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[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 32 (Thursday, February 15, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10507-10509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-3880]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

North American Wetlands Conservation Council; Standard Grant 
Application Instructions

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Instructions for applying for standard grants (see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION) under the U.S. North American Wetlands 
Conservation Act.

DATES: Proposals may be submitted at any time. To ensure adequate 
review time prior to upcoming North American Wetlands Conservation 
Council (Council) meetings, the Council Coordinator must receive 
proposals by March 23, 2001 and July, 6, 2001. If a March proposal 
needs to be resubmitted, the due date is July 16.

ADDRESSES: For detailed application instructions, sample proposal 
information, frequently asked questions, and summaries of recently 
approved proposals, visit the North American Wetlands Conservation Act 
(NAWCA) web site at http://northamerican.fws.gov/nawcahp.html. If you 
cannot access the web site, request computer disk or paper copies of 
the web site material from the Council Coordinator at Council 
Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, 
Room 110, Arlington, VA 22203. Send proposals to the Council 
Coordinator at the above address. If you choose to submit the Proposal 
Summary by electronic mail (versus computer disk), send to 
[email protected]. Mail one original and two copies of the 
proposal to the Council Coordinator. Also, mail an electronic copy of 
the Proposal Summary on computer disk with the rest of the proposal or 
send an electronic copy by electronic mail to [email protected]. 
Send a copy of the proposal to your U.S. North American Waterfowl 
Management Plan (NAWMP) Coordinator (see next section) and all partners 
in the proposal.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: North American Wetlands Conservation 
Council Coordinator at (703) 358-1784, [email protected] or 
[email protected] or a NAWMP Joint Venture Coordinator 
(Coordinator) at the numbers given below. Coordinators can give you 
advice about developing a proposal and about proposal ranking and can 
provide compliance requirements for the National Environmental Policy 
Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and contaminant surveys. Even 
though all areas of all States are not in a Joint Venture, each 
Coordinator is available to provide information to NAWCA applicants. To 
determine which Coordinator to call, consult the following Joint 
Venture list, but note that some States are in more than one Joint 
Venture and may be listed more

[[Page 10508]]

than once. To determine exactly which Joint Venture you are in, consult 
the NAWMP Joint Venture map at http://northamerican.fws.gov/NAWCA/images/namap.gif

Atlantic Coast (AL, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, 
Puerto Rico, RI, SC, VA, Virgin Islands, VT, WV) 413-253-8269
Central Valley (Central Valley of CA) 916-414-6459
Gulf Coast (AL, LA, MS, TX) 505-248-6876
Intermountain West (AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY) 801-
524-5110
Lower Mississippi Valley (AL, AR, KY, LA, MS, OK, TN, TX) 601-629-6600
Pacific Coast (AK, Am. Samoa, CA, Com. of N. Mariana Islands, Guam, HI, 
OR, WA) 360-696-7630
Playa Lakes (CO, KS, NM, OK, TX) 505-248-6877
Prairie Pothole (IA, MN, MT, ND, SD) 303-236-8145 extension 605
Rainwater Basin (KS, NE) 308-382-8112
San Francisco Bay (San Francisco Bay in CA) 510-286-6767
Upper Mississippi River-Great Lakes (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, 
OH, WI) 612-713-5433

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council has two U.S. conservation grants 
programs for acquisition, restoration, and enhancement of wetlands. Any 
individual or organization who has a long-term, partner-based project 
with matching funds can apply. The focus of this notice is standard 
grant proposals for requests from $51,000 to $1,000,000 per proposal. A 
separate notice will be issued later this year for small grant 
proposals for requests up to $50,000 per proposal.
    This notice provides general instructions to develop and submit a 
NAWCA standard grant proposal. In order to complete a proposal 
correctly, consult the web site at http://northamerican.fws.gov/nawcahp.html for detailed instructions. If you cannot access the web 
site or want a printed version of the complete instructions or a 
personal computer disk that contains proposal forms, contact the 
Council Coordinator.
    We prepare the instructions to assist partners in developing 
proposals that comply with NAWCA. The NAWCA established the Council, a 
Federal-State-private body that recommends projects to the Migratory 
Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) for final approval and requires 
that proposals contain a minimum 1:1 ratio of non-Federal matching 
funds to grant funds. ``Match'' (as referred to throughout this 
document) can be cash, in-kind services, or land acquired/title donated 
for wetlands conservation purposes.
    Paperwork Reduction Act: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (44 U.S.C. 3501), the Office of Management and Budget has assigned 
clearance number 1018-0100 to this information collection authorized by 
the North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 4401 et seq.). The information collection solicited is necessary 
to gain a benefit in the form of a grant, as determined by the Council 
and MBCC, is necessary to determine the eligibility and relative value 
of wetland projects, results in an approximate paperwork burden of 400 
hours per application, and does not carry a premise of confidentiality. 
Your response is voluntary. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to, a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The public is 
invited to submit comments on the accuracy of the estimated average 
burden hours for application preparation and to suggest ways in which 
the burden may be reduced. Comments may be submitted to: Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, Mail Stop 224 ARLSQ, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Washington, DC 20240 and/or Desk Officer for Interior 
Department (1018-0100), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, 
Washington, DC 20503.

Standard Grant Instructions

    Detailed instructions are available at the NAWCA web site at http://northamerican.fws.gov/nawcahp.html.
    Proposal Definition. A standard grant proposal is a 4-year plan of 
action supported by a NAWCA grant and matching partner funds to 
conserve wetlands and wetlands-dependent fish and wildlife through 
acquisition (including easements and land title donations), 
restoration, and/or enhancement (including creation). Match must be 
non-Federal and at least equal the grant request (referred to as a 1:1 
match). Match is eligible up to 2 years prior to the year the proposal 
is submitted, and grant and match funds are eligible during the 2-year 
future Grant Agreement period.
    Proposal Format. The Summary has a specific format. With the 
exception of the one-page Cover Page, Matching Contributions Plan, SF 
424, SF 424B and SF424D, and 2-page Summary, there are no page number 
limitations. The ultimate size of the proposal will depend on its 
complexity, but we request that you attempt to minimize the size of the 
proposal. Each page should be no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches. It is 
suggested, but not required, that maps be in color. Neither the 
original proposal, nor required copies, should be permanently bound. A 
proposal contains the following sections: Project Officer's Page and 
Checklist; Summary; Purpose, Scope, and Milestones; Budget, Matching 
Contributions Plan (optional), and Tract Information; Technical 
Assessment Questions; Funding Commitment Letters; Location Information; 
Standard Form 424 and Attachments.
    Proposal Project Officer's Page and Checklist. This part contains 
the following sections: Proposal Title and State(s); Date Submitted; 
Future Proposals; Project Officer Information; Project Officer's 
Checklist; and Comments on the NAWCA Program. The Project Officer 
administers the Grant Agreement and is ultimately responsible for 
complying with Federal regulations. Correspondence is sent only to the 
Project Officer. Each proposal can have only one Project Officer, who 
must belong to the grant recipient's organization. The U.S. standard 
grant agreement provisions should be reviewed before a proposal is 
submitted, so the grant agreement is available via the NAWCA web site 
at http://northamerican.fws.gov/NAWCA/grant.html
    Proposal Summary. The Summary is a digest of information that is 
detailed in the rest of the proposal. The Summary is the only narrative 
material provided to the Council and MBCC, so it must be descriptive 
and succinct. The Summary contains the following sections: Proposal 
Title and States; Counties and Congressional Districts; Costs and Acres 
Summary; and Narrative.
    Proposal Purpose, Scope, and Milestones. Use this section to 
describe how all the pieces of the proposal fit together to form a 
solid wetlands and migratory bird conservation proposal that should be 
funded under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA).
    Proposal Budget, Matching Contributions Plan, and Tract 
Information. The Budget Table displays activities and costs broken out 
by grant funding and partner funding according to cost categories 
(personnel and travel, appraisals, fee title acquired, fee title 
donated, easements and leases acquired and donated, materials and 
equipment, contracts, management agreements

[[Page 10509]]

acquired and donated). The Budget Narrative contains the justification 
for a grant request over $1,000,000, eligibility information about 
partner matching funds/work, and detailed cost information (by the same 
cost categories listed above) for grant and partner funds for each 
tract in the proposal. A sample Budget Table and Budget Narrative are 
available on the web site. If you have contributions made in the early 
phases of a multi-phase project and sufficient NAWCA proposals cannot 
be submitted before the match is more than 2 years old, you may request 
approval to use the match in the future by submitting a one-page 
Matching Contributions Plan (Match Plan) with a proposal. A Match Plan 
is optional, but if submitted must include match that is eligible at 
the time the proposal is submitted, be submitted with a proposal, may 
be approved only (in writing) if the proposal with which it is 
submitted is funded, and should show use of the match over a period no 
greater than 5 years.
    Technical Assessment Questions. The Council uses seven Technical 
Assessment Questions to evaluate and select proposals. Additional 
selection factors, include site visit results and available funding. 
The questions, subparts, and point values follow. Questions 1 and 2 
include priority lists of species, so you need to refer to the web site 
or the Council Coordinator's office to complete a proposal. Answer the 
questions for the completed proposal and all tracts in the proposal 
(grant and match).
    1. How does the proposal contribute to the conservation of 
waterfowl habitat (high-priority species, other priority species, other 
waterfowl)? 15 points
    2. How does the proposal contribute to the conservation of other 
wetland-dependent or wetland-associated migratory birds (NAWCA priority 
species, other wetland-dependent birds)? 15 points
    3. How does the proposal benefit the North American Waterfowl 
Management Plan and contribute to sites that have been recognized for 
wetland values (Joint Ventures, Waterfowl Habitat Areas of Concern, 
specially recognized areas)? 15 points
    4. How does the proposal relate to the National status and trends 
of wetlands types (acres of decreasing, stable, and increasing wetlands 
types; acres of uplands)? 10 points
    5. How does the proposal contribute to long-term conservation of 
wetlands and associated habitats (acres accruing benefits in 
perpetuity, for 26-99 years, for 10-25 years, and for less than 10 
years)? 15 points
    6. How does the proposal contribute to the conservation of habitat 
for Federally listed, proposed and candidate endangered species, State-
listed species, and other wetland-dependent fish and wildlife (Federal 
species, State species, other wetland-dependent fish and wildlife)? 10 
points
    7. How does the proposal satisfy the partnership purpose of the 
North American Wetlands Conservation Act (ratio of the non-Federal 
match to the grant request, non-Federal partners who contribute 10 
percent of the grant request, partner categories, important partnership 
aspects)? 20 points
    Funding Commitment Letters. Send signed commitment letters from all 
match partners, including the grant recipient and private landowners 
(if providing funds or land as match), with the proposal. No letters 
will be accepted before the proposal is received, and the only letters 
that will be accepted after the proposal is received are originals of 
signed copies that were sent with the proposal. The proposal will be 
returned if the 1:1 match is not documented by partner letters. Letters 
must document the exact contribution level identified in the proposal 
and whether the contribution is in cash, goods, services, or land; the 
partner's responsibility in the proposal's implementation, including 
land donations; how the partner was involved in proposal planning; and 
that the partner is fully aware of how the contribution will be spent.
    Location Information. State a central point location for the 
proposal in terms of latitude and longitude and provide 8.5 by 11-inch 
color (preferred) maps that give the following information: (1) 
Location of the tracts within State(s) and counties where grant and 
match funds will be spent and location of land matches; (2) Location of 
acquisition priority areas if specific tracts cannot be given; (3) 
Location of major water control structures and other restoration/
enhancement features; (4) Location of natural features, such as rivers 
or lakes, to show how the proposal fits into the natural landscape; and 
if applicable, (5) Show where the proposal is in relation to a larger 
wetlands conservation project. The proposal title should be on each 
map.
    Standard Form 424 ``Application for Federal Assistance'' and 
Assurances Forms B ``Non-construction'' and D 
``Construction.'' All applicants, except the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, must send an SF 424 and the B, D, or both Assurances forms 
with the proposal. All applicants must comply with the laws listed on 
the Assurances forms. The forms are available via the Internet at 
http://www.gsa.gov/forms/ or from the Council Coordinator.
    Exhibits and Examples. Examples of various sections of a proposal, 
lists of eligible and ineligible activities and costs, general process 
information about the NAWCA program, and people and organizations who 
may be contacted for assistance are available via the web site or from 
the Council Coordinator and should be consulted at some time in the 
proposal development process.
    Blank Proposal Forms. The following forms are available from the 
web site for you to download and use to develop a proposal: A blank 
proposal form developed using Microsoft Word, a blank proposal form 
using Word Perfect, and a blank Budget Table using Microsoft Excel.

    Dated: February 5, 2001.
Marshall P. Jones, Jr.,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 01-3880 Filed 2-14-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
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