Ecological Broadcast Burning “Restoring Wetland Easements”

Description

Federal Awarding Agency Name:U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC)-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)Notice of Funding Opportunity Title:Ecological Broadcast BurningNotice of Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NRCS-OR-ACEP-22-NOFO0001183Assistance Listing:This program is listed in the Assistance Listings on Sam.gov under the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, 16 USC 3865, et seq., CFDA No. 10.931.SAM is a web-based, government-wide application that collects, validates, stores, and disseminates business information about the federal government's trading partners in support of the contract awards, grants, and electronic payment processes.Notice of Funding Opportunity SummaryThis Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) is being released prior to appropriation and/or apportionment of funds for fiscal year 2022. Enactment of additional continuing resolutions or an appropriations act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program. NRCS-Oregon (OR) is posting an announcement for interested parties to apply for the opportunity to assist our agency with conducting important ecological broadcast burning (Prescribed fire) on multiple Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) Wetland Reserve Easement Properties (WRE) and Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) Properties. NRCS recognizes the importance of applying fire in appropriate locations to properly manage the land for multiple beneficial outcomes. These priority lands have been adapted by fire over the centuries and due to various reasons, this management tool has been absent. By removing fire from the management equation, we are finding these important wetland habitats are degrading and may be changing from their historic and full functioning condition.NRCS-OR is making a funding opportunity available for applicants to submit proposals with an award ceiling of $600,000 and a minimum project award of $250,000. NRCS will be awarding a fixed amount cooperative agreement for up to a five-year period. If, in coordination with NRCS, additional resources are needed at a rate that exceeds this schedule, NRCS may add funds to this agreement to support continued partnership over the performance period.Our primary goal is to apply prescribed fire to prioritized wetland areas throughout the Willamette Valley and Oregon High Desert Basins. The project list ranges in size from 25 acre to 2,000-acre burns. Applicants will identify the average cost per acre based on geography in Oregon (Exhibit-A)( Appendix D) and estimated number of projects to be completed in any year. NRCS will work with the selected applicant to make the choice of priority easements in each year of the agreement based on cost per acre, geography, and number of burns. Applicants will be awarded based on these merits and the specified scoring criteria. Eligible applicants include: all domestic applicants except individuals and for profit-organizations. Applications will be due on May 24, 2022. Applicants should be familiar with all applicable state, federal, local laws, policies, and regulations that apply to prescribed fire in the locales of the proposed projects. Additionally, applicants must consider burn boss qualifications, liability, insurance coverage, financial responsibilities if this work will be completed by contractors. ACEP-WRE WebpageFor new users of Grants.gov, see Section D. for information about steps required beforesubmitting an application via Grants.gov.Key DatesApplicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on May 24th. For technical issues with Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518- 4726 or support@grants.gov. Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.For inquiries specific to the content of the NFO requirements, contact the federal awarding agency contact (section G of this NFO). Please limit questions to those regarding specific information contained in this NFO (such as dates, page numbers, clarification of discrepancies, etc.) Questions related to eligibility, or the merits of a specific proposal will not be addressed. A listening session and Q and A allowing participants to openly inquire will be held on May 5th. The agency anticipates making selections by June 30th and expects to execute awards by August. These dates are estimates and are subject to change.Federal Funding Floor and Ceiling AmountsThe estimated funding floor for this opportunity is $250,000, and the estimated funding ceiling is $600,000. The funding floor means the minimum agreement funding amount for the Federal share per agreement awarded. The ceiling is the maximum agreement funding amount for the Federal share per agreement awarded. These numbers refer to the total agreement amount, not any specific budget period.Federal Financial Assistance TrainingThe funding available through this NFO is Federal financial assistance. Grants 101 Training is highly recommended for those seeking knowledge about Federal financial assistance. The training is free and available to the public via https://www.cfo.gov/grants-training/. It consists of five modules covering each of the following topics: 1) laws, regulations, and guidance; 2) financial assistance mechanisms; 3) uniform guidance administrative requirements; 4) cost principles; and 5) risk management and single audit. FPAC agencies also apply Federal financial assistance regulations to certain non-assistance awards (e.g., non-assistance cooperative agreements).

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