USDA/NRCS: Conservation Contribution Agreements Program (California)

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is soliciting applications for its Conservation Contribution Agreements Program.

Donor Name: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

State: California

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 04/08/2024

Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000

Grant Duration: 3 Years

Details:

The goals and objectives of this program are:

Use climate-smart management and sound science to enhance the health and productivity of agricultural lands
Lead efforts to adapt to the consequences of climate change in agriculture and forestry.
Restore, protect, and conserve watersheds to ensure clean, abundant, and continuous provision of water resources.
Increase carbon sequestration, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and economic opportunities (and develop low-carbon energy solutions).
Protect agricultural health by minimizing major diseases, pests, and wildlife conflicts.
Build resilient food systems, infrastructure, and supply chain.
Increase food security through assistance and access to nutritious and affordable food
Increase capacity, sustainability, and economic vitality in rural and tribal communities.
Promote environmental justice by maximizing sustainable and green economic development in rural and tribal communities.
Foster a culture of civil rights, diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, transparency, and accountability.
Establish a customer-centric, inclusive, high-performing workforce that is representative of America and the communities they serve.

For Fiscal year 2024, California is prioritizing the following partnership opportunities:

Deliver conservation education and support program implementation for support of Tribal food systems
Increase NRCS capacity to provide technical and/or financial assistance to historically underserved producers in any USDA-NRCS program
Increase capacity of NRCS to provide engineering assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forestry operators at the field level
Increase capacity for producers to adopt higher levels of conservation required for the Conservation Stewardship Program
Provide or facilitate outreach that directly yields new customers who have not previously received or participated in USDA-NRCS programs
Increase capacity of NRCS to deliver technical and financial assistance in high workload offices
Increasing capacity of NRCS to implement Farm Bill programs at the community level across multiple counties
Conduct landscape level planning to enhance rapid delivery of NRCS conservation programs and provide documentation that supports outcomes of conservation measures

The agreement can meet the above priorities a variety of ways, however, examples of past successful agreement objectives are provided below to demonstrate the types of activities the agency has funded in the past. This is not an exhaustive list:

Planning
- Completion of or assistance with resource concern identification at the farm, watershed, or other applicable scale to address the targeted objective. May include:
- inventory of resources and analyzing resource data both in the office or in the field b. use of agency-approved resource assessment tools
- completion of or assistance with determining resource objectives d. assisting with and participating in the formulation of conservation alternatives and evaluation of conservation alternatives e. assisting land stewards with decision making
Systems Data Management
- During conservation program application periods, with direction from NRCS leads:
  - direct input and development of plans in Conservation Desktop, where applicable.
  - assist with applicant data entry and data management in ProTracts, Conservation Desktop and/or Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool
Implementation
- Practice, enhancement, and activity implementation assistance. May include:
  - conducting practice implementation workshops
  - preparing practice implementation requirements or enhancement job sheets
  - preparation of design, layout, construction instructions, inspection, management operation or maintenance information
  - conducting field inspections and preparing check-out notes/documentation for conservation practices
  - coordination of state and local regulatory permits/consultations to support NRCS funded projects
  - support activities for environmental evaluations and documentation
Evaluation
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of the plan in solving the resource concerns as implemented. May include: a
  - follow-up field observations or documentation of results
  - monitoring and evaluation actions
  - review of operation and maintenance actions
Outreach/Education
- Assisting with and participating in announcements of technical and financial assistance opportunities for conservation planning on private lands. May include:
  - participation in outreach events and workshops to share NRCS opportunities
  - coordination of local needs assessments and workgroup events c. partner/stakeholder coordination efforts
  - content publication and/or materials distribution e. language and communication services
  - identification and assistance with participation barriers

Funding Information

The Federal funding agency expects to award approximately $1,000,000.00.
The estimated funding floor for this opportunity is $25,000.00, and the estimated funding ceiling is $150,000.00.

Project Period

Projects may be between 1 and 3 years in duration.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility for this opportunity is limited to the following entity types:

City or township governments
County governments
Independent school districts
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 housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Public and State-controlled institutions of higher education
Special district governments
State governments