Posted opportunity — confirm at source
Easement Restoration and Stewardship
Natural Resources Conservation Service · USDA-NHQ-ACEP-26-NOFO0001456
$250,000 – $5,000,000
2026-11-19-00-00-00
Confirm exact timezone in the announcement.Private institutions of higher education, Small businesses, State governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), City or township governments, County governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Geographic eligibility and all attachment-specific conditions require review of the original announcement.
Matching funds & resources
Source matching-funds field: Not Required.
Matching funds and leveraged resources are different requirements. Read the description and reviewed rules below before determining resource commitments.
About this opportunity
The opportunities associated with this NOFO are for lands protected through the Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) component of the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) and the Floodplain Easement (FPE) component of the Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWPP). The types of work available through this opportunity fall into three primary categories: 1) restoration of wetland and floodplain easements; 2) stewardship of wetland and floodplain easements, and 3) onsite and offsite assessment of easement conditions. Component 1) Wetland and Floodplain Easement Restoration. Awardees will work with NRCS personnel, partners and landowners to develop and implement sound easement restoration plans. These plans may include structural practices, such as levees and water control structures, and/or vegetative establishment practices, such as tree planting. Awardees are expected to complete the following easement restoration activities: (A) Coordination- Accept input on restoration planning from NRCS employees, NRCS partners and easement owners. (B) Investigation- Completion of technical surveys such as topographic, hydrological or habitat inventories. (C) Restoration Design- Combine data collected through coordination and technical surveys to develop functional, yet cost-effective restoration plans. (D) Implementation- Application of the easement restoration design using NRCS provided practice standards and specifications. NRCS wetland and floodplain easements have varying levels of restoration planning completed by NRCS employees or partners. Awardees will receive all relevant planning information for easements included in this agreement. Awardee must be prepared to complete some or all the listed restoration activities. Component 2) Wetland and Floodplain Easement Stewardship. Awardees are responsible for completing easement stewardship activities on restored wetland and floodplain easements. Easement stewardship includes repair, maintenance, management, and enhancement of properties. (A) Repair and Enhancement- Awardee will develop repair or enhancement plans. Repair plans will be prepared when installed conservation practices fail or are damaged. Repairs may include structural and/or vegetative restoration practices, such as a dike damaged by flooding or replanting trees damaged or killed by drought. Enhancement plans are developed to improve specific aspects of a restored easement. (B) Maintenance and Management- Awardee will develop easement maintenance and management plans. These plans identify specific activities that will prolong life and improve the function of installed restoration practices. For example, maintenance plans describe how and when an earthen dike should be mowed to prevent the establishment of woody vegetation. Component 3) Easement Assessments. The Awardee will complete onsite and offsite easement assessments. Assessments will document the habitat condition of easements and determine their compliance with deed terms and conditions. Awardees will use the data collected to determine the ecological condition of easements and, if necessary, develop repair, enhancement and/or maintenance plans to improve the condition of the assessed easements.
Funding geography: Not specified — review source. A funder’s address does not establish eligibility.
Review original source ↗Funding instrument: Cooperative Agreement. Issuing jurisdiction: Federal. This is not a geographic eligibility determination.
Source fields and evidence
id: 363920
Source ↗ · id
opportunityNumber: USDA-NHQ-ACEP-26-NOFO0001456
Source ↗ · opportunityNumber
opportunityTitle: Easement Restoration and Stewardship
Source ↗ · opportunityTitle
revision: 1
Source ↗ · revision
agencyDetails: {"code":"NRCS","seed":"USDA-NRCS","agencyName":"Natural Resources Conservation Service","agencyCode":"USDA-NRCS","topAgencyCode":"USDA"}
Source ↗ · agencyDetails
owningAgencyCode: USDA-NRCS
Source ↗ · owningAgencyCode
cfdas: [{"id":435471,"opportunityId":363920,"cfdaNumber":"10.072","programTitle":"Wetlands Reserve Program"},{"id":435472,"opportunityId":363920,"cfdaNumber":"10.928","programTitle":"Emergency Watershed Protection Program - Floodplain Easements – Disaster Relief Appropriations Act"},{"id":435473,"opportunityId":363920,"cfdaNumber":"10.931","programTitle":"Agricultural Conservation Easement Program"}]
Source ↗ · cfdas
applicantTypes: [{"id":"20","description":"Private institutions of higher education"},{"id":"23","description":"Small businesses"},{"id":"00","description":"State governments"},{"id":"07","description":"Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)"},{"id":"02","description":"City or township governments"},{"id":"01","description":"County governments"},{"id":"04","description":"Special district governments"},{"id":"11","description":"Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)"},{"id":"12","description":"Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education"},{"id":"22","description":"For profit organizations other than small businesses"},{"id":"06","description":"Public and State controlled institutions of higher education"},{"id":"13","description":"Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education"}]
Source ↗ · applicantTypes
fundingInstruments: [{"id":"CA","description":"Cooperative Agreement"}]
Source ↗ · fundingInstruments
fundingActivityCategories: [{"id":"AG","description":"Agriculture"},{"id":"ENV","description":"Environment"},{"id":"NR","description":"Natural Resources"}]
Source ↗ · fundingActivityCategories
awardFloor: 250000
Source ↗ · awardFloor
awardCeiling: 5000000
Source ↗ · awardCeiling
responseDate: Nov 19, 2026 12:00:00 AM EST
Source ↗ · responseDate
responseDateStr: 2026-11-19-00-00-00
Source ↗ · responseDateStr
responseDateDesc: Applications must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
Source ↗ · responseDateDesc
costSharing: false
Source ↗ · costSharing
lastUpdatedDate: Sep 22, 2026 03:43:24 PM EDT
Source ↗ · lastUpdatedDate
status: posted
Source ↗ · oppHits[id=363920].oppStatus
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