Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program - FY19 - Base Funding | F19AS00162

Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00162

The Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program (FY19 Base Funding) is a discretionary federal grant opportunity intended to help protect important lands and natural resources within the Highlands Region of the northeastern United States. Created under the Highlands Conservation Act (H.R. 1964, enacted in 2004; 16 U.S.C. 3901), the program focuses on supporting permanent land conservation projects in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The core purpose is to conserve areas with high conservation value by helping a state entity acquire land, or acquire a legal interest in land (such as a conservation easement), from willing sellers so that the land is protected permanently.

A key requirement is that proposed conservation projects must align with areas identified as high resource value in the USDA Forest Service Highlands studies, specifically the New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study 2002 Update and the Highlands Regional Study Connecticut and Pennsylvania 2010 Update. In practical terms, that means projects need to be located within, and consistent with, the mapped or described priority conservation areas established by those studies, rather than being general open space purchases outside the defined focus areas.

Funding is contingent on annual federal appropriations. Each year, the Governors of the four eligible Highlands states may submit proposals, and federal support can cover up to 50 percent of the total project cost. This establishes a cost-share structure where the state (and potentially other non-federal partners, depending on how the project is assembled) provides the remaining share, while the federal program helps close the funding gap for high-priority acquisitions.

For FY19, the opportunity was issued by the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under Funding Opportunity Number F19AS00162 (CFDA 15.667). Only state governments are eligible applicants, reflecting the program design that projects are advanced through state-level entities and governor-submitted proposals. The award ceiling listed for this announcement is $2,710,000, with an expectation of four awards, which generally suggests one award per Highlands state, depending on proposal quality, readiness, and availability of funds. The opportunity was created on March 27, 2019, with an original closing date of June 7, 2019.

Overall, this grant program is a targeted land conservation funding mechanism: it supports permanent protection of strategically important Highlands landscapes, requires alignment with federally recognized Highlands conservation priority studies, relies on willing-seller transactions, and uses a matching approach that limits federal participation to half of project costs while enabling state agencies to secure and protect high-value natural resources for the long term.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program - FY19 - Base Funding" 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 Mar 27, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 07, 2019. (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 $2,710,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F19AS00162

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: