OpportunityTitle: F23AS00462-Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program - Competitive Funding
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Only the Lead State Agency (or Agencies), as determined by the Governor of each Highlands State,&#160;may be the applicant&#160;for funding under the Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program. If the Governor assigns multiple Lead Agencies, those Agencies must coordinate on funding requests prior to submission and ensure no more than the maximum allowable amount is requested through this funding opportunity.&#160;The funds received by the Lead State Agency may be subawarded to a County or Municipality within the Highlands Region, or&#160;to another State Conservation Agency.The current Lead State Agencies are:Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental ProtectionNew York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic PreservationNew Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning CouncilPennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Description: The Highlands Conservation Act (H.R. 1964, 2004; 16 U.S.C. 3901) (HCA) is designed to assist Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania in conserving land and natural resources in the Highlands Region through Federal grants to support land conservation projects in which a State, County, or Municipal entity acquires land or an interest in land from a willing seller to permanently protect resources of high conservation value. The USDA Forest Service (USFS) was directed by the HCA to identify lands that have high conservation value through the &#8220;New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study: 2002 Update&#8221; and the &#8220;Highlands Regional Study: Connecticut and Pennsylvania 2010 Update.&#8221; Subject to availability of funds through Federal appropriation, each year, Governors of the four Highlands States may submit proposals for up to 50% of the total cost of land conservation projects in the Highlands Region. Proposed projects must be consistent with areas identified in the Study and Update as having high resource value. This program funds land conservation by State Conservation Agencies, Counties, and Municipalities in the Highlands Region. Funding appropriated under the HCA has been divided into two separate categories &#8211; Base and Competitive. Eligible applicants may submit requests for the Competitive Funding Round in response to this Notice of Funding Opportunity. A separate Notice of Funding Opportunity will be posted for Base Funds. A property may not be proposed for funding from both the Base and Competitive funding opportunities. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) administers the HCA grant program.The HCA program supports the goals set forth in the Biden-Harris Administration&#8217;s America the Beautiful Initiative, including the conservation of 30% of America&#8217;s lands and waters by the year 2030. Land conservation in the Highlands Region is increasing the climate change resiliency of the landscape and is protecting drinking water resources used by millions of people. The HCA grant program is connecting people with nature and the outdoors by creating new recreation areas in a region where one in nine Americans live or are within a two-hour drive. The HCA grant program is protecting strategically important natural areas that sustain a diversity of fish and wildlife species, including the Service&#8217;s priority at-risk species.An online overview of this Notice of Funding Opportunity is scheduled for Tuesday August 29 at 11:00 AM EST. Email the Service contact (Section G.1) to receive a link for the overview.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: jason_rasku@fws.gov
GrantorContactText: Jay Rasku&lt;br/&gt;jason_rasku@fws.gov
CloseDateExplanation: Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM, ET, on the listed application due date.APPLICATION CHECKLISTProject AbstractProject NarrativeProject Criteria (section E.1)Separate Budget Narrative (including Request for Pre-Agreement Costs if applicable)Indirect Cost Statement and related documentationConflict of Interest Disclosure (when applicable)Single Audit Reporting StatementSF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (when applicable)Overlap or Duplication of Effort StatementSF-424, Application for Federal AssistanceSF-424C, Budget InformationSF-429BFailure to provide complete information may cause delays, postponement, or rejection of the application.