This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) is being released prior to appropriation and/or apportionment of funds for fiscal year 202 4. Enactment of additional continuing resolutions or an appropriations act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program.The Natural Resources Conservation

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Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing potential availability of cooperative agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration, and developing state - and community - level conservation leadership.

Proposals will be accepted for projects located in Montana.Proposals are requested for competitive consideration for cooperative agreement awards for projects between 1 and 5 years in duration.

See Section C.1 of this announcement for eligible applicant type.

Entities may submit more than one application as long as the proposals are for different projects and entities may receive more than one award.This notice identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and application instructions for projects.

Proposals will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice.

Incomplete and/or noncompliant proposals will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant.For new users of Grants.gov, see Section D.

of the full Notice of Funding Opportunity for information about steps required before submitting an application via Grants.gov.Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on 03/05/202 4. For technical issues with Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.

Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.For inquiries specific to the content of the NFO requirements, contact the federal awarding agency contact (section G of this NFO).

Please limit questions to those regarding specific information contained in this NFO (such as dates, page numbers, clarification of discrepancies, etc.).

Questions related to eligibility, or the merits of a specific proposal will not be addressed.The agency anticipates making selections by July 1, 2024, and expects to execute awards by September 1, 202 4. These dates are estimates and are subject to change.