New Mexico Conservation Technical Assistance for Outreach and Education | USDA NRCS NM CTA NOFO0001078

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS NM CTA NOFO0001078

The New Mexico Conservation Technical Assistance for Outreach and Education grant is a discretionary funding opportunity from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in New Mexico (NRCS-NM). Its purpose is to support conservation partners in expanding public awareness and real-world adoption of conservation practices across the state. Rather than funding scientific studies, the program is designed to pay for hands-on outreach, workshops, trainings, and other educational efforts that help New Mexico agricultural producers, private landowners, conservation groups, and local entities understand and implement conservation activities. The announcement also specifically calls out audiences that are important in New Mexico, including acequias and land grants, along with cooperating agencies and broader conservation organizations.

Projects must be based in New Mexico and must be clearly centered on conservation. A key restriction is that research proposals are not eligible under this notice, meaning applications focused on experiments, hypothesis-driven research, or generating new scientific knowledge are not intended for funding here. Instead, the emphasis is on practical education and technical assistance-oriented outreach that leads to conservation action on the ground, such as training events, demonstration-style learning, and community-based conservation education tailored to the needs of New Mexico communities and land management contexts.

Eligible applicants include a range of public and nonprofit entities: state, county, and city or township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher-education institutions in that nonprofit category). The opportunity is offered as a grant, and it falls under activity areas that include agriculture, education, environment, and natural resources (CFDA 10.902), which fits the program’s focus on conservation practice adoption through training and outreach.

Funding levels are relatively small and are meant to support multiple localized efforts rather than one large statewide project. The federal share per award has a minimum (floor) of $10,000 and a maximum (ceiling) of $20,000. NRCS-NM set aside a total of $100,000 for this notice and anticipated making about five awards, which aligns with the $20,000 maximum per project. The notice also states that the New Mexico State Conservationist reserves the right to reject any or all applications, reinforcing that awards are competitive and subject to agency discretion.

Applications were required to be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on May 5, 2021. Applicants with Grants.gov technical problems were directed to Grants.gov Applicant Support by phone (1-800-518-4726) or email (support@grants.gov). Program questions about the Notice of Funding Opportunity could be submitted up to April 9, 2021. NRCS-NM planned to notify applicants of award or rejection decisions by June 4, 2021, and successful applicants were asked to plan for a project start date of July 12, 2021.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, education, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "New Mexico Conservation Technical Assistance for Outreach and Education" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.902.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 08, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 05, 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 $20,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for USDA NRCS NM CTA NOFO0001078

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