Conservation Partners is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) (www.nrcs.usda.gov), the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) (www.nfwf.org) and other regional/initiative specific partners. The purpose of the partnership is to provide grants on a competitive basis to:
Added capacity provided via Conservation Partners will be directed toward:
Forms of Capacity Sought (include but are not limited to)
Discipline-specific expertise: wildlife, aquatics, wetlands, forestry, general ecology, rangeland ecology
Resource-specific scientific expertise to support development of science-based tools, for example: wildlife habitat evaluation and management guidelines; best management practices to be used in association with NRCS conservation practice implementation (e.g. best management practices for the use of prescribed fire for the management of early successional wildlife habitat)
Grant Size
Typical grant awards will range from $50,000 to $250,000. Each Program Priority Area is expected to receive between $500,000 and $1,000,000 in funding.
Proposal Requirements
Applicant Eligibility
Eligible applicants include: non-profit 501(c) organizations, educational institutions, tribal governments, and state or local units of governments (e.g. state conservation agencies, counties, townships, cities, conservation districts, utility districts, drainage districts, etc.). Individuals, federal government agencies and for-profit firms are not eligible for grants under this program.
Program Priority Areas (PPAs)
A map of priority project areas can be accessed by clicking here. Priority for funding will be directed to proposals that target species and ecosystems of shared interest between NFWF and NRCS, including but not limited to the following:
Northeast Forests – The New England/New York region contains over 52 million acres of forest land, including the largest intact block of temperate broadleaf forest in the Nation. Eighty percent are privately owned. The forests are diverse, ranging from the extensive broadleaf deciduous and mixed forests to montane and lowland spruce-fir and low elevation forests of oak, pine, and hickory. They stretch from the Atlantic coast to the highest mountain peaks in the region. The forests also provide habitat for a variety of wildlife such as moose, black bear, lynx, other game species, and bird species of special consideration that breed here, but winter in Central and South America.
Objectives:
Activities that will be implemented to meet the objectives include (but are not limited to) forest stand improvement, prescribed burning, tree and shrub plantings and restoration of rare and declining habitats.
Fish and Wildlife Species of Interest:
Specific Capacity Needs:
Upper Mississippi Basin
Grants in the Upper Mississippi Basin are co-funded by the Walton Family Foundation.
The Upper Mississippi River Basin drains over 189,000 square miles of land in the upper Midwest, including portions of six states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. Conservation Partners will be prioritizing projects that will be conducted in NRCS’s priority watershed and subwatersheds as identified by the Mississippi River Basin Initiative’s 8- and 12-digit Hydrological Unit Codes (HUCs). A reference map is included here, though only HUC’s in the states referenced above will be eligible for funding. The Upper Mississippi River is a national treasure, known as a valuable natural, historic, cultural, and economic resource. It is critical to the vitality and abundance of wildlife, birds, aquatic species, people and their communities. Chief among Conservation Partners priorities for the basin are improvements to water quality and a focus on riverside habitat.
Objectives:
Activities that will be implemented to meet the objectives include (but are not limited to) upland, grassland and wetland wildlife habitat restoration, easement programs and management practices such as provision of conservation cover, cover crop, range seeding, buffering, conservation drainage, prescribed grazing and forage harvest management.
Fish and Wildlife Species of Interest:
Specific Capacity Needs:
Prairie Pothole – This region is covered with rolling hills, prairie grasses, agriculture and thousands of depressional wetlands ranging in size from shallow temporary wetlands to deeper semi-permanent wetlands. The prairie pothole region provides feeding, nesting, breeding and resting areas to many species of migratory waterfowl. More than 5 million pairs of ducks breed in the region each year. Loss of habitat, drainage of wetlands and a lack of adequate stopover resources for migratory birds are the prime conservation issues Conservation Partners is working to improve.
Objectives:
Activities that will be implemented to meet the objectives include (but are not limited to) upland and wetland wildlife habitat restoration as well as management through provision of conservation cover, cover crop, range seeding, prescribed grazing and forage harvest management.
Fish and Wildlife Species of Interest:
Specific Capacity Needs:
Gulf Coast – Gulf Coast water resources and coastal marshlands have experienced decades of depletion. Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, wildlife dependent upon these coastlands are more impacted than ever. Under Conservation Partners, wildlife professionals will create and restore aquatic and wetland habitat for migratory birds. Concentrated efforts during the past year demonstrated that waterfowl and other migratory birds will utilize farmland that has been flooded for the fall and/or spring migration. Similar efforts, along with coastal marshland restoration, will be considered for funding under Conservation Partners.
Objectives:
Activities that will be implemented to meet the objectives include (but are not limited to) upland and wetland wildlife habitat management, nutrient management, drainage water management, integrated pest management and prescribed grazing.
Priority will be given to efforts in the following river basins: Weeks Bay in Alabama, the Escambia River in Alabama and Florida, the middle Suwannee River area in Florida, the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary and the Mermentau River in Louisiana, the Jourdan River in Mississippi, and the Lower San Antonio River in Texas.
Fish and Wildlife Species of Interest:
Specific Capacity Needs:
CRP Priorities - The CRP-focused grant proposals will be more competitive if they target counties with the highest expiring acres (see map 2012 and map 2013). Grantees should be aware that reporting and tracking for CRP vs. all other sign-ups will have to be completed separately. These distinctions are necessary because CRP is administered by the Farm Services Agency while the other programs are administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Additional Awards - Funding through Conservation Partners will also assist bolster the conservation efforts of and be available through the RFPs found here: Longleaf Pine Restoration Fund, Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund, and Sustain our Great Lakes. Additional PPAs will be considered for the spring of 2012.
Criteria for Competitive Proposals
Proposals will be more competitive if they include:
1. Specific Conservation Activities and Metrics. During the online application in EasyGrants, applicants will be requested to supply Activities and Metrics for their proposals. These metrics typically relate to species outcomes, acres restored, jobs created, landowner outreach and other potential measurements. Because of the breadth of the Conservation Partners program, a finite list will not be provided in the drop down menu. Rather, applicants should toggle the “other” option and provide their own metrics. Quantifying not only the proposed conservation activities but the ultimate conservation outcomes is extremely important for the future effectiveness of Conservation Partners. A list of sample metrics is here for reference; applicants, however, are not limited to metrics from the sample sheet.
2. A thorough explanation of how the proposal relates to Conservation Partners’ program preferences for:
Matching Contributions
All grantees are required to provide a minimum 1:1 match of cash, contributed goods and services from non-Federal sources or a mixture of both. The ratio of matching funds offered by the applicant is one factor considered during the competitive review process.
Matching funds may include cash, in-kind contributions of staff and volunteer time, work performed, materials and services donated, or other tangible contributions to the project objectives and outcomes. To be eligible, matching contributions must be:
Project Duration
Projects should be completed within 2½ years following receipt of a grant agreement; each position will be funded up to 2 years. Project start and end dates should define the period during which all proposed work is accomplished, all requested funds are spent, and all matching funds are spent. A grant may support one part of a larger, longer project with multiple stages; that part of the project supported by the grant must be completed within the specified time frame.
Ineligible Uses of Fund
Grantees may not use grant funds to support ongoing efforts to comply with legal requirements (e.g. permit conditions, mitigation, settlement agreements) of any local, state or federal permit. Grant funds may be used, however, to support projects that enhance or improve upon existing baseline compliance efforts.
Deadlines and Application Procedures
Proposals are due on March 13, 2012. A webinar to review the grant process, program goals and answer questions will be held on February 23, 2012 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm, EST.
All application materials must be submitted online through National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Easygrants system. Hard-copy applications will not be considered for funding.
To start an application, please click on the following link: http://www.nfwf.org/easygrants. New users to the system will be prompted to register before starting their application. Applications may be saved and returned to at a later time for completion and submission, up until the application deadline. It is imperative for Easygrants users to disable their browser’s pop-up blocker prior to beginning the application process.
Grants are anticipated to be announced in early May, 2012.
The following link contains access to other useful information for applicants, including videos that demonstrate the Easygrants online system: http://www.nfwf.org/applicantinfo.
Prospective applicants may contact John Curry (john.curry@nfwf.org; 612-564-7285) before submitting a proposal.
Related Files
Back to Program Home
NFWF Guidance for Online Applications
List of NRCS State Conservationists
View the Conservation Partners Map (Adobe PDF File)
NRCS Core Conservation Practices