Dear Conservation District Officials,
Today, I am pleased to announce the second round of 2021 awards from the NACD Technical Assistance (TA) Grants program. This is the fourth year we have been able to carry out this project in cooperation with funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
These awardees join the growing list of over 300 grantees who have benefitted from receiving an NACD TA Grant since the program’s inception in 2018. With the $2.1 million awarded today, nearly $50 million has been distributed across the nation to support resource technicians, conservation planners, program support specialists and technical specialists based on local needs and priorities. These employees provide conservation technical assistance to help customers carry out their conservation plans. State, territory and tribal conservation partnership leaders have identified high priority locations and workloads to help guide where the funds can best be placed.
Today’s awardees intend to use the funds to support about 90 full- and part-time individuals across 56 districts, resulting in approximately 34 full-time equivalent staffing. Multiple districts will be served by some of the grants. Nearly half of the individuals will be new hires, while the rest will have their existing hours expanded with the new workload. This staff is expected to work with nearly 9,000 district clients to increase their access to and completion of contracts and conservation plans.
More than $600,000 of matching funds are to be added to today’s awards, further increasing the impact of the grants. If funds continue to be available and state/territory/tribal conservation partnership leaders desire the work to continue, they will have further opportunities for additional funding.
Recipients of this second round of 2021 Technical Assistance Grants include:
- California – San Mateo Resource CD, Trinity County RCD
- Florida – Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc.
- Georgia – Georgia Association of Conservation Districts
- Iowa – Clarke County SWCD, Delaware SWCD
- Illinois – Association of Illinois Soil & Water Conservation Districts
- Indiana – Delaware County SWCD, Sullivan County SWCD
- Kansas – Republic County CD
- Maryland – Charles SCD
- Michigan – Isabella CD, Ottawa CD
- Minnesota – Morrison SWCD, Stearns County SWCD
- Montana – Hill County CD, Lower Musselshell CD
- Nevada – Big Meadow CD
- Oregon – Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), Tiicham CD
- Pennsylvania – Cambria County CD
- Puerto Rico – Distrito de Conservacion del Este
- South Carolina – Anderson SWCD, Saluda SWCD
- Tennessee – Hamblen SCD
- Utah – Northern Utah CD
- Virginia – New River SWCD
- Vermont – Winooski Natural RCD
- Washington – Quileute Tribe of the Quileute Reservation – Quileute Natural Resources, Whatcom CD, Whidbey Island CD
- Wisconsin – Ashland County Land & Water Conservation, Rusk County Land & Water Conservation Division
- Wyoming – Laramie County CD, Sheridan County CD
Congratulations to the recipients of these agreements. We especially appreciate all the work on the parts of state and territory conservation partnership leaders in completing requested information for getting these awards.
NACD staff will be following up with the awardees to complete the necessary arrangements for getting agreements signed and funds to them.
Sincerely,
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Jeremy Peters
NACD CEO
Source: NACD Announces Second Round of FY21 Technical Assistance Grants