Conservation Reserve Program Forest Inventory Analysis Pilot Program

The Farm Service Agency (FSA), on behalf of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), is announcing the availability of competitive grants to conduct a forest inventory analysis, forest management, and economic outcomes modelling, for certain currently enrolled Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land. The analysis is focused on lands enrolled in CRP for at least 8 years and located in areas with a substantial concentration of acres enrolled under the following conservation practices devoted to multiple bottomland hardwood tree species: General tree planting, hardwood tree planting, vegetative cover on previously established tree stands, riparian buffers, bottomland timber establishments, and farmable and aquaculture wetlands.

Non-profit organizations dedicated to conservation, forestry, and wildlife habitats, that have experience in conducting forest inventory analysis through the use of remote sensing data and technology are eligible to apply. The term "non-profit organization" means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that is operated primarily for scientific educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest. This excludes colleges and universities, unless a 501(c)(3) has been established; hospitals; state, local, and federally-recognized Indian tribal governments.

Applicants must submit an application by August 15, 2018 through www.grants.gov. To find the program, search on finding opportunity number USDA-FSA-CRFIA-2018

The purpose of the grants is to provide the CRP Program Manager with information to inform decision-making about the effectives of certain conservation practices on CRP land for bottomland hardwoods and are passive in natures and will not involve ground disturbance or tree removals or disturbance. The grants will be used to conduct a forest inventory analysis focused on lands enrolled in CRP for at least 8 years and located in areas with a substantial concentration of acres enrolled under certain conservation practices devoted to multiple bottomland hardwood tree species, including conservation practices for general tree planting, hardwood tree planting, vegetative cover on previously established tree stands, riparian buffers, bottomland timber establishments, and farmable and aquaculture wetlands.

Any non-profit organization that receives a grant must commit to fully expend the awarded federal funds by September 30, 2020, with an opportunity for extension upon approval by FSA.

FSA will evaluated applications using the evaluation criteria as follows: Non-profit organizations may submit a combined cross-organization proposal to include work that will be coordinated across more than one organization, especially if a joint proposal creates synergies or increased efficiencies. The application may include one or more forest regions. The successful application will be a one-time grant agreement. Applicants will be required to sign the grant agreement with FSA,. Proposal must include funding requested; amount of funding from other parties that provide additional leverage if any; sampling approach to be used; remotely sensed data to be used; number and relevance of metrics to be estimated and the modeling approach to be used to estimate the metrics; the accuracy assessment; and work plan and timeline for completion by September 30, 2020.

After applicants submit applications, FSA, on behalf of CCC, will screen each application to determine whether the appalicant is eligible and whether the application is complete and sufficiently responsive to the requirements specified in the NOFA.

FSA will appoint an inter-agency review panel to evaluate applications.

Appeal decisions are located in Title 7 Part 780.