The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is requesting applications for the Renewable Resource Extension Act (RREA) – National Focus Fund Projects (NFF) for fiscal year (FY) 2023 to provide for extension projects that focus on forest and rangeland renewable resources of national or regional relevance.
Donor Name: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/08/2023
Size of the Grant: $150,000
Grant Duration: 24 Months
Details:
The RREA-NFF, Assistance Listing 10.515, program goal is to enhance the sustainability of U.S. Forest and Rangeland Resources and enable landowners and managers to achieve their desired goals and objectives by making the results of relevant public research available to them. Forest and rangeland resources provide multiple benefits to people including wildlife habitat, water supply, open space, recreation, and cultural resources. Many of these lands are privately owned and managed for forest products, livestock production, and recreation. Forest and rangeland systems are susceptible to less sustainable land use conversion and climate change. RREA-NFF projects must maximize the capacity, reach, and impact of the Cooperative Extension System – Extension Forestry and Rangeland Programs to ensure appropriate management and conservation of natural resources and to ensure resilience against climate change, and threats from land fragmentation.
The RREA-NFF will support projects that significantly advance the following USDA priority areas:
- Advancing Racial Justice, Equity, and Opportunity;
- Addressing Climate Change; and
- More, Better, and New Market Opportunities.
The RREA-NFF is aligned with the following USDA Strategic Goals:
- Combat Climate Change to Support America’s Working Lands, Natural Resources and Communities;
- Ensure America’s Agricultural System is Equitable, Resilient, and Prosperous; and
- Foster an Equitable and Competitive Marketplace for All Agricultural Producers
Program Area Priorities
NIFA is soliciting applications in the following program area priorities:
- Extension projects that ensure the adoption of climate-smart technologies and practices in forests systems.
- Extension projects that ensure the adoption of climate-smart technologies and practices in rangeland systems.
Program priorities are designed to support extension activities that involve stakeholders in developing and rapidly applying new knowledge or practices. This program also supports:
- Projects that will build on and expand existing extension efforts in forest and rangeland management that advance climate smart technologies and practices;
- The application of technological innovations (e.g., artificial intelligence, virtual realities, etc.) to increase adoption of climate smart technologies and practices;
- Extension efforts that when adopted, provide social, economic, and environmental benefits including carbon credits and the delivery of commodities that support renewable energy development and new markets for wood products.
Proposed projects must:
- Implement new and innovative technologies into Extension activities that maximize the adoption of climate-smart technologies and practices that result in behavior change among forest and rangeland owners and managers.
- Include a detailed plan on how data and information will be collected during the execution of the project, that will allow for outputs, outcomes and impacts to be measured. This plan must outline how the following will be documented and measured: the extent to which climate smart technologies and practices have been adopted by forest and rangeland practitioners, owners, and managers; and the results of these behavior changes including economic benefits and changes in climate-related metrics, during and beyond the conclusion of the project.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $300,000
- Award Ceiling: $150,000
- Award Floor: $150,000
Grant Duration
24 Months
Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility Requirements Applications may only be submitted by 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions. Project Directors must have an Extension appointment. An Extension appointment is a formal appointment by an Extension Director/Administrator in the institution’s extension service.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
