Natural Resources Conservation Service February 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing availability of Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Applications will be accepted from all 50 States, District of Columbia, Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands), and the Pacific Islands Area (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). NRCS anticipates that the amount available for support of this program in FY 2014 will be up to $15 million. Applications are requested from eligible governmental or non-governmental organizations or individuals for competitive consideration of grant awards for projects between 1 and 3 years in duration. Funds will be awarded through a two-phase nationwide competitive grants process that will include: (1) A pre-proposal process, and (2) a full proposal process. The full proposal process will only be open to applicants whose pre-proposal applications are selected by NRCS. Both phases are described in the full announcement found at Grants.gov. Only pre-proposals are being solicited at this time. Please visit https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/cig/ for more information about this grant opportunity. In addition, the full notice that identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and application instructions for CIG projects can also be found at: www.grants.gov. Applications will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of the announcement. Incomplete applications will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be mailed to the applicant. NRCS will request a full proposal package only from those applicants selected in the pre- proposal phase.