America the Beautiful Challenge

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), through anticipated cooperative agreements from the Department of the Interior (DOI), Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is releasing the America the Beautiful Challenge (ATBC) 2024 Request for Proposals (RFP). The ATBC vision is to streamline grant funding opportunities for new voluntary conservation and restoration projects throughout the United States. This RFP consolidates funding from multiple federal agencies and the private sector to enable applicants to conceive and develop large-scale, locally led projects that address shared funder priorities spanning public, Tribal, and private lands.

The ATBC seeks to fund projects across the following themes:

1.  Conserving and restoring rivers, coasts, wetlands, and watersheds 
2.  Conserving and restoring forests, grasslands and important ecosystems that serve as carbon sinks
3.  Connecting and reconnecting wildlife corridors, large landscapes, watersheds, and seascapes 
4.  Improving ecosystem and community resilience to flooding, drought, and other climate-related threats
5.  Expanding access to the outdoors, particularly in underserved communities

Applicant Webinar (Register): Thursday, February 29, 2024, 12:30–2:30 PM

Non-federal match helps demonstrate broad support for the project and may be required for federal funding. The minimum match (in-kind and cash) requirements for potential applicants is dependent on the applicant organization type as well as the grant category.

Category 1. Implementation Grants: Grants to implement voluntary on-the-ground conservation and restoration projects that address program priorities on public, Tribal, and/or private lands.

• Eligible applicants: States, U.S. Territories, and federally recognized Tribes (partnerships with NGOs and others through subawards are encouraged)
• Award Size: $1 million to $5 million; multistate, multijurisdictional landscape scale restoration requests beyond $5 million may be considered on a limited case-by-case basis. Please contact NFWF program staff to discuss.
• Project Duration: up to four years 
• Geographic focus: nationwide, throughout the U.S. and U.S. territories, on public lands, Tribal lands, and/or private lands
• Note: Although some elements of planning can be included in these projects, majority of funds should be spent on on-the-ground work 
• Grants under this category are contingent upon awards by DOI

Category 2. Planning Grants: Grants that enhance local capacity to implement future on-the-ground actions that address program priorities through community-based assessments, partnership building, planning, project design, and other technical assistance activities. Projects in this category should include multiple partners, be at a significant scale for the landscape/watershed/seascape, and clearly demonstrate how efforts will lead to implementation projects.

• Eligible applicants: States, U.S. Territories, and federally recognized Tribes (partnerships with NGOs and others through subawards are encouraged)
• Award Size: $200,000 to $2 million 
• Project Duration: up to 3 years 
• Geographic focus: nationwide, throughout the U.S. and U.S. territories, on public lands, Tribal lands, and/or private lands
• Grants under this category are contingent upon awards by DOI

Category 3. Sentinel Landscape Grants: Grants will be funded through the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program and will be prioritized to designated or emerging Sentinel Landscapes or areas that preserve or enhance military readiness. Projects in this category should include multiple partners and clearly contribute to outcomes identified in a Sentinel Landscape implementation plan or other applicable conservation or restoration implementation plan. Projects in this category should focus on enhancing local capacity to implement future on-the-ground actions, and secondarily focus on directly contributing to on-the-ground outcomes. Projects in this category must demonstrate benefit to DOD facilities and be in the vicinity of or ecologically linked to a DOD installation or range. DOD funds may not be used for work directly on military lands. For the pre-proposal, applicants should provide the contact information (name, organization, email, and phone number) of the installation personnel who are part of the project team and support the proposed project efforts. For the full proposal, applicants will be required to upload an endorsement letter from the lead Military Service, such as the installation commanding officer, to affirm support for the proposed activities. This endorsement letter also signifies that the lead Military Service accepts all necessary environmental compliance oversight responsibilities, including those under the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Endangered Species Act. If there are multiple Military Services benefitting from the project, applicants should work with all Military Service representatives involved to determine one lead Military Service and identify the lead Military Service in their application. Applicants who have questions regarding Sentinel Landscape Grants may contact the REPI Office at osd.repi@mail.mil.

• Eligible applicants: Non-profits, local municipal governments, and educational institutions, States, U.S. Territories, and Tribes 
• Award Size: $250,000 to $1.5 million  
• Project Duration: 2 to 4 years 
• Geographic Focus: Sentinel Landscapes, or in the vicinity of or ecologically linked to a DOD installation or range, cannot be directly on military lands
• Grants under this category are contingent upon awards by DOD

Category 4. National Forest Grants: Projects in this funding category are to be vegetation management or watershed restoration projects on National Forest System land. These projects must be carried out in accordance with a water source protection plan as developed under section 303(d)(1) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003 or a watershed restoration action plan developed under section 304(a)(3) of HFRA of 2003. 

Associated activities may include the removal of vegetation, use of prescribed fire, restoration of aquatic habitat, or decommissioning of an unauthorized, temporary, or system road in order to enhance the ecological integrity achieve the restoration of a forest ecosystem.

• Eligible applicants: Non-profits, local municipal governments, and educational institutions, States, U.S. Territories, and Tribes 
• Award Size: $250,000 to $1.5 million  
• Project Duration: 2 to 4 years 
• Geographic Focus: Must be on National Forest Service System land 
• Grants under this category are contingent upon awards by USFS

Category 5. Private Forests, Rangeland and Farmland Grants: Grants will support outreach and engagement with private landowners for voluntary conservation efforts on working lands to advance NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife Framework and Initiatives (e.g. sagebrush, grasslands, northern bobwhite, northeast turtles, golden-winged warbler). Projects will help agricultural producers design and implement voluntary conservation practices and increase Farm Bill program participation and conservation practice implementation among agricultural producers, especially farmers and ranchers in the Historically Underserved and Special Emphasis categories.

• Eligible applicants: Nonprofits, local municipal governments, and educational institutions, States, U.S. territories, and Tribes
• Award Size: $200,000 to $500,000 
• Project Duration: 2 to 3 years 
• Geographic Focus: Must be within Working Lands for Wildlife Framework and Initiatives boundaries 
• Grants under this category are contingent upon review and concurrence by NRCS