USDA to Invest $150 Million Through Conservation Stewardship Program to Improve Working Lands2/12/2016 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:
Learn more here: $150 Million for Working Lands
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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." CARSON CITY, Nev. – The Nevada Division of State Parks is pleased to announce the availability of $300,000 in federal funds for local park and recreation improvement and acquisition projects through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (L&WCF) program. All local governments, including counties, cities, towns, general improvement districts, and Native American tribal governments are potentially eligible for the 50:50 matching grants offered through the program. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 was enacted to assist in preserving, developing and assuring recreational accessibility to local parks for present and future generations. Previous projects have included development of the Herrera skateboard park in Elko, the Out of Town Park in Fernley and the Double Diamond Park in Reno. The application package and grant manual are available online at parks.nv.gov. The due date for grant applications is May 8, 2015, by 5 p.m. Faxed or emailed copies will not be accepted. Please submit applications to the following address: Nevada Division of State Parks Attn: Jenny Scanland 901 S. Stewart Street, Suite 5005 Carson City, NV 89701 Statewide, Nevada, January 30, 2015 — USDA Rural Development will be holding 14 energy grant workshops across rural Nevada beginning in late February. At the workshops, Energy Coordinator Mark Williams will provide a brief overview of the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), a USDA grant and loan program that can pay up to 25% of the project costs to build a renewable energy system or improve energy efficiency. Small rural businesses, farmers and ranchers are eligible to apply. The systems the grant can fund are either for renewable energy systems, like solar, hydro and wind power, or for systems that increase energy efficiency—such as variable speed drives for well pumps or new energy efficient lighting, heating or air conditioning systems. In addition, USDA RD offers a guaranteed loan for energy efficiency improvement or renewable energy projects. Rural business owners who want to upgrade their HVAC systems, for example, may be able to save up to 25% of the project costs by pursuing a grant/loan combination. For more information contact Mark Williams at (775) 887-1222 Ext. 116.
$1 Million in New Grant Funding Available to Celebrate the Arts and National Parks National Endowment for the Arts and National Park Service team up in celebration of hallmark anniversaries WASHINGTON – “Art is the child of Nature,” said American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. A new grant initiative created in partnership by the NEA and the National Park Service celebrates the intersections between the two in honor of the NEA’s 50th anniversary in 2015 and the National Park Service’s centennial in 2016. “Imagine Your Parks” will provide $1 million in funding through the NEA Art Works grant category to projects that use the arts to engage people with memorable places and landscapes of the National Park System. The National Park System includes not only national parks, but also national historic sites, trails, rivers, seashores, landmarks and national monuments, heritage areas, preserves, battlefields, recreation areas, and more. Learn more here: http://www.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1668 ![]() The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will distribute federal grant funds to nonprofit organizations and local and state agencies throughout the state to support historic building rehabilitation or restoration, public education, surveys, planning and National Register nominations. The funds, supplied by the National Park Service (NPS), come from off-shore oil and gas lease fees. The submission deadline for the 2015 Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) grant applications is close of business on Friday, December 5, 2014. Application forms are available at www.dcnr.nv.gov. HPF grants are a 60/40 match, with 60% provided by the HPF and 40% provided by the grantee through either cash or in-kind sources (donations, volunteer labor, etc.) Applications will be reviewed in early January 2015, and funds will be distributed by SHPO upon receiving its annual apportionment from Congress. Applicants are encouraged to request funding for grants addressing SHPO’s established priorities for grant year 2015:
The 2014 HPF grant recipients included Carson City, Reno, Las Vegas, Henderson and Caliente, as well as Storey County. State agencies included the Nevada State Museum and Nevada State Parks. Nonprofit organizations receiving 2014 HPF monies included the Nevada Rock Art Foundation, Douglas County Historical Society, Comstock Cemetery Foundation, Nevada Humanities, Partners in Conservation, Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties and Nevadans for Cultural Preservation. Projects range from the restoration and stabilization of significant Nevada resources, to GPS smart phone apps, public education about Nevada’s cultural resources and historic architectural surveys. More information about the current projects is available at the State Historic Preservation Office. If applicants have any questions about possible grant projects, completing applications, match, etc., contact SHPO’s HPF grant coordinator Elyse Jolly at 775-684-3450. 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. |
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