Native Plant Conservation Initiative

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is soliciting proposals for the 2009 Native Plant Conservation Initiative (NPCI) grants cycle. The NPCI grant program is conducted in cooperation with the Plant Conservation Alliance (PCA), a partnership between the Foundation, ten federal agencies, and more than 270 non-governmental organizations. PCA provides a framework and strategy for linking resources and expertise in developing a coordinated national approach to the conservation of native plants.  Since 1995, the NPCI grant program has funded multi-stakeholder projects that focus on the conservation of native plants and pollinators under any of the following 6 focal areas: conservation, education, restoration, research, sustainability, and data linkages. 

Application Deadline: July 1, 2010

Project selection criteria
Proposals must meet the minimum eligibility requirements, as described in the request for proposals. There is a strong preference for "on-the-ground" projects that provide plant conservation benefit according to the priorities established by one or more of the funding federal agencies and to the Plant Conservation Alliance strategies for plant conservation.

In addition, proposals are evaluated on the following criteria:
• Focus: In 2009, NPCI is particularly interested in projects that focus on the effects of climate change as it pertains to the conservation, education, restoration, research, sustainability, and creating data linkages that facilitate North American native plant conservation in the 21st century
• Scope: Projects that benefit multiple species, achieve a variety of resource management objectives, and/or lead to revised management practices that reduce the causes of habitat degradation. A special emphasis is placed on larger projects that demonstrate a landscape-level approach and produce lasting, broad-based results on the ground.
• Conservation Need: Projects that demonstrate a critical conservation need, are identified as high priority, and/or work to conserve an area documented for unique biodiversity or containing a special-status species.
• Innovation: Projects that encourage public involvement, develop new technologies that can be applied successfully elsewhere, and/or teach proven habitat restoration methodologies by example.
• Leverage: Projects that highly leverage the funds requested under this RFP with non-federal funds (i.e., exceeding the minimum 1:1 federal/non-federal requirement), in the form of cash and/or contributed goods and services.
• Partnerships: Projects that involve multiple federal, tribal, state, and local governments; corporations; private landowners; communities; and/or non-profit groups.

Staff Representative

Teal Edelen
Acting Program Director, National Wildlife Refuge Programs
Teal.Edelen@nfwf.org

Related Information
Request for Proposal
Helpful Links