From USDA:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that $150 million in funding is available for agricultural producers through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), USDA's largest conservation program, by acres impacted, that helps producers voluntarily improve the health and productivity of private and Tribal working lands. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) plans to add an estimated 10 million acres to the rolls of CSP during fiscal 2016.

"The Conservation Stewardship Program is one of our most popular programs with producers because it results in real change on the ground by boosting soil and air quality, conserving clean water and enhancing wildlife habitat," Vilsack said. "With this investment, we'll be able to build on the already record number of acres enrolled in USDA's conservation programs, enabling producers to achieve higher levels of conservation and adopt new and emerging conservation technologies on farms, ranches and forests."

NRCS accepts applications for CSP throughout the year, but producers should submit applications by March 31 to a USDA service centers to ensure they are considered for enrollment in 2016.

Participants with existing CSP contracts that will expire on Dec.31, 2016 have the option to renew their contracts for an additional five years if they agree to adopt additional activities to achieve higher levels of conservation on their lands. Applications to renew are also due by March 31.

​NRCS also makes CSP available to producers as an additional opportunity to participate in regional landscape-level conservation efforts including the Sage Grouse Initiative, Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative, Longleaf Pine Initiative and Ogallala Aquifer Initiative.
Funding is available for more than 100 kinds of enhancements nationwide to help participants:

• Improve soil quality through use of cover crops, conservation crop rotations and other activities that increase soil productivity.
• Use water wisely and improve water quality through enhancements such as more efficient irrigation systems and weather monitoring.
• Restore habitat for wildlife and pollinators such as the greater sage-grouse, lesser prairie-chicken and monarch butterfly through the use of better grazing systems and improved plant management.

Learn more here: ​$150 Million for Working Lands

Sierra Arts Foundation announces a Call to Artists for its Grants to Artists program serving student and professional artists of Visual, Performing (dance, music, theatre, film), or Literary Arts within the 100 mile radius of Reno. The deadline for submissions is May 22nd, 2015 with grants being awarded in September of 2015 coinciding with an exhibition of recipients’ work at the Sierra Arts Gallery. Grants for professionals are $1000 and for students $500 and are not tied to a particular project or proposal.

Any individual artist residing within a 100 mile radius of Reno may submit an application. Students are considered anyone in high school and Undergraduates, Professionals include anyone enrolled in a Masters program or professional working artists.  Previous recipients of Grants to Artists are ineligible for a period of three years regardless of change in artistic discipline or classification categories. Artists presented with the prestigious Rosemary MacMillan Award for Lifetime Excellence after 1999 are also exempt.

Applications can be filled out, including uploading materials, online at www.sierra-arts.org or hardcopies may picked up at Sierra Arts, 17 S. Virginia St. #120, Reno, NV 89501 in the historic Riverside Building.

http://sierra-arts.org/news/

From the USDA NRCS: 


WASHINGTON, March 31, 2015 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that U.S. Department of Agriculture is making available $332 million in financial and technical assistance through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will accept ACEP applications to help productive farm and ranch lands remain in agriculture and to protect the nation's critical wetlands and grasslands, home to diverse wildlife and plant species.

"USDA helps farmers, ranchers, private forest landowners and partners to achieve their conservation goals using our technical expertise, Farm Bill funding and sound conservation planning," Vilsack said. "Conservation easements are an important tool to help these landowners and partners voluntarily provide long-term protection of our nation's farmland, ranchland, wetlands and grasslands for future generations."

Las Vegas --The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) opened the nomination period for Round 15 project proposals funded under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA). The nomination period opens on September 8 and closes November 7.

Local governmental entities may seek SNPLMA funds for parks, trails, and natural areas in portions of Carson City and Clark, Lincoln, and White Pine counties. Federal agencies may seek funds for capital improvements, conservation initiatives, and restoration projects in eastern  Nevada. Federal, State, and other agencies may seek SNPLMA funds for hazardous fuels reduction in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the Carson Range, and the Spring Mountain Range. Federal agencies may seek funding for acquisition of environmentally sensitive land statewide.

Specific requirements for nominating projects in all categories, including eligible entities within the different categories, are available at www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/snplma.html. Nominations must be submitted directly to the BLM Southern Nevada District Office, SNPLMA Division, 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130.  For more information, please call (702) 515-5063. All Round 15 nominations must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. PST on November 7, 2014. Land acquisition nominations require early submittal of a two-to-three page nomination summary and a preliminary title report by 4:30 p.m. PST on October 8, 2014. The summary form for this submittal is available on the SNPLMA website at the link listed above. Late nominations will not be accepted.

Funding to continue teaching homeowners and communities about living safely in wildfire-prone areas

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Living With Fire Program received $495,000 from the Nevada Bureau of Land Management to continue and enhance the current success of the program.

"Living With Fire provides good services to the state and nationally with prevention and materials for defensible space," Rex McKnight, state fire management officer with the Bureau, said. "We’ve been partners since Living With Fire started, and this grant is to continue support for the program."

The "Living With Fire Campaign: 2013-2018" is the second five-year grant the Living With Fire Program has received from the Bureau.

"The Bureau of Land Management has been an outstanding partner with us in helping Nevadans reduce the threat of wildfires to communities," said Ed Smith, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension natural resources specialist. "Living With Fire probably wouldn’t have existed without their support."

Living With Fire is a collaborative effort founded in 1997 and directed by Smith and Co-Manager and Marketing Director Sonya Sistare, to teach homeowners how to live more safely in Nevada’s high wildfire-hazard environments. In 2013 alone, Living With Fire reached nearly 14,700 people through presentations, events and activities, and at least 19 other states use materials produced by the program.

For more information about Living With Fire, visit www.LivingWithFire.info.

Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced today a $24,750 grant for the Pahrump Valley Fire Rescue Service which will help increase the Fire Rescue Service’s ability to protect the health and safety of the residents of Pahrump. The grant is from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG).

“I am pleased that Pahrump Valley Fire Rescue Service will have new resources to protect Nye County,” said Senator Reid. “Wildfires continue to be a threat to Nevada, and it is important to reassure visitors and Nevadans that they will be safe in the Silver State. I remain committed to providing our first responders with the tools they need to ensure their own safety as well as the citizens they protect.”

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program supports fire departments and first responders that are not affiliated with a hospital to enhance their ability to protect the health and safety of the public. This funding will provide Pahrump’s nearly 40,000 permanent and 5,000 seasonal residents with the security they deserve.