Conservation Security Program

The Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Service stopped awarding grants under the Conservation Security Program (CFDA 10.921) in February 2012, with no recent grant opportunities posted under this Assistance Listing. The program funded financial and technical assistance to promote conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life on Tribal and private working lands, including cropland and related categories.

From 2007 through 2012, NRCS disbursed 202 Cooperative Agreements totaling $3.9 million federal dollars, with peak activity in 2009 and 2010 when the program issued 64 awards each year before declining sharply to just 3 awards in 2012. All 202 awards were structured as Cooperative Agreements. Recent awards from 2010–2012 ranged widely in scale, from as little as $32 to as much as $59,200; representative awards included a $30,000 agreement (September 28, 2010), a $22,200 agreement (August 10, 2010), and a $20,782 agreement (July 14, 2011).

NRCS is the sole funder under this program. No grant opportunities are currently open under CFDA 10.921. The Conservation Security Program does not appear to be actively used to distribute new funding; recent NRCS conservation funding activity appears instead to flow through the Agriculture Conservation Experienced Services (ACES) Program, which posted a solicitation due February 13, 2025, restricted to 501(c)(3) nonprofits eligible under the Community Service Senior Opportunities Act. That opportunity provides national Cooperative Agreements for nonprofits to recruit and deploy individuals age 55 or older to provide technical services, though the ACES solicitation explicitly states "there is no funding available under this announcement" — approved applicants become eligible to enter into individual funded agreements.

Do not pursue funding under CFDA 10.921 unless you can confirm active funding availability directly with NRCS, as all award activity ceased over 14 years ago.