Iowa Conservation Collaboration Projects Fiscal Year 2016

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The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing potential availability of grants for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration and developing state- and community-level conservation leadership. Proposals will be accepted from Iowa. Overview The purpose of Conservation Collaboration Grants will be to leverage NRCS and partner resources to: 1. Build soil health on cropland. 2. Improve environmental and economic performance of grasslands. 3. Provide habitat for local wildlife species of concern as identified in the Iowa Wildlife Action Plan. 4. Reduce the net emissions of greenhouse gasses associated with agriculture. 5. Support the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Emphasis will be placed on projects that: 1. Build technical capacity of NRCS and partner field conservation employees. 2. Build the capacity of local watershed groups to develop and implement effective projects. 3. Leverage non-Federal and non-government resources to achieve positive natural resources conservation outcomes. NRCS will accept proposals under this notice for single or multiyear projects, not to exceed three years, submitted by eligible entities based in or with substantial operations in Iowa. Eligible entities include Indian Tribes, State and local units of government, non-governmental organizations, and institutions of higher learning. Proposals will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete and/or noncompliant proposals will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant. Complete proposals received by applicable deadlines will be evaluated based on the Proposal Evaluation Criteria identified in the instructions in section V.B. Evaluated proposals will be forwarded to the NRCS State Conservationist who will make the final selections.

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