The Louisiana NRCS, an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is seeking support from natural resource conservation partners to provide outreach promoting NRCS programs that enhance conservation delivery in Louisiana.
Donor Name: Natural Resources Conservation Service
States: Louisiana
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/10/2023
Size of the Grant: $250,000
Grant Duration: 5 years
Details:
Objectives
Conservation partners are invited to apply for NRCS assistance with projects focused on one or more of the following key Outreach Conservation Objectives:
- Utilize Outreach efforts to increase awareness of soil health, sustainable agricultural practices and best forestry management conservation. Increase participation in NRCS programs and services by socially disadvantaged, historically underserved, limited resource, women, veterans and beginning farmers and ranchers in Louisiana through such methods as described below:
- Conducting Conferences, Urban Ag Workshops, Joint USDA Outreach Meetings, Women in Ag Conferences, Farmers Cooperatives Workshops, Regional Summits, Conservation Demonstration Tours, Establishment of School and Community Gardens to function as a living classroom for targeted audiences, Engaging youth and community stakeholders in the implementation and maintenance of a walking trail and wetland park within a defined geographical area. Partners will have the ability to host meetings and events virtually utilizing methods such as Facebook Live, Zoom, YouTube, Video blogs, etc.
- Use of drones to capture aerial photos and videos of special NRCS projects to be used by outreach and public affairs to promote NRCS programs and objectives.
- Work may include taking aerial photos/videos with unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). All UASs must be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and marked in accordance with 14 CFR Part 45. An FAA-issued certificate of authorization (COA) is required for all UAS operations within the National Airspace System (NAS). If the Contractor has a section-333 exemption, operates under part 107 rules, or other FAA authorization, those may be used instead of a COA. A complete COA package includes, but is not limited to, the operational plan, project aviation safety plan, risk assessment, airworthiness, airspace, pilot qualifications, frequencies, and communication plan.
- UAS video/photos may be used in very remote locations to document conservation activities prior to, during, or after construction. Some sites may be accessible only by water with little to no land in the area, therefore the UAS must be capable of landing on the bow of a boat. Some sites may be very large and require multiple take/offs and landings to cover the entire area. Marine transportation will be provided by NRCS. Metadata for photos shall include latitude/longitude coordinates, indicate angle orientation (must be able to identify north direction), and include project name (provided by NRCS). Photos shall be a minimum of 10.0 megapixels and provided in *.jpeg format. Up to 100 photos may be taken at each location and with specific instructions to be identified in the field. Videos shall be a minimum of 30 fps/VGA, a minimum of 3 minutes in length, and provided in *.mp4 format. Up to 10 videos may be taken at each location and with specific instructions to b identified in the field.
- Proposed projects must be performed in Louisiana.
Funding Information
- The Federal funding agency expects to award approximately $700,000.00 through this opportunity.
- Award Ceiling: $250,000
- Award Floor: $50,000
- Projects may be between 1 and 5 years in duration.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants and applications must meet eligibility criteria by the application deadline to be considered for award. Eligible applicant type is determined by the implementing program statute. Applicant entities identified in the SAM.gov exclusions database as ineligible, prohibited/restricted, or excluded from receiving Federal contracts and certain Federal assistance and benefits will not be considered for Federal funding, as applicable to the funding being requested under this Federal program (2 CFR 206(d)). Neither foreign entities nor individuals are eligible to apply for this opportunity.
- Eligibility for this opportunity is limited to the following entity types:
- City or township governments
- County governments
- For profit organizations other than small businesses
- Independent school districts
- Individuals
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS (other than institutions of higher education)
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS (other than institutions of higher education)
- Private institutions of higher education
- Public and State-controlled institutions of higher education
- Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
- Small businesses
- Special district governments
- State governments
- All applicant categories must be capable of providing support in the State of Louisiana.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
