Partnership Agreements

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service is awarding partnership agreements under CFDA 10.699 to support ecosystem restoration, wildlife management, and recreation development on national forest and grassland lands, with the most recent award dated September 25, 2023. This program structure remains active; the Forest Service has posted multiple outreach-of-interest solicitations in October 2024, all with due dates in January 2025.

Recent grant activity is sparse. Three cooperative agreements have been awarded over a fifteen-year span: ecosystem and watershed restoration in the Natchitoches Soil and Water Conservation District ($280,900, September 2023); mountain quail fuels reduction in California ($150,000, June 2019); and abandoned mine safety closures ($3.50 credit adjustment, August 2009). The combined federal obligation across all three awards is $431 thousand. Award frequency has been roughly one per year, though the portfolio is too small to establish a reliable cadence.

Partnership agreements under this listing fund a broad portfolio of land and resource management activities on 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands. Eligible funded activities include watershed restoration, wildlife habitat improvement (fencing, artificial structures, monitoring), native plant revegetation and collection, recreation infrastructure and visitor services, heritage site protection and interpretation, grassland restoration assessment, and at-risk plant species conservation. All awards in the portfolio are structured as cooperative agreements, reflecting the collaborative nature of the program. Modifications and extensions to agreements are subject to project requirements and available resources; agreements may last up to five years.

Funding is concentrated within Forest Service regional offices. The Forest Service R8-Southern Region has obligated $281 thousand across one award; R5-Pacific Southwest Region has obligated $150 thousand. The program is open to nonprofits, tribal organizations, government agencies, universities, and for-profit entities. Partnership agreements are fully negotiated instruments; the program description notes that 2 CFR 200 requirements typically do not apply.

The Forest Service is actively recruiting partners across multiple thematic areas. Active outreach-of-interest solicitations posted October 7, 2024, with January 23–24, 2025 due dates include Partnerships for Aquatic and Watershed Restoration (PAWR); Wildlife Habitat Fencing; Wildlife Habitat Enhancement; Bioacoustics Monitoring for Wildlife Management; Heritage Site Protection; Heritage Interpretive Assistance; Recreation Sites and Visitor Services; and Partnerships to Reach and Engage Audiences in Outdoor Recreation. Additional solicitations address grassland restoration assessment, at-risk plants and pollinators, native plant revegetation, and nanocellulose research commercialization. An earlier solicitation (due October 25, 2024) solicited commercialization partners for sustainable cellulose nanomaterials; a tribal-focused reforestation and Indian Youth Service Corps partnership solicitation closed November 17, 2023.