Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) FY24 Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation (MAE) Opportunity

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has announced a funding opportunity for 2024, offering up to $10 million for projects related to monitoring, assessing and evaluating conservation approaches and technologies. This funding opportunity aims to enhance the delivery and impact of the CRP while also informing policy. This will be achieved through the undertaking of projects that focus on a select number of key priorities.

These project priorities include the assessment of ecosystem benefits, such as the impact of the CRP on natural resources like wildlife habitat, water quality and quantity, and soil health. Another priority is the sustainability of farming operations and rural communities, with projects aiming to evaluate and strengthen CRP’s role in these areas. Other priorities include fostering citizen science, by enabling farmers to monitor conditions on and share lessons learned from fields enrolled in CRP, and an in-depth evaluation of CRP in the context of broader natural resources management and conservation strategies.

Non-foreign and non-federal entities are eligible to apply for this funding opportunity, with projects spanning anywhere between 1 and 5 years. Funding awards range between $500,000 and $5 million. Information about the application process, insights from past projects, and further details about the program can be found on the official MAE website.

Applications have to be submitted via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on May 31, 2024. If any technical issues occur during this submission process, applicants can seek support by reaching out via 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov. Kindly note that questions related to eligibility or the merit of a specific proposal would not be addressed – only those related to the content of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

The anticipated timeline following the application deadline includes selections being made by July 12, 2024, and awards being executed by September 30, 2024. However, please note that these dates are estimates and may be subject to change.