New Practitioner’s Guide Available for Fish and Wildlife Conservation Providers to Help Landowners Access Farm Bill Programs

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies supported the North American Bird Conservation Initiative in producing the 2014 Farm Bill FieldGuide to Fish and Wildlife Conservation. Now available, this field guide is a tool to assist the staff of federal and state fish and wildlife agencies, nongovernmental conservation organizations, joint ventures and other conservation partners in implementing Farm Bill conservation programs.

More than two-thirds of the land area in the United States is privately owned, with 914 million acres in farms or ranches and approximately 300 million acres in private forest. These working lands, which represent much of the country’s remaining open space and habitat, are vitally important to the conservation of soil, water and fish and wildlife resources. The Agricultural Act of 2014, the most recently enacted Farm Bill, dedicates approximately $28 billion dollars until 2018 for conservation.

The 2014 Farm Bill Field Guide to Fish andWildlife Conservation was designed primarily as an introduction for fish and wildlife conservation providers—the on-the-ground biologists and conservation partners who help deliver Farm Bill conservation programs to landowners. The goal is to provide these practitioners with a tool to better understand the Farm Bill and how its programs can help landowners conserve fish and wildlife habitat.

The guide provides an overview of the Conservation Title in the 2014 Farm Bill as well as Farm Bill history, program delivery, the role of partnerships and priority setting. It also features case studies and details on the following programs: the Conservation Reserve Program, Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Innovation Grants, Conservation Stewardship Program, Healthy Forests Reserve Program, Regional Conservation Partnership Program and Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program.

To download the Farm Bill Field Guide or to request a printed copy, go to http://amjv.org/index.php/2014farmbillfieldguide.

A diverse coalition of habitat conservation organizations helped the North American Bird Conservation Initiative prepare and publish this guide, including:

Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture

Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies

Intermountain West Joint Venture

The Nature Conservancy

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever

Point Blue Conservation Science

Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory

> Learn more about AFWA’s Agricultural Conservation Focus Area

AFWA is Soliciting Letters of Intent for the 2016 Multistate Conservation Grant Cycle

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is currently soliciting Letters of Intent (LOIs) for the 2016 Multistate Conservation Grant Program (MSCGP). Up to $6 million dollars is available each calendar year for projects that address regional- or national-level priorities of the state fish and wildlife agencies through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.

Letters of Intent must address one or more of the 10 MSCGP National Conservation Needs for 2016 that were recently selected by state fish and wildlife agency directors at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in March 2015.

Letters of Intent will be evaluated based on responsiveness to the National Conservation Needs; scientific quality; practical relevance to state agencies; value; and qualifications. Grants are awarded on a calendar-year basis for one, two or three years to eligible recipients.

Please read the full Solicitation Notice and Submission Guidelines for details.

LOIs must be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word formatto the MSCGP Coordinator no later than 5:00pm (Eastern Time) on Monday, May 11, 2015.  The National Grants Committee and appropriate AFWA committees will review and evaluate the LOIs.  In June, the National Grants Committee will invite the applicants with the most competitive LOIs to submit a full grant proposal for consideration. 

Visit the MSCGP section on AFWA’s website to download the LOI announcement, guidelines and template.