The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing potential availability of cooperative agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration, and developing state – and community – level conservation leadership. Proposals will be accepted for projects located in Montana.

Proposals are requested for competitive consideration for cooperative agreement awards for projects between 1 and 5 years in duration. See Section C.1 of this announcement for eligible applicant type. Entities may submit more than one application as long as the proposals are for different projects and entities may receive more than one award.

This notice identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and application instructions for projects. Proposals will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete and/or noncompliant proposals will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant.