Lower MS Alluvial Valley Restoration Fund: 2018 Applicant Informational WebinarDecember 20, 2017

RULES OF THE ROAD FOR THE WEBINAR

• Please mute your phone.

• Please type your questions into the “Questions” box in the webinar

controls on the right side of your screen. We’ll answer these questions

during several breaks in the presentation, but you can type them in any

time. Everyone will be able to hear the answers.

• Please do not place your phone on hold. While everyone is muted, we

don’t want to risk participants listening to diverting “hold music” or having

that music on the recorded webinar.

• Don’t be shy. If you have a question, someone else is thinking it too.

• If you experience a technical glitch, please type it into the chat/question

box as we may not be able to hear you.

• The Webinar is being recorded and we will post a copy of these slides

and the recording on the NFWF website at

http://www.nfwf.org/lowermsvalley.

WEBINAR AGENDA

• Program Overview

• Program Specifics

• Proposal Composition – How to be competitive…

• Application Details

• Timeline

• Tips for Applicants

• Resources

What is the LOWER MISSISSIPPI ALLUVIAL VALLEY RESTORATION FUND?

That does the following…

• Invests in on-the-ground projects to restore, enhance and conserve bottomland

hardwood forest and wetland ecosystems

• Supports the recovery of wildlife representative of healthy, sustainable bottomland

hardwood and wetland habitats; and improvements to water quality for wildlife and

people

• Supports the goals and missions of each funding partner

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

A partnership between…

• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

• U.S. Forest Service

• International Paper (Forestland Stewards

Partnership)

• The Walton Family Foundation

• American Forest Foundation (Southern Woods for

At-Risk Wildlife Partnership)

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Where should projects take place?

Projects should occur in the following states…

Lower MS Alluvial Valley Landscape

Lands eligible for funding include:

• Privately-owned lands

• State and local government lands

• Federal lands (must be part of projects

where state, local and/or private lands are

also included)

Applicants must be one of the following:

• Non-profit 501(c)

• State, tribal and local governments

• Academic institutions

Federal agencies cannot directly apply, but may partner on proposals

Arkansas Illinois Kentucky Louisiana

Mississippi Missouri Tennessee

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Funding Availability:

• Approximately $3 million available (total) in 2018.

• Grant awards will range from $100,000 to $500,000, depending on the overall scale of

the project.

Matching Funds:

• Projects should provide at least 1:1 non-federal match, which may include cash and

in-kind resources. Projects unable to provide a 1:1 non-federal match are eligible, but

applicants must contact NFWF to discuss match waiver options prior to submitting a

proposal.

To be eligible for funding, proposals must adhere to the following:

1. Project periods up to three years, with significant deliverables achieved within the

first year and a half.

2. Be in good standing with NFWF regarding existing grant/reporting requirements.

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Any

Questions?

PROGRAM SPECIFICS

What are the program’s funding

priorities?

1. Enhancing and Maintaining Existing Bottomland

Hardwood Forests

2. Restore and Enhance Wetland Forest and

Floodplain Hydrology and Improve Water

Quality

3. Establish Bottomland Hardwood Forests

4. Expand and Coordinate Private Landowner

Technical Assistance and Outreach

5. Protect Bottomland Forest and Wetland

Habitats

1. Enhancing and Maintaining Existing

Bottomland Hardwood Forests

o Natural and/or planted stands

o Invasive species control, intermediate thinning, and

residual stocking

o Technical assistance, training and/or other incentives

to enhance existing bottomland hardwood forests on

private lands, including treatments on existing WRP

and ACEP-WRE contracts

o Demonstration sites that can be used to educate

landowners and land managers on bottomland

hardwood management and habitat enhancement

practices.

o Identify and address specific barriers to bottomland

hardwood management and habitat enhancement

(i.e., lack of markets, community issues, etc.).

PROGRAM SPECIFICS

Website Link: Tool for Assessment and Treatment of Reforested

Bottomland Hardwood Stands on Wetland Reserve Easements

PROGRAM SPECIFICS

2. Restore and Enhance Wetland Forest and

Floodplain Hydrology and Improve Water

Quality

o Improve hydrological connectivity, including

connecting water features between adjacent tracts

enrolled in WRP and/or ACEP-WRE.

o Improve wetland habitat and function on WRP and/or

ACEP-WRE tracts and other private lands through:

o vegetation management

o managing for most soil plants

o restoring wetland infrastructure for water

management capability

o Improve water quality by:

o rerouting agriculture runoff to constructed or

restored wetlands

o rehabilitating or stabilizing ditches and/or gullies

o establishing buffer strips

3. Establish Bottomland Hardwood Forests

o Reforestation and/or afforestation of cropland

o Site preparation and planting of bottomland

hardwoods

o Practices to promote natural regeneration of

bottomland hardwood forest

o Preference to projects that contribute to

landscape-scale habitat connectivity to benefit

wildlife and include lands enrolled in WRP and/or

ACEP-WRE

Projects should:

o Summarize plans to promote long-term

sustainability.

PROGRAM SPECIFICS

Photo credit: Wildlife MS

4. Expand and Coordinate Private Landowner

Technical Assistance and Outreach

Targeted outreach and technical assistance to

increase private landowner engagement and

implementation of restoration/conservation practices

i. Increase outreach success:

• Outreach capacity, i.e. “boots on the ground”

• Innovative landowner outreach and marketing

• Prioritize, plan and deliver NRCS financial

assistance

ii. Advance new market-based solutions or

incentives

o Pilot innovative, market-based solutions or

incentives that stimulate landowner participation

iii. Increase participation in third-party forest

certification

PROGRAM SPECIFICS

*Special emphasis on projects that include beginning farmers,

socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers, limited resource

farmers or ranchers, Tribes and veteran farmers and ranchers

PROGRAM SPECIFICS

5. Conservation Easements

o Capacity and transaction costs (boundary

surveys, appraisals, legal fees, etc.) to

facilitate targeted conservation easement

projects

o Should be part of larger bottomland

forest/wetland restoration proposal

o Requests for conservation easement funding

should not exceed 10% of the total proposal

request

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PROPOSAL COMPOSITION

What makes a competitive proposal?

1. Conservation Outcomes: All projects must include specific quantitative metrics that

will be tracked and measured to evaluate project success.

2. Fund Need: Explain how funding is essential for activities to move forward.

3. Conservation Plan and Context: Relevance to existing conservation plan or

strategy benefitting bottomland hardwood forest and wetland habitats, such as

the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Partners in Flight Landbird

Conservation Plan, State Wildlife Action Plans.

4. Critical Species Benefit: Benefits species, representative of healthy, sustainable

bottomland hardwood forests and wetland systems.

5. Partnerships: Demonstrate appropriate partnership exists or is developing to

successfully implement project.

6. Cost-Effectiveness/Efficiency: Clear, cost-effective and efficient budget that

maximizes the conservation outcomes achieved and includes matching sources

coming from diverse sources.

PROPOSAL COMPOSITION

7. Technical Merit: Project will engage technical expertise

throughout project planning, design and implementation.

8. Monitoring: Monitor project progress during and after project

period.

9. Long-term Sustainability: Describe project maintenance

post grant period including securing future funding.

10. Past Success: Demonstrate proven track record of

implementing conservation practices with specific, measurable

results.

11. Dissemination/Transferability: Explain strategy to

showcase new and refined restoration methods and

techniques.

12. Ancillary Benefits: Describe additional benefits that could

result from your project.

APPLICATION DETAILS

All applications will be submitted via Easygrants @ www.nfwf.org/easygrants

1 - Login or register

2 – Select Apply for Funding

3 - Choose Lower MS Alluvial Valley Restoration Fund 2018

4 - Submit Eligibility Quiz

5 - Under your To Do list, select the Full Proposal task for the Lower MS Alluvial Valley Restoration Fund program with a due date of January 25, 2018

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 - Select 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

APPLICATION DETAILS

1. Mapping your Project Location

• Use the full proposal mapping tool to draw your

project location or upload a shapefile

• Map the location(s) where on-the-ground project

work will occur

• Be as specific as possible!

• You should not select an entire state or county as

your project location unless your project spans the

entire region

Learn more: http://www.nfwf.org/whatwedo/grants/applicants/Pages/mapping-tool.aspx

APPLICATION DETAILS2. Uploads

Proposal Narrative Template (Word)

• Download the template from Easygrants

• Proposals should be no more than 9 pages

• Keep the formatting – same font, font size

and margins

• Do not delete the text provided in the

narrative

• Be concise and focus on project need,

scope of work and deliverables. Limit basic

background information, e.g., “The LMAV is

a 22 million acre floodplain…”

• Upload into Easygrants either as a Word

doc or PDF

Letters of Support

If possible, compile into one PDF and

upload one file

APPLICATION DETAILS

3. Metrics (Easygrants)

• Load program metrics using the “LMAV Metrics” template from drop down menu.

• Delete all outcomes that don’t apply to your project.

• Each metric’s “value at grant completion” should always be greater than the “current

metric value.”

* If none of the available metrics apply to your project, please

contact NFWF to discuss

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4. Matching Contributions

• Projects with at least 1:1 match ratio of non-federal cash or in-kind services will be most

competitive.

• Federally appropriated or managed funds are ineligible; e.g., Pittman-Robertson, Dingell-

Johnson, Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act

• Raised and 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); and

• Applied only to the NFWF grant and not to any other federal matching programs

APPLICATION DETAILS

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APPLICATION DETAILS

5. Budget

• Use the green plus sign to add line items to the budget

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APPLICATION DETAILS

Budget cont.

• Use the ‘notes’ feature to add a narrative description for each section of the budget

Learn more: http://www.nfwf.org/whatwedo/grants/applicants/Pages/budget-

instructions.aspx

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Any

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APPLICATION DETAILS

6. NFWF’s Indirect Policy

• Applicants with a Federally-approved

negotiated indirect cost rate agreement

may take their federally approved rate

• All other applicants may take 10% de

minimus rate

• More information is available at:

7. Proposal Tip Sheet

Easygrants section by section

Explanation of Uploads

Matching Contributions guidance

Easygrants FAQs

http://www.nfwf.org/whatwedo/grants/applicants/

Pages/indirect-policy.aspx

http://www.nfwf.org/lowermsvalley/Documents/2018tipsheet.pdf

TIMELINE

20182017

January Feb.-March

25th: Full proposals

due

Mar. - April

Review

Once awards are announced, a NFWF Grants Administrator will guide you through

NFWF’s fiscal and compliance review process, prepare an agreement and notify you via

Easygrants that you may access the agreement for review

Always acknowledge program funders in any project communications (i.e., NFWF,

USDA, International Paper, Walton Family, American Forest Foundation, etc.)

Must contact NFWF for appropriate logos

Provide NFWF with materials for review and approval prior to publicizing

May

Awards Announced

Decisions Finalized

December

20th: Applicant Webinar

TIPS FOR APPLICANTS

o If you’ve never used Easygrants before, create your login TODAY and familiarize

yourself with the system.

o If you aren’t new to Easygrants, check and make sure your login is working and that

your organization’s record is up to date in our system.

o Start the application as soon as possible to minimize last minute Easygrants trouble.

o Contact potential partners early in the process to develop project priorities, scope of

work, and budget, as well as identifying sources of match.

o We’re here to help! Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions about your proposal,

Easygrants, etc.

RESOURCES

Tip Sheet

http://www.nfwf.org/lowermsvalley/Documents/2018tipsheet.pdf

Required Financial Documents

http://www.nfwf.org/whatwedo/grants/applicants/Pages/required-financial-docs.aspx

Budget Instructions

http://www.nfwf.org/whatwedo/grants/applicants/Pages/budget-instructions.aspx

NFWF Indirect Policy

http://www.nfwf.org/whatwedo/grants/applicants/Pages/indirect-policy.aspx

Mapping Tutorial

http://www.nfwf.org/whatwedo/grants/applicants/Pages/mapping-tool.aspx

Jon Scott

Jonathan.Scott@nfwf.org

(202) 595-2609

Lindsay Vacek

Lindsay.Vacek@nfwf.org

(202) 595-2433

Easygrants technical support:

Email helpdesk at Easygrants@nfwf.org or

leave a message at 202-595-2497

QUESTIONS or COMMENTS