The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is offering Conservation Collaboration Grant Agreements to support natural resource initiatives in North Dakota.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing potential availability of grant agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration and developing state- and community-level conservation leadership. Proposals will be accepted for projects located in North Dakota.

Proposals are requested for competitive consideration for grant agreement awards for projects between 1 and 4 years in duration. See section C.1 of this announcement for eligible applicant types. Entities may submit more than one application as long as the proposals are for different

projects and entities may receive more than one award.

This notice identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and application instructions for projects. Proposals will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete and/or noncompliant proposals will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) is being released prior to appropriation and/or apportionment of funds for fiscal year 2023. Enactment of additional continuing resolutions or an appropriations act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program. For new users of Grants.gov, see Section D. for information about steps required before submitting an application via Grants.gov.

Key Dates:

Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on March 1, 2023. For technical issues with Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov. Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.

For inquiries specific to the content of the NFO requirements, contact the federal awarding agency contact (section G of this NFO). Please limit questions to those regarding specific information contained in this NFO (such as dates, page numbers, clarification of discrepancies, etc.) Questions related to eligibility or the merits of a specific proposal will not be addressed.

The agency anticipates making selections by April 2, 2023 and expects to execute awards by September 1, 2023. These dates are estimates and are subject to change.