RCPP Alternative Funding Arrangement for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2021.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) promotes coordination of NRCS conservation

activities with partners that offer value-added contributions that expand our collective ability to address onfarm,

watershed, and regional natural resource concerns. NRCS seeks to coinvest with RCPP partners to

implement projects that demonstrate innovative solutions to conservation challenges and provide measurable

improvements and outcomes tied to the resource concerns they seek to address.

Through RCPP, partners propose projects-using guidance contained in this notice-that generate

conservation benefits by addressing specific natural resource objectives in a state/multistate area or address one

or more primary resource concerns within a critical conservation area (CCA). NRCS and partners design,

implement and evaluate RCPP projects on agricultural and non-industrial private forest land. NRCS coinvests

in RCPP projects selected through a competitive application process that evaluates applications based on four

criteria: impact, partner contributions, innovation, and partnerships and management.

The RCPP AFA component is intended to support project structures and approaches that cannot be carried out

as effectively through RCPP Classic. RCPP AFA applicants must describe the innovative nature of the

conservation approach they are proposing to justify potential funding through an RCPP AFA rather than RCPP

Classic. Additionally, applicants should consider the additional administrative and technical assistance

responsibilities that accompany receipt of an RCPP AFA award.

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) amendments to RCPP provides examples of project

types that might be implemented through RCPP AFA:

 Projects that use innovative approaches to leverage the Federal investment in conservation;

 Projects that deploy a pay-for-performance conservation approach;

 Projects that seek large-scale infrastructure investments that generate conservation benefits for

agricultural producers and nonindustrial private forest owners.

Although RCPP AFA provides flexibilities to partners, these projects share the overarching focus of RCPP -

engaging with producers and landowners to implement conservation practices, systems and approaches on or for

the benefit of agricultural and nonindustrial private forest lands.

This notice announces the availability of funding for up to 15 RCPP AFA projects in FY 2021. Applications

are accepted from all 50 States, the Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands), and U.S. territories

in the Pacific Island Areas (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands).

SUBMISSIONS: Applications must be submitted through the Programs Portal: https://nrcs-sites.secure.force.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION: A webinar for interested RCPP applicants is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern

Time on April 1st. Information on how to tune into the webinar, along with all other RCPP application

information, is housed on the national RCPP webpage. Partners may email the RCPP inbox -- rcpp@usda.gov -

- questions about this announcement.