Conservation Collaboration Grants or Agreements Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Announcement for Program Funding – MONTANA, NEBRASKA, NORTH DAKOTA, and SOUTH DAKOTA

UPDATE:  Posted 03/27:  A meeting is scheduled for applicants proposing projects in South Dakota on Tuesday, April 14 at 10 a.m. Central Time to present information for what is need for submission to NRCS South Dakota for this opportunity.. 

Dial-In Number – 1-888-844-9904

Access Code - 1278274

SUMMARY INFORMATION

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

Funding Opportunity Title: Conservation Collaboration Grants or Agreements Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Announcement for Program Funding – MONTANA, NEBRASKA, NORTH DAKOTA, and SOUTH DAKOTA

Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NRCS-MULTI-CCG-20-GEN0010740

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number (also known as Assistance Listing):

10.902 Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA)

10.912 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

10.924 Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)

10.931 Agricultural Conservation Enhancement Program (ACEP)

10.069 Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

Funding Opportunity Announcement Summary

 The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing potential availability of grants and agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration and developing state- and community-level conservation leadership. Proposals will be accepted for projects located in the following states: Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Proposals are requested from Federally recognized tribal governments, State and local units of government, non-profit organizations having a 501(c)(3) status, and institutions of higher education for competitive consideration of grant or agreement awards for projects between 1 and 3 years in duration. In addition to the entities listed above, applications will be accepted and considered from for-profit entities under the ACEP and CTA programs for projects addressing the following areas of importance and will be given priority consideration:

• Grazing assistance – grazing plans, demonstrations and training
• Tribal Conservation Planners and planning
• Watershed focused results (benefits of targeting and social outcomes)
• AG 101 – field training to increase awareness of cropping systems and equipment utilized in agriculture
• Prescribed Burn – plans, trainings and creating a network of consultants

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 proposals will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant.

NRCS anticipates that the amount available for support of this program in FY 2020 varies by state as identified below, although the availability and composition of available funds has not yet been determined.

State: Montana

Estimated Total Available: $2,000,000

Minimum: $100,000

Maximum: $1,000,000

Anticipated # of Grants/Agreements: 6

State: Nebraska

Estimated Total Available: $1,500,000

Minimum: $50,000

Maximum: $1,000,000

Anticipated # of Grants/Agreements: 6

State: North Dakota

Estimated Total Available: $4,000,000 

Minimum: $20,000

Maximum: $1,000,000

Anticipated # of Grants/Agreements: 20

State: South Dakota

Estimated Total Available: $4,800,000

Minimum: $20,000

Maximum: $1,000,000

Anticipated # of Grants/Agreements: 20

Key Dates

Applications must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Daylight Time on April 30, 2020.  Funding decisions will be made by the respective NRCS State Conservationist, informed by the ranking list and the availability of funding in the programs whose CFDA numbers are listed above.

For technical issues with Grants.gov, please contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov. Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.

A complete application must be submitted to the email address below for the respective state of the project location. 

Montana

kyle.tackett@usda.gov with a carbon copy to kris.berg@usda.gov

Nebraska

NRCSNEBProposals@nrcs.usda.gov

North Dakota

jill.howard@usda.gov with a carbon copy to lisa.lund@usda.gov

South Dakota

sd.nrcs.proposals@nrcs.usda.gov

Government

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

Education

• Private institutions of higher education
• Public and state institutions of higher education

Nonprofit

• Nonprofits non-higher education with 501(c)(3)