[Federal Register: February 16, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 31)]
[Notices]               
[Page 7959-7961]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16fe05-73]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

 
Fiscal Year 2005 Landowner Incentive Program (Non-Tribal Portion) 
for States, Territories, and the District of Columbia

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:  Notice of request for proposals.

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SUMMARY: The Service is requesting proposals at this time under the 
Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) for conservation grants to States, 
the District of Columbia, and the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the 
United States Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and 
American Samoa (all hereafter referred to collectively as States), and 
Tribes. The Service will address will address the Tribal component of 
LIP under a separate Federal Register notice.

DATES: The Service must receive your grant proposal no later than April 
18, 2005.

ADDRESSES: All parts of the grant proposal must be received prior to 
the deadline. We will not accept facsimile grant proposals. States are 
required to submit their proposals in two formats: electronic (e.g., 
Word, Word Perfect or PDF files) and hard copy. Electronic files must 
be sent to Kim Galvan at kim_galvan@fws.gov. In addition, hard copy 
grant proposals must be hand-delivered, couriered, or mailed to the
Service's Division of Federal Assistance at one of the addresses listed
in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Galvan or Genevieve Pullis
LaRouche, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Federal
Assistance, 4401 North Fairfax Drive--Mailstop MBSP 4020, Arlington, VA
22203-1610; telephone, 703-358-2420; e-mail, kim_galvan@fws.gov or
Genevieve LaRouche@fws.gov. Alternatively, you may contact any of the
individuals identified under the Regional Office

[[Page 7960]]

Addresses in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Service will award grants on a
competitive basis to State fish and wildlife agency programs that
enhance, protect, or restore habitats that benefit federally listed,
proposed, or candidate species, or other at-risk species on private
lands. A copy of the FY 2005 LIP Guidelines can be obtained at http://federalaid.fws.gov/lip/lipguidelines.html or from the Regional Offices listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. The Service will distribute any LIP funds made available in the FY 2005 budget in the same manner as that described in this notice. The Service requests that the States number the pages in their proposals and limit each proposal to no more than 50 pages, inclusive of attachments. Background Information: Earlier this year, we invited comments from the States regarding proposal ranking criteria the Service uses in evaluating Tier-2 grants for LIP. Based on these comments and our experience operating this program for 3 years, we made some changes to Grant Proposal National Review Team Subcriteria Guidance. It is our hope that these changes will provide greater clarity to the selection criteria and improve the overall fairness of the approval process. The following is a copy of the new Guidance. Grant Proposal Review Team Ranking Criteria Guidance Tier-2 Grant Proposals Review and Scoring Based on Criteria (a) Proposal provides clear and sufficient detail to describe the program. States are encouraged to describe any projects that are part of a broader scale conservation effort at the State or regional level (10 points total). Proposal is easy to understand and contains all elements
described in 522 FW 1.3C (0-2 pts).
The objectives are clearly stated and have quantifiable
outcomes (0-2 pts).
Proposal clearly describes the types of conservation
projects and/or activities eligible for funding (0-2 pts).
Proposal clearly describes how conservation project and/or
activities will implement portions of conservation plans on a local,
State, regional, or national scale (0-2 pts).
Proposal describes how species and habitats will be
monitored and evaluated to determine effectiveness of LIP-sponsored
activities (0-2 pts).
(b) Proposal describes adequate management systems for fiscal,
contractual, and performance accountability, including annual
monitoring and evaluation of progress toward desired program objectives
and performance measures and goals identified in the ``expected results
or benefits'' section of the grant application (7 points total).
Fiscal accountability process are clearly described (0-2
pts).
Contractual accountability standards and processes are
clearly described (0-2 pts).
Monitoring process that will ensure accurate and timely
evaluation of program performance are clearly described (0-3 pts).
(c) Proposal describes the State's fair and equitable system for
fund distribution (10 points total).
System described is inherently fair and free from bias (0-
3) pts.
Proposal describes State's ranking criteria and process of
selecting projects (0-3 pts).
States' ranking criteria are adequate to prioritize
projects based on conservation priorities identified in proposal (0-2
pts).
Project proposals will be (or were) subject to an
objective ranking procedure (diverse ranking panel, computerized
ranking model, etc.) (0-2 pts).
(d) Proposal describes outreach efforts to effect broad public
awareness, support, and participation (2 points total). LIP outreach
efforts funded with Tier-1 grants or other funding sources can be
described.
(e) Proposal describes by name the species-at-risk to benefit from
the proposal and how the described activities would benefit each
species (10 points total).

0 points if no species are identified,
5 points if 1-5 species are identified,
6 points for 6 species,
7 points for 7 species,
8 points for 8 species,
9 points for 9 species, or
10 points for 10 or more species.


Note: Assign fewer points if a proposal merely has a long list
attached versus one that talks about what will be done for each
species and its habitat on private lands if the proposal is funded.)


(f) Proposal describes the percentage of the State's total LIP
Tier-2 program funds identified for use on private lands as opposed to
staff and related administrative support (4 points total).

0 points if this is not addressed or admin is >35%,
1 point if admin is 25 to 35%,
2 points if admin is 15 to 25%,
3 points if admin is 5 to 15%,
4 points if admin is 0 to 5%.

``Use on private lands'' includes all costs directly related to
implementing on-the-ground projects with LIP funds. Activities
considered project use include technical guidance to landowner
applicants; habitat restoration, enhancement, or management; purchase
of conservation easements (including costs for appraisals, land survey,
legal review, etc.); biological monitoring of Tier-2 project sites; and
performance monitoring of Tier-2 projects. Staffing costs should be
included in this category only when the staff-time will directly relate
to implementation of a Tier-2 project. Standard Indirect rates
negotiated between the State and Federal Government should also be
included under Project Use.
``Staff and related administrative support'' includes all costs
related to administration of LIP. Activities considered administrative
included outreach (presentations, development, or printing of
brochures, etc.); planning; research; administrative staff support;
staff supervision; and overhead charged by subgrantees (unless the rate
is an approved negotiated rate for Federal grants.)
(g) Proposal identifies the percentage of nonfederal cost sharing
(3 points total).
(Note: I.T. = Insular Territories)

0 points if nonfederal cost share is 25%,
1 point if nonfederal cost share is >25% to 50% (>0 to 25% I.T.),
2 points if nonfederal cost share is >50% to 75% (>25 to 50% I.T.), or
3 points if nonfederal cost share is >75% nonfed share (>50% I.T.).

(h) Proposal demonstrates the urgency of the conservation actions,
and the short- and long-term benefits to be gained (10 points total).
Proposal shows no, low, medium, or high urgency of need
for identified at-risk species (0-3 pts).
Proposal shows no or some short-term benefits to be
achieved (0-1 pt).
Proposal shows no or some long-term benefits to be
achieved (0-1 pt).
Proposal describes discrete, obtainable, and quantifiable
performance measures to be accomplished (for example, the number of
acres of wetlands or stream miles to be restored, or number of at-risk
species whose status within the State will be improved) (0-2 pts).
Proposal, taken as a whole, demonstrates that the State
can implement a LIP that has a high likelihood for success in
conserving at-risk species on private lands (0-3 pts).
(i) Has applicant received Tier-2 grant funds previously? (5 points
total)
(1) 0 points, if State has received Tier 2-funds previously, or

[[Page 7961]]

(2) If State has not received Tier-2 funds previously:

1 point if State has not applied for Tier-2 funds previously,
3 points if State has applied one of two previous years,
5 points if State has applied both previous years.
Total Score Possible = 61 points
Total Score ------

Regional Office Addresses: Hard copy grant proposals must be hand-
delivered, couriered, or mailed to the Service's Division of Federal
Assistance at the following locations:
Region 1. California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington,
American Samoa, Guam, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Regional Director, Division of Federal Assistance, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 911 NE., 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-4181.
LIP Contact: Verlyn Ebert, (503) 231-6128; verlyn_ebert@fws.gov.
Region 2. Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas
Regional Director, Division of Federal Assistance, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 500 Gold Avenue SW, Suite 9019, PO Box 1306,
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87103-1306, LIP Contact: Bob Anderson, (505)
248-7459; bob_anderson@fws.gov.
Region 3. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio,
and Wisconsin
Regional Director, Division of Federal Assistance, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, One Federal
Drive, Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111-4056. LIP Contact: Lucinda
Corcoran, (612) 713-5135; lucinda_corcoran@fws.gov.
Region 4. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico,
and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Regional Director, Division of Federal Assistance, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia
30345. LIP Contact: Christine Willis, (404) 679-4154; Christine_willis@fws.gov.

Region 5. Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Vermont, Virgina, and West Virginia
Regional Director, Division of Federal Assistance, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley MA 01035-9589. LIP
Contact: Colleen Sculley, (413) 253-8509; colleen_sculley@fws.gov.
Region 6. Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming
Regional Director, Division of Federal Assistance, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 25486, Denver Federal Center, Denver,
Colorado 80225-0486. LIP Contact: Otto Jose, (303) 236-8156 ext. 236;
otto_jose@fws.gov.
Region 7. Alaska
Regional Director, Division of Federal Assistance, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-6199.
LIP Contact: Nancy Tankersley, (907) 786-3545; nancy_tankersley@fws.gov.


Dated: February 4, 2005.
Kris LaMontagne,
Acting Assistant Director.
[FR Doc. 05-2929 Filed 2-15-05; 8:45 am]