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-~ <br />United States pepartment of Agriculture <br />o FRCS <br />Natural Resources Conservation Service <br />4405 Bland Road. Suite 205 <br />Raleigh. North Carolina 27609 <br />Telephone No : (919) 873-2101 <br />Fax No.: (919) 873-2156 <br />March 17, 2004 <br />NORTH CAROLINA BULLETIN NO. 300-4-10 <br />SUB.IECT: Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program Request for Proposals <br />Purpose: 'To inform the field of opportunities for participation in the Farm and Ranch Lands <br />Protection Program for FY 2004 <br />Expiration: December 31, 2004 <br />Background: <br />The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 provides up to $125 million in financial and <br />technical assistance for the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) in fiscal year 2004.. <br />Eligible entities include state and local governments, federally recognized Indian tribes, and non- <br />governmental, non- profit conservation organizations, Policy and procedures for implementing the Farm <br />and Ranch Lands Protection Program are contained in Part 519 of the Conservation Programs Manual. <br />The information presented in this bulletin is a summary of key points contained in the manual. Refer to <br />Part 519 for clarification.. <br />Eligibility and Application Process <br />The request for proposals (RFP) (Attachment 1) is attached to this bulletin. Entities submitting proposals <br />should include all of the required information as indicated in the RFP. The deadline for submitting <br />proposals is May 3, 2004. Eligible entities are federally recognized Indian tribes, states, units of local <br />government, and non-governmental organizations that have written pending offers for the acquisition <br />of conservation easements for the purposes of protecting agricultural use. <br />Individual landowners cannot apply directly for FRPP funds. Landowner interest must be conveyed to an <br />eligible entity that has an existing farmland protection program, The eligible entity can then apply for <br />federal FRPP matching funds to help acquire the easement. The federal Farm and Ranch Lands <br />Protection Program is designed to be a supplemental funding source for existing state and local farmland <br />protection programs. <br />Refer to Subpart D, Part 519,31 of the Conservation Programs Manual for cooperating entity eligibility <br />requirements, Proposals must provide adequate proof of a pending offer for the subject land. Part <br />519.33a,b provides guidance on pending offers. The NRCS State Conservationist will review and rank <br />proposals based on the following: <br />• Organization or agency eligibility <br />• Land eligibility. Refer to Part 519.32a-d for eligibility requirements <br />• Extent to which the proposal protects prime, unique, or other productive soil <br />ntsr: E <br />