F24AS00446 Highlands Conservation Act - Base Funding Round | F24AS00446

Opportunity Information: Apply for F24AS00446

F24AS00446, titled "Highlands Conservation Act (HCA) - Base Funding Round," is a discretionary grant opportunity run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help permanently protect land and natural resources in the Highlands Region across Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The program is focused on land conservation projects that secure property or conservation interests (such as easements) from willing sellers so that areas with high conservation value can be protected long-term. In practical terms, the funding is meant to support projects where government entities obtain land or rights in land specifically to conserve important natural resources in the Highlands.

A central feature of the HCA program is its cost-share structure. Subject to federal appropriations, the Governors of the four Highlands States may submit proposals requesting federal funding for up to 50 percent of the total project cost. This makes the program a matching-style investment, where state and local partners are expected to bring the remaining share of funding or value needed to complete the acquisition or conservation action. The opportunity also notes that Highlands States may ask the Service to add municipalities from an identified Expanded Opportunity Area for the Highlands Landscape into the official Highlands Region, which can expand where eligible conservation work may occur over time.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity specifically covers the Base funding category. The HCA program typically splits appropriated funds into two buckets: Base and Competitive. Eligible applicants can apply under this notice for Base funds, while Competitive funds will be offered through a separate notice. In addition, the Service is piloting a third, separate notice this year aimed at land protection projects in under-resourced and under-served communities within the Highlands Region. An important rule is that the same project cannot be submitted for funding across multiple HCA funding opportunities, so applicants need to choose the single most appropriate track for each project.

Eligibility is limited in a very specific way. While conservation projects can involve state, county, and municipal acquisitions, only the Lead State Agency (or agencies) designated by each Governor is allowed to apply directly for funding under the Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program. If a Governor designates more than one Lead Agency in a state, those agencies must coordinate before applying to ensure the request does not exceed the maximum allowable amount for this funding opportunity. After an award is made, the Lead State Agency can pass through all or part of the federal funds by subawarding to a county or municipality within the Highlands Region, or to another state conservation agency, which is how local projects are commonly supported even though local governments do not apply directly to the Service.

Key administrative details in the posted data include the funding instrument type (grant), the activity category (natural resources), and the CFDA/Assistance Listing number 15.667. The opportunity lists an award ceiling of $1,462,500 and an original closing date of 2024-12-31. The listed eligible applicant type is state governments, reflecting the requirement that only the designated Lead State Agency may submit the application. The opportunity was created on 2024-08-29.

The notice also advertises an online overview of the funding opportunity scheduled for Friday, September 27 at 11:00 AM EST, with invitations provided by emailing the Service contact referenced in the notice (Section G.1). For state-specific coordination and project development, the notice directs interested parties to the current Lead State Agencies and their contacts: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (Matt Starr, matthew.starr@ct.gov), New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (Lynn Kovach, lynn.kovach@parks.ny.gov), New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council (Liz Ward, elizabeth.ward@highlands.nj.gov), and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Dan Pierce, danipierce@pa.gov).

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F24AS00446 Highlands Conservation Act - Base Funding Round" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.667.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-08-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-12-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,462,500.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F24AS00446

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