Pacific Islands Area Fiscal Year 2021 Conservation Solutions Through Strategic Partnerships Announcement for Funding | USDA NRCS PIA MULTI 21 NOFO0001062

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS PIA MULTI 21 NOFO0001062

The Pacific Islands Area Fiscal Year 2021 Conservation Solutions Through Strategic Partnerships Announcement for Funding is a discretionary federal grant opportunity from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It is designed to fund cooperative agreements that strengthen and scale conservation work across the Pacific Islands Area, specifically Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The basic idea is to use strategic partnerships to expand on-the-ground conservation delivery, improve implementation of Farm Bill-supported practices, and generate better local outcomes tied to soil health, climate-related soil processes, and watershed function.

A major focus of the opportunity is increasing conservation delivery capacity, especially by helping Soil and Water Conservation Districts and newer or emerging partners put more trained staff into the field and into support roles. NRCS is particularly interested in additional staffing and partner capacity connected to NRCS Service Centers serving American Samoa and CNMI, but proposals may also target any NRCS Service Center area within the broader Pacific Islands Area. This capacity-building emphasis is tied to practical performance goals: improving Farm Bill contract completion rates and improving how well contracted conservation practices are actually implemented. In other words, the funding is not only about planning or outreach; it is also about moving contracts and conservation practices to successful completion.

Another central goal is expanding the adoption and implementation of soil health management on cropland. Applicants are encouraged to propose interactive education, outreach, and feedback events that actively engage producers and other customers in soil health management systems and the development of soil health plans. Alongside outreach, NRCS wants to build local technical capacity by increasing the availability and capability of certified Technical Service Providers (TSPs) who can develop soil health management plans consistent with NRCS requirements, specifically referencing the Soil Health Management Plan Criteria under Practice/Activity Code 116. This part of the program is aimed at creating sustained, locally based expertise so that more producers can access qualified technical assistance over time.

The opportunity also supports evaluation and learning related to climate and nutrient dynamics in island cropping systems. NRCS is seeking projects that evaluate carbon and nitrogen cycles in local cropping systems to better understand how established conservation practices affect soil organic matter and soil carbon. This signals interest in practical, place-based measurement or assessment work that can inform future conservation decisions and demonstrate outcomes in Pacific Island conditions, which often differ from continental U.S. agriculture in soils, climate, and production systems.

In addition, NRCS invites innovative projects that amplify conservation outcomes in a few targeted areas: the economics of soil health (helping quantify costs, benefits, and adoption drivers), soil carbon amendments aligned with NRCS conservation practice standards (including reference to Soil Carbon Amendment, Code 808), and improved watershed function. These themes point to projects that go beyond routine practice adoption and try to improve the effectiveness, scalability, or economic case for conservation, while also addressing landscape-level benefits like water quality, infiltration, and hydrologic resilience.

All of these priorities are meant to be advanced through strategic partnerships that accelerate results and align with NRCS Pacific Islands Area direction-setting documents. Proposals are expected to support the Pacific Islands Area Targeted Conservation Delivery Strategy and the Pacific Islands Area Strategic Plan Initiative, meaning applicants should show clear alignment with NRCS regional priorities and explain how the partnership approach will produce faster or broader impacts than NRCS could achieve alone.

From an administrative standpoint, the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means NRCS expects active involvement during project implementation rather than a hands-off grant relationship. The opportunity is listed under CFDA numbers 10.902, 10.912, 10.917, and 10.924, and it covers subject areas spanning agriculture, environment, and natural resources. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in the nonprofit category).

The notice was created February 25, 2021, and applications were required to be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on April 26, 2021. Questions about the notice could be submitted by email until April 7, 2021, with NRCS indicating that responses would be posted on Grants.gov about two weeks before the deadline. NRCS also scheduled an applicant webinar for March 10, 2021, at 2:00 pm Hawaii Standard Time, with participation details posted on the NRCS Pacific Islands Area events webpage. The award ceiling is $500,000, and NRCS anticipated making about 7 awards, signaling a competitive process with a limited number of relatively substantial projects expected to be funded.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Pacific Islands Area Fiscal Year 2021 Conservation Solutions Through Strategic Partnerships Announcement for Funding" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.902, 10.912, 10.917, 10.924.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 25, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 26, 2021 Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 1159 pm Eastern Time on April 26, 2021. Questions regarding this notice of funding opportunity (NFO) may be submitted until April 7, 2021, via email to the Federal Awarding Agency Contact (see section H. of the NFO) with the Opportunity Number in the subject line. Responses to questions posed will be posted on Grants.gov approximately two weeks before the application due date. A webinar for applicants is scheduled for March 10, 2021, at 2 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time. Information on how to participate in the webinar will be posted to the NRCS PIA website (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/events/pia/newsroom/events/eventDate3-2021).. (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 $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for USDA NRCS PIA MULTI 21 NOFO0001062

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: