[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 7168]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-02476]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service

[Docket No. NRCS-2014-0001]


Conservation Innovation Grants Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Announcement 
for Program Funding

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States 
Department of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice of program funding.

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SUMMARY: The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency 
under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing 
availability of Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) to stimulate the 
development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and 
technologies. Applications will be accepted from all 50 States, 
District of Columbia, Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin 
Islands), and the Pacific Islands Area (Guam, American Samoa, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). NRCS anticipates that 
the amount available for support of this program in FY 2014 will be up 
to $15 million. Applications are requested from eligible governmental 
or non-governmental organizations or individuals for competitive 
consideration of grant awards for projects between 1 and 3 years in 
duration.
    Funds will be awarded through a two-phase nationwide competitive 
grants process that will include: (1) A pre-proposal process, and (2) a 
full proposal process. The full proposal process will only be open to 
applicants whose pre-proposal applications are selected by NRCS. Both 
phases are described in the full announcement found at Grants.gov. Only 
pre-proposals are being solicited at this time.
    Please visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/cig/index.html for 
more information about this grant opportunity. In addition, the full 
notice that identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and 
application instructions for CIG projects can also be found at: 
www.grants.gov. Applications will be screened for completeness and 
compliance with the provisions of the announcement. Incomplete 
applications will be eliminated from competition, and notification of 
elimination will be mailed to the applicant. NRCS will request a full 
proposal package only from those applicants selected in the pre-
proposal phase.

DATES: Applications for the pre-proposal phase must be received by NRCS 
before 4:00 p.m. EST on March 7, 2014. NRCS will announce selected pre-
proposal applications by April 7, 2014. Selected applicants will then 
be required to submit a full proposal package to NRCS by 4:00 p.m. EDT 
on May 5, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Applications sent via express mail or overnight courier 
service must be sent to the following address: USDA-NRCS, CIG Program, 
1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 6143 South Building, Washington, DC 
20250. Applications sent via the United States Postal Service must be 
sent to the following address: USDA-NRCS, CIG Program, Post Office Box 
2890, Washington, DC 20013-2890. Applications sent electronically must 
be sent through www.grants.gov or [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregorio Cruz, National CIG Program 
Manager, NRCS, Post Office Box 2890, Washington, DC 20250; telephone: 
(202) 720-8644; email: [email protected].

    Signed this 30th day of January 2014 in Washington, DC.
Jason A. Weller,
Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation, and Chief, Natural 
Resources Conservation Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-02476 Filed 2-5-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-16-P