncompliant applications may be eliminated from competition and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant. The Kentucky State Conservationist reserves the right not to fund any or all applications. NRCS will accept applications under this notice for single or multiyear applications submitted by eligible entities.

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For new users of Grants.gov, see Section D. of the full Notice of Funding Opportunity for information about steps required before submitting an application via Grants.gov.

Key Dates

Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on June 30, 2024. For technical issues with Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov. Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.

For inquiries specific to the content of the NFO requirements, contact the federal awarding agency contact (section G of this NFO). Please limit questions to those regarding specific information contained in this NFO (such as dates, page numbers, clarification of discrepancies, etc.). Questions related to eligibility, or the merits of a specific proposal will not be addressed.

The agency anticipates making selections by August 1, 2024 and expects to execute awards by September 30,2024. These dates are estimates and are subject to change

Government

• Federally recognized Native American tribal governments
• City or township governments
• State governments
• Special district governments
• County governments

Business

• Small businesses
• For-profit organizations other than small businesses

Nonprofit

• Nonprofits non-higher education with 501(c)(3)
• Nonprofits non-higher education without 501(c)(3)