DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE: WY Conservation Innovation Grant for Conservation Projects in Wyoming

ACTION: NOTICE
Conservation Innovation Grants Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Announcement for Program Funding-Wyoming

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 10.912

SUMMARY: 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 Wyoming. NRCS anticipates that the amount available for support of this program in FY 2014 will be up to $150,000. The maximum award amount for any project will not exceed $75,000 in FY 2014. Applications are requested from eligible governmental or non-governmental organizations or individuals for competitive consideration of grant awards for projects between one and three years in duration.

Funds will be awarded through a two-phase statewide 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 this announcement, but only pre-proposals are being solicited at this time.

This notice identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and application instructions for CIG projects. Applications will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. 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.

DATES: Applications for the pre-proposal phase must be received by NRCS before 4:00 p.m. on May 1, 2014. NRCS will announce selected pre-proposal applications by May 21, 2014. Selected applicants will then be required to submit a full proposal package to NRCS by 4:00 p.m. on July 21, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Applications sent via express mail or overnight courier service must be sent to the following address: USDA-NRCS, CIG Program, Federal Building, 100 East B Street, Room 3001, Casper, Wyoming 82601. Applications sent via the United States Postal Service must be sent to the following address: USDA-NRCS, CIG Program, P.O. Box 33124, Casper, Wyoming 82602. Applications sent electronically must be sent through www.grants.gov. or grant.stumbough@wy.usda.gov.

For more information contact:
Grant Stumbough
NRCS Programs Specialist
Phone: (307) 233- 6760
E-mail: grant.stumbough@wy.usda.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Legislative Authority
The Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program was authorized as part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-8) under the Agricultural Act of 2014. The Secretary of Agriculture delegated the authority for the administration of EQIP and CIG to the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), who is Vice President of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). EQIP is funded and administered by NRCS under the authorities of the CCC.

B. Overview
The purpose of CIG is to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies, while leveraging the Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection in conjunction with agricultural production. CIG projects are expected to lead to the transfer of conservation technologies, management systems, and innovative approaches into NRCS policy, technical manuals, guides, and references, or to the private sector. CIG does not fund research projects and projects intended to test hypotheses do not qualify for a CIG award. CIG is used to apply or demonstrate previously proven technology. It is a vehicle to stimulate development and adoption of conservation approaches or technologies that have been studied sufficiently to indicate a high likelihood of success, and that are candidates for eventual technology transfer or institutionalization. CIG promotes sharing of skills, knowledge, technologies, and facilities among communities, governments, and other institutions to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users. CIG funds projects targeting innovative on-the-ground conservation, including pilot projects and field demonstrations.

NRCS will accept applications under this notice for single or multi-year projects, not to exceed three years, submitted by eligible entities from Wyoming. Eligible entities include federally recognized Indian Tribes, Wyoming and local units of government, and non-governmental organizations and individuals.

A two-phase evaluation process will be utilized for applications submitted under this notice. The first phase requires the applicant to submit a pre-proposal application. Pre-proposal applications will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete applications will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be mailed to the applicant. NRCS staff will evaluate complete pre-proposal applications based on how they demonstrate the use of innovative technologies and/or approaches to address at least one of the topics provided in section I.D. of this notice.

NRCS will only request a full proposal package from those applicants selected in the pre-proposal process. Complete applications received by applicable deadlines will be evaluated by a technical peer review panel based on the Application Evaluation Criteria identified in the application instructions in section VI.B. Full proposal applications, along with their associated technical peer review, will then be forwarded to the Wyoming Review Board. The Wyoming Review Board will make its recommendations for project approval to the NRCS Wyoming Conservationist who will make the final selections.

C. Innovative Conservation Projects or Activities
For the purposes of CIG, the proposed innovative project or activity must encompass the development, demonstration, evaluation, implementation, and monitoring of the following:
• Conservation adoption approaches or incentive systems;
• Promising conservation technologies, practices, systems, procedures, or approaches; or
• Environmental soundness with goals of environmental protection and natural resource enhancement.

To be given consideration, the innovative project or activity must comply with all federal, Wyoming, and local regulations throughout the duration of the project and should:
• Make use of a proven technology or a technology that has been studied sufficiently to indicate a high probability of success;
• Demonstrate and verify environmental (e.g., soil, water, air, plants, energy, and animal) effectiveness, utility, affordability, and usability of conservation technology in the field;
• Adapt conservation technologies, management, practices, systems, procedures, approaches, and incentive systems to improve performance and encourage adoption;
• Introduce conservation systems, approaches, and procedures from another geographic area or agricultural sector; or
• Demonstrate transferability of knowledge.

D. Wyoming Component

Applications must demonstrate the use of innovative technologies, approaches, or both to address a natural resource concern or concerns. Eight natural resource concerns have been identified for possible funding through the FY2014 Wyoming Conservation Innovation Grant competition. Applications benefitting multiple resource concerns will receive priority for funding, as well as applications focusing on Market Based Approaches. The objective of this approach is to develop, implement, and/or evaluate processes, technology tools, institutional arrangements, or systems that are “market-based” in nature and address one of the priority resource concerns below:

1.) Atmospheric Resources
The objective of this conservation concern is to implement new technologies and/or approaches to maintain, restore, or enhance air quality and atmospheric resources through agricultural and forest practices while sustaining productivity. Subtopics include but are not limited to:
• Manage agricultural primary and precursor emissions of particulates, odors, volatile organic compounds, and greenhouse gases to limit on-site and/or off-site effects from emission;
• Demonstrate innovative approaches to decrease atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases by increasing carbon sequestration (e.g. increasing soil carbon) and/or by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture operations;
• Identify management practices for air quality and atmospheric change concerns at animal operations and quantify the effect of the practices on all applicable resource concerns; and
• Development of monitoring protocol.

2.) Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Sources
The objective of this conservation concern is to demonstrate new energy-related technologies and approaches, and alternate energy sources to reduce energy consumption in agricultural systems. Subtopics include but are not limited to:
• Renewable energy sources such as wind, solar or bio-based fuels, micro-hydro power;
• Energy audit of activities related to natural resource concerns (soil, water, air, plants and animals) on agriculture lands.
• Improving the energy efficiency of land-based agriculture production through conservation practices and activities.
• Development of monitoring protocol

3.) Forest Health
The objective of this conservation concern is to implement new technologies and/or approaches to maintain, restore, or enhance forest health while sustaining productivity. Subtopics include but are not limited to:
• Improving water and air quality while maintaining forest health and productivity.
• Development of monitoring protocol.

4.) Grazing Land
The objective of this conservation concern is to implement new technologies and/or approaches to maintain, restore, or enhance grazing land while sustaining productivity. Subtopics include but are not limited to:
• New and innovative approaches and methods to reduce the effects of pests and diseases on grazing land, land quality, health and productivity.
• Development of monitoring protocol.

5.) Organic Agriculture
The objective of this conservation concern is to implement new technologies and/or approaches to maintain, restore, or enhance organic agriculture. Subtopics include but are not limited to:
• Demonstration of continuous cover crops.
• Conservation practices for specialty crops.
• Lower energy use.
• Organic agriculture effect on soil health.
• Retention of carbon and nitrogen in organic plots. Organic approved nutrient (timing, rates, sources, and methods) – determine the proper source, rate, timing, and method(s) of application for organically approved nutrient amendments.
• Harvesting time and techniques for commodities quality and pest control – determine harvesting times and techniques that may minimize pest damage for the planned commodity.

6.) Soil Resources
The objective of this conservation concern is to implement new technologies and/or approaches to maintain, restore, or enhance soil resources associated with agricultural and forest land uses while sustaining productivity. Subtopics include but are not limited to:
• Accumulation of harmful levels of constituents in soils, including nutrients, metals, and salts.
• Cropping systems to improve soil health and sequester carbon.
• Erosion reduction in low residue specialty crops (potatoes, vegetables, etc.), cropping systems.

7.) Water Resources
The objective of this conservation resource concern is to implement new technologies and/or approaches to maintain, restore, or enhance water quality and/or quantity in watersheds with significant agricultural land uses while sustaining productivity. Subtopics include but are not limited to:
• Alternate water conservation cropping systems and/or crops for economic or environmental stability.
• Aquifer recharge/maintenance of groundwater supplies.
• Irrigation management for water conservation.
• Nutrient, pesticide, and pathogen transport to surface water and groundwater.
• Salinity or selenium reduction.
• Sediment transport to surface water.

8.) Wetlands and Wildlife Habitat
The objective of this conservation concern is to implement new technologies and/or approaches for the development of wildlife habitat for at-risk species on agricultural working lands while maintaining agricultural productivity. Subtopics include but are not limited to:
• Incentive systems that promote the conservation of species at-risk and agricultural production equally.
• Monitoring protocols.
• Pollinator species protection.
• Riparian area management and restoration.