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

The Highlands Conservation Act Program (HCA) is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to assist Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania in the permanent protection of land and natural resources in the Highlands Region. HCA grants support land conservation projects in which a State, County, or Municipal entity acquires land or an interest in land from a willing seller to conserve resources of high conservation value.Subject to availability of funds through Federal appropriation, Governors of the four Highlands States may submit proposals for up to 50% of the total cost of land conservation projects in the Highlands Region. Highland States may also request that the Service add Municipalities from within the identified Expanded Opportunity Area for the Highlands Landscape to the Highlands Region. In recent years, funding appropriated under the HCA has been divided into two separate categories – Base and Competitive. Notice of Funding Opportunities for the Base and Competitive rounds are posted separately.This Notice of Funding Opportunity is a pilot grant round for land protection projects in under-resourced and under-served communities within the Highlands Region. Eligible areas for land conservation for this grant round are shown here: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/a9614d676a704ee482a1112449a10cce/page/Main/Once the map is open, click the box next to “under-resourced communities in the highlands region” layer to make the layer visible. Land or easement acquisition projects within this layer and in the eligible Highlands Region are eligible for funding. A project may not be proposed for funding in multiple funding opportunities.An online overview of this Notice of Funding Opportunity is scheduled for Friday, September 27 at 11:00 AM EST. Email the Service contact (Section G.1) to receive an invitation for the overview.