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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif">On August 6, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) </span><span style="margin: 0px; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(32, 31, 30)">posted
its </span><span style="margin: 0px; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><a href="https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=regional%20conservation%20partnership%20program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="margin: 0px"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt none windowtext; color: rgb(5, 99, 193)">announcement
of a National Funding Opportunity for the RCPP</span></a><span style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(32, 31, 30)">. </span>This funding announcement makes up to $360 available by combining RCPP funding for Federal fiscal years 2020 and 2021.<span style="margin: 0px"> <span> </span></span>Half
of the funding is<span> </span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt none windowtext; color: rgb(32, 31, 30)">for projects in the State/multistate category and half is for NRCS-designated critical conservation area (CCA) projects<span class="x_xql-editor" style="margin: 0px">.<span> </span><span style="margin: 0px"> </span></span></span></span><span style="margin: 0px; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: black">The
funding announcement introduces the following changes to CCAs: </span></p>
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<li><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt; color: black">The California Bay-Delta and Columbia River Basin CCAs have been combined into the Western Waters CCA, which also encompasses the Klamath River Basin and the Puget Sound Basin. </span></li><li><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12pt; color: black">A new CCA—Northeast Forests and Waters—has been added to the roster. This CCAs priority resource concerns include water quality and wildlife habitat. The boundaries of the CCA encompass Connecticut,
Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. </span></li></ul>
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<span style="margin: 0px; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: black">Partners may request between $250,000 and $10 million in RCPP funding through this funding announcement. Partners are expected to offer value-added contributions to amplify the impact
of RCPP funding in an amount equal or greater to the NRCS investment.<span style="margin: 0px"> <span> </span></span>Funding is open to eligible partners including private industry, non-government organizations, Indian tribes, state and local governments,
water districts and universities, among others. The full list of eligible entities is available in the RCPP funding announcement.</span><span class="x_xql-editor" style="margin: 0px"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(32, 31, 30)"><span> </span>The
90-day application period will close on </span></span><span class="x_xsearch-custom" style="margin: 0px"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(32, 31, 30)">November 4, 2020.</span></span><span style="margin: 0px; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(32, 31, 30)"> </span></p>
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<span class="x_xql-editor" style="margin: 0px"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(32, 31, 30)">A webinar with general program information for RCPP applicants is scheduled for 3pm
eastern time on August 27, 2020. A second webinar that specifically addresses how to submit an RCPP proposal through the RCPP portal is scheduled for 3 pm eastern time on September 10, 2020. Details on how to participate will be available</span></span><span class="x_xql-editor" style="margin: 0px"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(46, 117, 182)"> </span></span><span style="margin: 0px"><a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/rcpp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="margin: 0px"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt none windowtext">here</span></a><span class="x_xql-editor" style="margin: 0px"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0in; border: 1pt none windowtext">.</span></span></span><span style="margin: 0px; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(32, 31, 30)"><span style="margin: 0px"> </span></span></p>
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