Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program – Base Funding | F21AS00584

Opportunity Information: Apply for F21AS00584

The Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program - Base Funding is a discretionary federal grant opportunity administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (CFDA 15.667) that supports long-term land and natural resource conservation in the Highlands Region of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The program was authorized under the Highlands Conservation Act (H.R. 1964, 2004; 16 U.S.C. 3901) to help these four states permanently protect lands and resources with high conservation value, primarily by helping state entities acquire land or conservation interests (such as conservation easements) from willing sellers. The goal is straightforward: prevent loss or degradation of key natural resources by securing permanent protection through state-led land conservation transactions.

A central requirement is that proposed projects must fall within areas identified as having high resource value in the official Highlands studies used to map and prioritize conservation targets. The USDA Forest Service was directed by the Act to identify these priority lands through the New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study 2002 Update and the Highlands Regional Study Connecticut and Pennsylvania 2010 Update. In practice, this means applications need to show that each proposed acquisition aligns with the geographic and resource-value priorities laid out in those studies, rather than being general open-space purchases outside the designated high-value areas.

Funding is cost-shared. Subject to federal appropriations, each year the Governors of the four Highlands states may submit proposals requesting up to 50 percent of the total cost of eligible land conservation projects, with the remaining share coming from non-federal sources. The emphasis on a 50/50 structure is important because it frames the grant as matching assistance meant to leverage state and partner conservation funding rather than fully funding acquisitions. The opportunity described here specifically covers the Base Funding portion of appropriated HCA funds. The Act divides appropriations into two tracks, Base and Competitive, and applicants must choose one track per property: the same property cannot be submitted under both the Base and Competitive notices. Competitive Funds are handled under a separate notice of funding opportunity.

Eligibility is tightly limited. Only state governments, specifically State Conservation Agencies, may receive these funds. In addition, only the Lead State Agency (or agencies) designated by the Governor of each Highlands state may apply. If a Governor designates more than one Lead Agency, those agencies must coordinate before submitting to ensure the state does not request more than the maximum allowable amount through this Base Funding notice. While the award recipient must be an eligible Lead State Agency, the program does allow subaward agreements to another State Conservation Agency, which can be useful when multiple state entities share responsibilities for land conservation or stewardship.

Key administrative details for this notice include the funding opportunity number F21AS00584, an original closing date of 2021-11-01, an award ceiling of $1,460,000, and an opportunity category of Discretionary with a Grant as the funding instrument type. The program’s funding activity category is Natural Resources, reflecting its focus on protecting forests, watersheds, habitat, and other high-value conservation resources in the Highlands Region through permanent land protection actions driven by state conservation agencies and supported by federal cost-share.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program – 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 2021-07-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-11-01. (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 $1,460,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F21AS00584

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