Developing the Next Generation of Conservationists

Posted by on December 10, 2012

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Accepting Proposals for America’s Great Outdoors: Developing the Next Generation of Conservationists
Deadline: January 21, 2013

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation , in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Reclamation, has announced a Request for Proposals for America’s Great Outdoors: Developing the Next Generation of Conservationists, an initiative to connect youth to the outdoors by providing financial support for conservation job-training programs. The initiative brings together public and private partners to support organizations that are developing conservation job opportunities on public lands which expose young people, particularly urban and minority youth, to the natural world and career opportunities available in conservation.

Funding for the program is provided by BLM and Reclamation and is restricted to habitat and species restoration projects that directly benefit BLM and/or Reclamation facilities, lands, programs, or mission. Competitive projects will deliver measurable conservation outcomes that involve an America’s Great Outdoors priority or signature project, a NFWF Keystone Initiative, and/or a direct partnership with BLM and/or Reclamation.

Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations, government agencies, academic institutions, and tribal groups that have coordinated with, and received a letter of support from, a BLM field office, district office, or state office and/or a Reclamation field office, area office, or regional office. The letter of support must be submitted with the application prior to the RFP deadline in order for the application to be evaluated.

In this funding round, approximately $1.4 million will be available for matching grants nationwide. The geographic focus is on the western United States. Up to $250,000 in funding is specifically available for projects in the Walker River Basin of Nevada that complement the efforts of the Walker Basin Restoration Program.

Award amounts are anticipated to be in the $40,000 to $100,000 range for project periods of six to eighteen months. A minimum 1:1 match of non-federal cash and/or in-kind contribution is required for projects seeking BLM funds (a 100 percent non-federal cost share of the federal funds is required). A minimum 1:0.5 match of non-federal cash and/or in-kind contributions is required for projects seeking Reclamation funds (a 50 percent non-federal cost-share of the federal funds is required). Projects with higher match ratios and diversity of matching funds will be given priority consideration.

Complete program guidelines, an FAQ, and application instructions are available at the NFWF Web site.

http://www.nfwf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Charter_Programs_List&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=60&ContentID=26222