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Longleaf Stewardship FundInformational WebinarJanuary 17, 2012 noon-1 pm
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
Program Overview What is the LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND?
Program Goals
Program Details Funding
Project eligibility
Pre-proposal narrative details
Conservation outcomes
Project Categories Funding categories
Project examples
Application Details Easygrants Introduction
WEBINAR AGENDA
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
What is the LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND?
A public/private partnership between… Southern Company US Department of Defense USDA Forest Service US Fish and Wildlife Service Natural Resources Conservation Service
That Will… Build on successful Southern Company/NFWF Longleaf
Legacy funded projects
Accelerate restoration of longleaf pine
Implement the Americas Longleaf Range-Wide Conservation Plan
Support commitments of the Longleaf MOU adopted by USDA, DOD and Department of the Interior
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
What are the GOALS of the program?
Building on the success and similar objectives of the Southern Company Longleaf Legacy program, the Longleaf Stewardship Fund’s main goals are to…
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Establish and enhance longleaf pine forests
Restore and enhance understory
Support recovery of iconic species
Strengthen organizational capacity
Increase technical assistance/outreach to landowners
What funding is available for LSF? $3 million for grant awards
$50,000 - $350,000 awarded per grant (depending on funding category)
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROGRAM DETAILS
What constitutes an eligible grant?
Applicants permitted to apply include… Non-profit 501 (c) State, tribal and local governments Academic institutions
Projects should…
Occur in the following states: Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas
Have at least 1:1 match ratio of non-federal cash or in-kind services
Direct majority of award towards on-the-ground work
Coordinate with NRCS State Conservationists and State Forestry Offices
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROGRAM DETAILS
Lands eligible for funding include…
Privately-owned lands
State and local government lands
Federal lands (through state or NGO partners; limited funding availability)
Reforest longleaf pine to expand longleaf landscape
Maintain existing or historic longleaf forests
Improve viability of key wildlife species
Restore and maintain longleaf understory
Invest in “boots-on-the-ground”: expand technical assistance to landowners to increase on-the-ground restoration (plan development and new cost-share contracts)
Build local implementation and partnership capacity
Promote cost-effective conservation approaches and models
Support education and outreach efforts
• Land acquisitions are not priority and will be dependent on funding, among other factors
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROGRAM DETAILS
Projects should include one or more of the following strategies…
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROGRAM DETAILS
Pre-proposals should describe…
Conservation Plan Context
Advance longleaf or associated landscape conservation plans
Expand new or existing restoration and conservation initiatives to maximize large-scale ecosystem function
Conservation Outcomes
Specific quantitative metrics that will be used to evaluate success of project (table included)
Technical Merit
Engage appropriate technical expertise/assistance through project planning, design and implementation
Partnerships
Develop partnership to successfully implement project
Include public-private partnerships from federal, state and local government agencies; private landowners; and non-profits
Provide letters of support
Monitoring and Maintenance plan
Demonstrate how project progress will be continually monitored to identify challenges and opportunities
Highlight how future funding will be secured to accomplish long-term maintenance and monitoring
Ancillary Benefits
Describe additional opportunities that will arise from project such as new ecosystem markets support, creation of models for landowners, partnership development, etc.
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROGRAM DETAILS
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROGRAM DETAILS
Acres of Longleaf Established
Number of seedlings planted
Acres of Longleaf Ecosystem Maintained
Acres of prescribed burning
Acres of nativeunderstory plants
established
Acres of non-native invasive plants treated
Acres of mid-story treated
% increase in species habitat capability
Number of jobs created
Number of citizens engaged in education and outreach
What conservation outcomes and metrics should be addressed?
# of private landowners engaged in technical assistance
Number of private landowners contacted
Number of new landowners committed to enrolling in farm
bill conservation programs
Acres conservation practices applied on private lands as a result
of direct technical assistance
Range-wide Strategic Restoration Grants ranging from $50,000 to $150,000
On-the-ground restoration projects across the historic longleaf range
Focus on reforestation and habitat management, technical assistance to landowners, and capacity building
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROJECT CATEGORIES
Preference given to projects that… Implement on-the-ground restoration resulting in measurable improvements
Implement demonstration-scale restoration projects that can serve as models for land managers and landowners
Ensure projects are maintained and managed for the long-term
Engage local citizens in projects
Advance implementation of existing conservation strategies (SWAPs, NBCI, Joint Ventures, etc.)
Examples of Range-Wide Strategic Restoration
Longleaf Restoration PartnershipNational Wild Turkey Federation
Large-scale restoration
Plant more than 10M seedlings on 20,000 acres
Engaging public in projects that serve as range-wide models
Conduct workshops to educate landowners
Connect landowners with biologists and foresters
Engage private landowners in plans and contracts
Ensure that projects are maintained and managed
Monitor seedling survival and increases in indicator species
Advance implementation of conservation strategies and goals supporting:
Range-Wide Conservation Plan for Longleaf
State Wildlife Action and State Forest Action Plans
East Gulf Coastal Plain Joint Venture
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUNDLONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROJECT CATEGORIES
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROJECT CATEGORIES
Apalachicola Longleaf Conservation InitiativeThe Nature Conservancy
Large-scale restoration
Restore 600 acres of sand pine plantations to longleaf pine
Restore 108 acres of groundcover
Engage public in projects that serve as range-wide models
Use new methodologies for groundcover restoration
Provide prescribed fire assistance on 60,000 acres
Provide prescribed fire training and sharing the benefits of partner-driven fire teams
Showcase longleaf pine restoration and act as model for land managers
Ensure that projects are maintained and managed
Monitor pine and grassland restoration success rates
Advance implementation of conservation strategies and goals supporting:
Directly advances Range-Wide Conservation Plan
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROJECT CATEGORIES
Place-Based Demonstration Projects
Place-based demonstration project grants Grants ranging from $150,000 to $350,000
Landscape scale projects in SGAs or SS
Anchored by Federal lands and other conserved lands
Funds support on-going public-private partnerships
Supports comprehensive approach to large-scale conservation including: restoration, habitat management, technical assistance and capacity-building
Preference given to projects that…
Seek funding for large-scale restoration projects in SGA’s anchored by public lands
Work from existing regional conservation plans
Demonstrate coalition of organizations to support plan’s implementation
Have relationship already in place with Federal land agency(ies)
Demonstrate state and local government support
Provide proven track record of success
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROJECT CATEGORIES
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
PROJECT CATEGORIES
Eglin/Conecuh/Blackwater Longleaf Partnership
The Longleaf Alliance
Build on existing plans and strategies
Project area is an SGA and anchored by DOD, USFS and State managed lands
Supports 15-year GCPEP partnership (Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership)
Project proposal represents a consensus of the partnership
Project supports comprehensive longleaf restoration in place-based area
1. Large-scale restoration and maintenance
Restore more than 5,000 acres of longleaf pine and plant 2.4 million seedlings
Maintain 200,000 acres with prescribed fire
Expand longleaf restoration efforts @ Eglin AFB, Conecuh NF and Blackwater SF
2. Technical assistance to landowners
Conduct Longleaf Academy to train natural resource professionals
Target landowners important to partners and strategy
Enroll landowners in incentive-based conservation programs
3. Monitoring and evaluation
Tracks and evaluates success or restoration and TA programs
4. Capacity building
Supporting staff to implement comprehensive strategy
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
QUESTIONS?
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
APPLICATION DETAILS
All applications will be submitted via Easygrants @ www.nfwf.org/easygrants
1 - Login or register
2 - Start a New Application
3 - Choose Longleaf Stewardship Fund 2012
4 - Submit Eligibility Quiz
5 - Under your To Do list, select the Pre-Proposal task for the Longleaf Stewardship Fund program with a due date of February 15, 2012
6 - Complete all sections (contact info, project info, uploads, matching contributions) and click on save and continue in each section when it is complete*You may save and return to application
7 - Review and Submit on the left hand side of page and make sure the status of all sections is complete
8 - Select View PDF to review the completed proposal in its entirety*Recommend saving proposal on your computer from this view
9 - Click SUBMIT
20122011
December
14th: RFP Released
February
15th: Pre-proposals
due
March
Pre-proposal review and selections
April
23rd: Full proposals
due
July
Announce Awards
Once awards are announced, a NFWF Grants Administrator will prepare a Grant Agreement and notify you via Easygrants that you may access the agreement for review
Remember to always acknowledge program funders in any project communications (i.e., NFWF, Southern Co.*, DOD, FS, FWS, NRCS)*Be sure to include acknowledgement of Operating Company in your area (i.e., Alabama
Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, or Mississippi Power)
Contact NFWF for appropriate logos; provide NFWF with materials for review and approval prior to publicizing
January
17th: Informational
Webinar
September
Project Deliverables
Due
2013
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
TIMELINE
LONGLEAF STEWARDSHIP FUND
For program-related technical questions, please contact:David O’Neill
Suzanne [email protected]
For questions related to the application process, please contact:
Heather [email protected]
QUESTIONS or COMMENTS
