Highlands Conservation Act - Pilot - Under-Resourced Communities Funding Round | F24AS00447

Opportunity Information: Apply for F24AS00447

The Highlands Conservation Act - Pilot - Under-Resourced Communities Funding Round (Funding Opportunity Number F24AS00447) is a discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under CFDA 15.667. Its purpose is to help permanently protect land and important natural resources in the Highlands Region across four states: Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The program focuses on conserving land with high conservation value by supporting acquisitions from willing sellers, either as full land purchases or as purchases of interests in land such as conservation easements. In practical terms, the funding is aimed at locking in long-term protection for key landscapes, habitat, water resources, and other conservation priorities in the Highlands.

This specific notice is a pilot funding round that targets land protection projects benefiting under-resourced and under-served communities within the eligible Highlands Region. The eligible geography is defined through an online mapping tool, and projects must fall within both the broader eligible Highlands area and the mapped layer labeled "under-resourced communities in the highlands region." Applicants are directed to open the linked ArcGIS experience and turn on that layer to confirm whether a proposed parcel is eligible. One important restriction is that the same project cannot be submitted to multiple Highlands Conservation Act funding opportunities; it must be proposed under only one round.

Funding is provided on a cost-share basis, subject to federal appropriations. Governors of the four Highlands states may submit proposals requesting up to 50 percent of the total cost of a land conservation project. The notice also notes that Highlands states can request that the Service add municipalities located in the identified Expanded Opportunity Area for the Highlands Landscape to the Highlands Region, which can potentially broaden what communities or places may qualify under program boundaries over time. In recent years, Highlands Conservation Act appropriations have been split into two other categories, Base and Competitive, which are announced separately; this pilot round is distinct from those.

Only state governments are eligible applicants for this opportunity, and specifically only the Lead State Agency (or agencies) designated by each Governor may apply. If a Governor has designated more than one Lead Agency, those agencies must coordinate before submission to ensure the request stays within the maximum allowable amount for this funding opportunity. While the state Lead Agency is the applicant of record, the state can pass through some or all of the awarded funds by issuing subawards to counties or municipalities within the Highlands Region, or to another state conservation agency. This structure is designed to let local governments and conservation implementers participate, while still keeping the formal application responsibility at the state level.

Key logistics included in the notice are the closing date of December 31, 2024, and an anticipated award ceiling of $830,862. The notice lists "Expected Awards" but does not provide a number in the provided source. The Fish and Wildlife Service also scheduled an online overview of the funding opportunity for Friday, September 27 at 11:00 AM Eastern, with attendance available by invitation after emailing the Service contact referenced in the full notice (Section G.1).

The current Lead State Agencies and contacts identified for each state are: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (Matt Starr, matthew.starr@ct.gov), New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (Lynn Kovach, lynn.kovach@parks.ny.gov), New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council (Liz Ward, elizabeth.ward@highlands.nj.gov), and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Dan Pierce, danipierce@pa.gov). These agencies are the primary entry points for counties and municipalities that want to pursue an acquisition or easement project under the pilot round, since local entities generally participate through state-led applications and potential subawards rather than applying directly to the federal program.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Highlands Conservation Act - Pilot - Under-Resourced Communities Funding Round" 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 2024-08-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-12-31. (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 $830,862.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F24AS00447

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