Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program

The Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) is a competitive grants program authorized under section 1240R of the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended (16 U.S.C. 3839bb-5), and is only available for State and Tribal Governments. Up to $40 million of mandatory funding is available through fiscal years (FY) 2014-2018. For FY 2014, $20 million was available and awarded. This Announcement for Program Funding (APF) provides the objectives for projects, eligibility criteria for projects and applicants, and application forms and associated instructions needed to apply for a VPA-HIP competitive grant. NRCS anticipates that the amount available for this program in FY 2015 will be up to $20 million. The primary objective of the VPA-HIP is to support State and Tribal Government programs that encourage owners and operators of privately held farm, ranch, and forest land to voluntarily make that land available for access by the public for hunting, fishing, and other wildlife-dependent recreation. This does apply to individuals who have control of the land for the agreement period, regardless of land ownership. If opening dates for migratory bird hunting in the State are not consistent for residents and nonresidents, grant amounts are reduced by 25 percent. This provision does not apply to grantees that are Tribal Governments. The regulations at 7 CFR part 1455, govern the VPA-HIP, except that VPA-HIP will be administered under the general supervision and direction of the Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), who is the Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS); the Associate Chief for Conservation, NRCS; or NRCS designee.