Private Landowner Technical Assistance Program
Targeted Wildlife Specialists
to Promote Conservation on Private Lands
Request for Proposals
Background
The Private Landowner Technical Assistance Program (Private Landowner TAP) is a partnership between
the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
(www.nrcs.usda.gov) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) (www.nfwf.org). The
purpose of this partnership is to provide grants on a competitive basis to support field biologists and
other habitat professionals (botanists, ecologists, foresters, etc.) working with NRCS field offices in
providing technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, foresters and other private landowners to optimize
wildlife conservation on private lands.
This initiative seeks to promote more comprehensive and beneficial conservation planning; accelerate
the implementation of additional high quality fish and wildlife conservation practice; monitor, assess
and report on measurable conservation outcomes; and improve customers’ understanding of agency
practices, standards and strategic initiatives. These shared biologists and professional land
conservationists will help the delivery of Farm Bill conservation programs to private farmers, ranchers
and non-industrial forest owners throughout the nation. At the same time, it will allow NRCS to more
effectively contribute to the highest priority fish and wildlife conservation needs identified by other
federal and state agencies through partnering with private landowners and conservation organizations.
Private Landowner TAP aims to better focus and increase the effectiveness of Farm Bill assistance
funded through programs such as Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and others.
Grant Size
 Typical grant awards will range from $40,000 to $300,000.
Proposal Requirements
 Project proposals must include a letter of commitment from the respective NRCS State
Conservationist(s) with which the wildlife specialist(s) would work.
 Prior to submitting a proposal, applicants should work with NRCS State Conservationist(s) to
identify the key areas and issues within that state to target technical assistance.
 Positions to be funded are for up to two years of full-time employment by the respective
grantee.
 Grantees will be required to identify performance and conservation targets, consistent with
NRCS’s needs, against which progress will be measured and reported to NFWF.
 A match of at least 25% non-federal cash or in-kind is required, but larger match ratios are
encouraged.
Applicant Eligibility
 Eligible applicants include: non-profit 501(c) organizations, educational institutions, tribes, and
state or local units of governments (e.g. state conservation agencies, counties, townships, cities,
conservation districts, utility districts, drainage districts, etc.). Individuals, federal government
agencies and for-profit firms are not eligible for grants under this program.
Funding Priorities
Priority for funding will be directed to proposals that target species and ecosystems of shared interest
between NFWF and NRCS, including but not limited to the following: (A map of priority project regions
can be accessed by clicking here.)

Southeastern Longleaf Pine Forests – Longleaf Pine ecosystems once dominated the
southeastern United States. Today, conversion to short-rotation pine plantations, fire
suppression and development have decimated this ecosystem. This grant program will fund
technical assistance for restoration projects throughout the longleaf pine’s historic range, with a
particular focus on work in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama. Funding will focus on
technical assistance needed to support efforts to maintain, recover and restore the longleaf pine
ecosystem across its historic range.

Chesapeake Bay Watershed – The Chesapeake Bay is one of the nation’s most important and
yet degraded major water bodies. This initiative seeks to build upon new strategies prepared by
federal and state agencies to restore the Bay by improving stewardship on private lands. Funds
will be focused on technical assistance toward projects that accelerate local implementation of
the most innovative, sustainable and cost-effective strategies to restore and protect water
quality and vital habitats within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with a particular focus on
technical assistance for projects that help restore habitat for eastern brook trout.

Short-Grass Prairie – The lesser prairie chicken is in dramatic decline, and it requires
pronounced actions to reverse population losses through habitat-based investments. Focusing
on short-grass prairie restoration in the eastern regions of New Mexico and Colorado, and the
western regions of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas will benefit the lesser prairie chicken and
hundreds of species of birds which utilize this habitat. Wildlife professionals will provide the
technical guidance and support needed by private ranchers to create core habitat areas, and
corridors to connect those necessary to recover the lesser prairie chicken and related species.

Early Successional Forest Habitat – Declining early successional habitat has been identified as a
top priority of all State Wildlife Action Plans in the Northeast and Appalachian regions. Among
the species most significantly impacted by this decline are New England cottontail and golden-
winged warbler. Private Landowner TAP is interested in supporting efforts to restore early
successional habitat with a particular focus on New England and the Appalachian region of
eastern Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, the state of West Virginia and western Pennsylvania and
Virginia. Applicants should describe how their actions in restoring or protecting early
successional habitat will benefit the New England cottontail and/or golden-winged warbler.

Gulf Coast – Coastal marshlands have experienced decades of depletion. Now, following the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill, wildlife dependent upon these coastlands are more impacted than
ever. Wildlife professionals are needed to create and restore aquatic and wetland habitat for
migratory birds. Concentrated efforts during the past year, demonstrated that waterfowl and
other migratory birds will utilize farmland that has been flooded for the fall and/or spring
migration. Similar efforts, along with coastal marshland restoration, will be considered for
funding under the Private Landowner TAP program.
Criteria for Competitive Proposals
Proposals will be more competitive if they include:








Activities that help conserve the species, habitats and ecosystems in the conservation priorities
listed above
Measurable conservation outcomes linked to project activities (e.g., target bird population
increases by X%)
Activities that advance the goals of the NRCS and/or of established regional, State and Federal
conservation plans
Restoration/protection of habitats/species in, or adjacent to, protected areas
Provisions for long-term management, maintenance and protection, as appropriate
Documentation of knowledge and experience with the NRCS planning process (For those with
limited experience, more information can be found here: http://techreg.usda.gov/Training.aspx)
Proven capability in working successfully with private landowners
Provide additional matching contributions greater than the minimum of 25%
Matching Contributions
All grantees are required to provide a minimum 25% match of cash, contributed goods and services from
non-Federal sources and/or a mixture of both. The ratio of matching funds offered by the applicant is
one criterion considered during the review process.
Matching funds may include cash, in-kind contributions of staff and volunteer time, work performed,
materials and services donated, or other tangible contributions to the project objectives and outcomes.
To be eligible, matching contributions must be:




Dedicated specifically for the project
Spent between the project start and end dates designated in the grant application
Voluntary in nature (mitigation, restitution, or other permit or court-ordered settlements are
ineligible)
Applied only to the Private Landowner TAP grant and not to any other federal matching
programs.
Project Duration
Projects should be completed within 2½ years following receipt of a grant agreement; each position will
be funded up to 2 years. Project start and end dates should define the period during which all proposed
work is accomplished, all requested funds are spent, and all matching funds are spent. A grant may
support one part of a larger, longer project with multiple stages; that part of the project supported by
the grant must be completed within the specified time frame.
Ineligible Uses of Funds



Funds granted under this program may not be used to support political advocacy, lobbying or
litigation.
Grantees may not use grant funds to support ongoing efforts to comply with legal requirements
(e.g., permit conditions, mitigation, settlement agreements) of any local, state or federal permit.
Grant funds may be used to support projects that enhance or improve upon existing baseline
compliance efforts.
Grantees may only use grant funds for indirect costs if they meet the following conditions:
o the grantee organization has a federally-approved indirect rate; and,
o indirect costs do not exceed 15% of the total grant request (even when the federallyapproved rate is greater than 15%).
Deadlines and Application Procedures
Proposals are due on February 15th, 2011. A webinar to review the grant process, program goals and
answer questions will be held on January 24th, 2011 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm, EST.
All application materials must be submitted online through National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s
Easygrants system. Hard-copy applications will not be considered for funding.
To start an application, please click on the following link: http://www.nfwf.org/easygrants. New users
to the system will be prompted to register before starting their application. Applications may be saved
and returned to at a later time for completion and submission, up until the application deadline. It is
imperative for Easygrants users to disable their browser’s pop-up blocker prior to beginning the
application process.
Grants are anticipated to be announced the week of April 4th, 2011.
The following link contains access to other useful information for applicants, including videos that
demonstrate the Easygrants online system: http://www.nfwf.org/applicantinfo.
Prospective applicants may contact John Curry (john.curry@nfwf.org; 612-713-5176) before submitting
a proposal.
Related Files
Back to Program Home
View the Private Landowner TAP Map (Adobe PDF File)