Photo: Indigo Bunting"A brilliantly blue bird of old fields and roadsides, the Indigo Bunting prefers abandoned land to urban areas, intensely farmed areas, or deep forests." Learn more about this and other birds at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds website. Photo courtesy of Tom Grey. Local Partnerships |
PLJV Grant ReportingGrantees of both the PLJV ConocoPhillips Grant Program and the Capacity Grant Program are required to report accomplishments every six months until the project is completed. Please download and complete the PLJV Project Report Form and email reports, as a Microsoft Word document, to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by June 1 and December 1 each year until the project is completed. Complete interim reports to the extent possible, reflecting current progress, and include updates in the final report. Sections that are not applicable to your project may be deleted. Project Report FormDownload the PLJV Project Report Form and supporting document, Habitat Assessment Procedures. QuestionsIf you have questions about the reporting requirements, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants
The NAWCA national proposal-review committee relies on Joint Ventures to rank and evaluate proposals for their region (see map of North American JV boundaries), so it is essential that applicants work with the PLJV when developing NAWCA proposals within our boundaries (see map to right). We can help prospective grantees with conceptualization of the project, suggesting additional partners, writing and reviewing the proposal, and providing the necessary bird conservation information. If you are interested in developing a NAWCA grant proposal, please contact PLJV Conservation Delivery Leader Christopher Rustay at 505-243-0737 well in advance of the application deadline. All grant applications must be submitted through www.grants.gov. If you have not previously worked with the website, please access it at least three weeks prior to when you'd like to submit in order to receive a username and password. Small GrantsOne of the easiest sources of wetland conservation funding is the NAWCA Small Grants Program. This program can help fund small-scale wetlands projects anywhere within the PLJV boundaries. Principal conservation actions supported by the program are acquisition, enhancement and restoration of wetlands, streams or wetland-associated uplands, as well as long term leases of these habitats. Up to $75,000 in matching funds is available per project. The application deadline is in late October. This year, in addition to the regular application process, certain portions of the proposal will also need to be submitted under www.grants.gov. If a project has good wetland conservation value, brings partners together, and contributes to conservation plans, the project will rank well. NAWCA Small Grants have been used to fund a variety of wetland conservation practices in the PLJV region, from straight-out acquisition, like the Shaffer Playa project in Oklahoma, to invasive species removal, as demonstrated by a Huerfano Lake restoration project in Colorado. The PLJV has developed a NAWCA Small Grant Checklist to help applicants stay on top of proposal requirements. We can also help direct applicants to planning efforts and help determine the value of the project to birds in the area. Standard GrantsDeveloping a NAWCA Standard Grant takes a significant amount of time, regardless of whether you are a first-time or seasoned applicant. If you are considering applying for a NAWCA grant and have not gone through the proposal process before — and even if you have — the PLJV Standard NAWCA Timeline can give you a good understanding of the process. Application deadlines are twice a year in March and July. Applications must be submitted through www.grants.gov. In 2008, NAWCA staff organized a meeting at the 2008 Land Trust Rally in Denver, Colorado. They presented the NAWCA process from both the grantor and grantee perspective. Presentations focused on proposal development and submission as well as what happens after a proposal receives funding. The PowerPoint presentations from those sessions are below. We encourage you to view all of them prior to embarking on this process.
Reading through the proposal instructions can be a daunting task if you aren’t familiar with them. Finding specific items can also be a challenge. Below you'll find help with several key questions. What are the eligibility requirements for what you can spend grant money on and what kinds of funds are eligible as match? How does my project fit into the bird plan priority areas for Technical Question #3?
How will the proposal be judged? PLJV ConocoPhillips GrantsThe PLJV ConocoPhillips granting program funds projects that improve conservation practices and increase knowledge about the birds, habitats and people within our boundaries. We support and promote habitat conservation for wintering, migrating and breeding birds that occur on playa lakes, saline lakes, marshes, riparian areas and associated uplands in portions of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. A limited amount of funding is available annually for project proposals in three categories: habitat conservation, research and education/outreach. Funding is limited to no more than $25,000 per project per year. To submit an application to the PLJV, download the proposal instructions, prepare the proposal, and send an electronic copy (MS Word) to PLJV by November 1. Late proposals, or proposals that do not follow guidelines, will not be accepted. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions shortly after the winter Management Board meeting in January. Proposal Instructions and FormsPLJV PrioritiesPLJV Capacity GrantsThe PLJV Capacity Grant Program provides member states additional resources to deliver habitat conservation projects that address PLJV priorities. The grants are intended to increase the ongoing ability of states to develop and deliver habitat conservation, rather than directly support any particular habitat project. PLJV encourages grantees to identify bottlenecks in habitat delivery within their state and think about projects/programs that remove or reduce these bottlenecks. Grantees may be focus areas, habitat partnerships, or other coalitions wanting to do habitat conservation work. Once funded, the parternships work to strengthen their infrastructure and their ability to contribute to PLJV habitat objectives. While we do not expect immediate habitat accomplishments, continuing accomplishments are expected after two to three years. Our intent is to support groups to get them on their feet and move beyond current capabilities. The Capacity Grant program is by invitation only. Capacity Grant proposals must be run through your state wildlife agency. Prospective grantees may contact PLJV at any time to discuss a project and explain how it will encourage additional and ongoing habitat conservation once PLJV funding for the project has stopped. If the project meets the program criteria, callers may be directed to talk with the appropriate PLJV state wildlife agency representative. Grants are awarded on an annual basis and proposals are due from states on Dec. 15. For more information, download the Capacity Grant Request for Proposals (RFP) or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , PLJV Conservation Delivery Leader, at 505-243-0737. Funding OpportunitiesThere are several funding sources that Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) advises local conservation partnerships to review, including the following: PLJV Grant ProgramsOther Wetland Protection Grant Programs
If you have questions about one of the funding sources mentioned above or about writing proposals for your project, please contact Christopher Rustay, PLJV Conservation Delivery Leader at 505-243-0737. |
