OpportunityTitle: Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program &#8211; Competitive Funding
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Only State Conservation Agencies are eligible to apply for funds. A subaward agreement to another State Conservation Agency is allowed.  The Traditional HCA Lead State Agency for the State where the HCA grant application is based must be notified 1 month before an application is submitted by another eligible State Conservation Agency.  The Traditional HCA Lead State Agency and the appropriate individual to contact is as follows: &#160;    Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Matt Starr, matthew.starr@ct.gov, 860-424-3080  New York Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. Lynn Kovach, lynn.kovach@parks.ny.gov,&#160;518-408-1967&#160;  New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council. Carole Ann Dicton, caroleann.dicton@highlands.nj.gov, 908-879-6737 ext. 105  Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Dan Pierce, danipierce@pa.gov, 717-772-3742
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 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 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 Competitive Funding 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 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 acres 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 priority at-risk species.
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.  The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be open until October 31, 2022. At 60-day intervals, the Service may choose to amend the NOFO in the event that the Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act becomes law.  There is an incentive for applicants to send in the application early in the process. Applications received by the following dates will be evaluated and may be selected for awards: the highest quality proposals submitted by June 30, 2022 and August 30, 2022 may be notified of award decisions 30 days after these benchmarks. A total of no more than two thirds of the available funds for this opportunity will be awarded prior to the final deadline of October 31, 2022. No eligible proposals will be declined prior to the final deadline, and all eligible proposals that are not selected for earlier funding will be evaluated along with eligible proposals submitted during the open period. Applications not selected for early notification will be notified of award decisions by December 1, 2022. Applicants are encouraged to notify the Service contact listed below (Section G.1) when applications are submitted.  APPLICATION CHECKLIST    Project Abstract  Project Narrative  Project Criteria (section E.1.)  Separate Budget Narrative  Indirect Cost Statement and related documentation  Conflict of Interest Disclosure&#160;  Single Audit Reporting Statement  SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities&#160;  Overlap or Duplication of Effort Statement  SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance  SF-424D, Assurances  SF-424C, Budget Information  SF-429B,&#160;Request to Acquire, Improve, or Furnish Real Property    Failure to provide complete information may cause delays, postponement, or rejection of the application.